Thursday, November 7, 2013

Wet hike in the Chuckanuts

Al clearing a branch from the trail
Today we were scheduled to hike up to Oyster Dome off Chuckanut Drive. It was one of those days that even I considered staying home, since it rained all night and was expected to keep raining, along with a significant wind storm. Oh, well, I thought this morning, I'll go to the Senior Center and probably nobody will show up except for Al, and we'll do something else. Hah! Seven Senior Trailblazers showed up, in spite of the weather.
Steve, Ward, Amy, Linda, Rita, Al (and me behind the camera)
At this point on our hike, our first viewpoint, Samish Bay was completely obscured. Nobody is actually looking at anything; Steve and Ward were playing and knew I would ask them when I saw the picture what they were pointing at. "Nothing, we just thought it would make a good picture," Steve said. We were already dealing with a light rain when I took the picture, but it was nothing compared to what was coming.
Our soggy trail
As we began the steep climb toward Oyster Dome, it began to rain in earnest. A hard, driving rain that didn't let up for a couple of hours. By that time we had reached the junction where we could take an easier trail back to the cars, but it would be longer. The treacherous condition of the trail was the deciding factor to take the longer (but easier) route back. We skipped Oyster Dome, which meant our hike was a little shorter than planned. Nobody wanted to make it longer. We were all pretty drenched, even with our fancy rain gear, and we just wanted to keep moving and get back to the cars.
View of Samish Bay
By the time we got to Samish Overlook, there was a view! Although the rain had pretty much stopped by then, the wind had picked up, so we didn't make a stop for lunch, deciding we would eat at the Senior Center where it would be warm and dry. We trudged on, covering more than eight miles, much of it while trying to keep moving because we were all so wet.
Finally back to the cars
You can see Chuckanut Drive in this picture, with our cars waiting for us. We piled in and headed for the Senior Center, hungry but wanting to get to a warm and dry spot. As we walked into the Center, the cold wind was pretty awful, but we knew we were headed to safety.
Rita blowing out her birthday candle
Amy, as always, brought cupcakes to celebrate Rita's birthday. I almost caught the pivotal moment. After I took this picture, we were amazed to see the sun come out briefly. Al reminded us that here in the Pacific Northwest, this qualifies as a "sun break." It's the only place in the country where we hear that term, if I'm not mistaken. It was all there was, one sun break, just in time to make us smile before we headed back to our respective homes. We all got our aerobic exercise for the day!

For anyone who might be wondering why I didn't write a post on Tuesday, it's because I forgot. While I was talking to Norma Jean on Wednesday, she asked where it was. "Where's what?" said I. "Your post!" "I write it on Tuesdays." "That was yesterday." I paused and considered. "Oh. Yeah. I guess it's too late now." It's been a busy week.
:-)

19 comments:

  1. laughing at your 'i forgot'. :)

    you guys and gals are die-hard folks! once the driving rain started, i'd have had a hard time continuing - even going back down. :) glad you all made it back to dry and warm territory and cupcakes!

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  2. Y'all are made of MUCH tougher stuff than me!

    The "I forgot" made me laugh.

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  3. smiles that norma jean reminded you to post...ack...what a nasty bit of a journey you had...in driving rain....you are better than i...would have gone the shortest route home...ha

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  4. My goodness, I wondered the same thing. Lol. I kept wondering why there was no new post. Ah, well, glad you enjoyed a warm and dry time in the senior center. Your lunch must have tasted great after that soggy hike.

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  5. You guys have to be made of tough stuff to start out under those conditions. Sun break? Never heard of it!
    I'll forgive you for missing Tuesday!

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  6. You definitely deserved wine o'clock after that hike. But then you always do.
    I am glad that it was a busy life and a damaged memory chip which kept you away from us on Tuesday and nothing more serious.

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  7. You forgot?!! Oh well, chock it up to HalfHeimerz...you're not completely there, to ALLHiemerz yet. {Just Kidding}

    Eight mile hike back? After trekking up in the rain...and you were able to eat LUNCH?!! An eight mile hike back down for me would get me there in time for dinner.

    I'm on a roll!!

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  8. Yes, I noticed that too - I thought well, OK DJan must be busy or she just plain forgot. I forget sometimes too :) As my Mum would say - wern't you all just little brave soldiers to venture out into the cold wet rain anyway - there's always an adventure, regardless of the conditions, right DJan - I just watched a movie with Brad Pitt called World Z - my closing sentence is "I could see you all surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
    "- way up there on the Mountain :)

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  9. Rain becomes a theme this time of year for you. You are such a trouper! We carry ponchos in our travel pacs now. I'm not sure how many wet hikes we'll do. But we're prepared.

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  10. Kind of makes me wonder if all the others thought like you that no one else would show up. You all have a ton of pluck to hike in such ugly weather.
    Even with the rain and mud, it beats a treadmill.

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  11. You forgot? You musta been busy! Sounds like a cold hike. I like that term Sun Break...as dreary as it has been here I may adopt that saying:)

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  12. I am glad it's 'I forgot'.
    I started to worry......

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  13. It's funny how, when reading that last paragraph, I can hear both of your voices, and I can see all of the changing expressions on both of your faces. :-)

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  14. It may have been rainy...but your photos brightened my day. I always love your photos, Jan. Look at the colors! (And I love the purple!!)
    The leaves on the ground are huge and beautifully colored.
    I got cold toward the end of your post....just reading about your trip up and back in the cold rain. Brrrr. Please, don't over do. Take care of you. How is your sister? I am always thinking of her. Please, tell her that I do.
    Love,
    Jackie

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  15. I wondered where you were on Tuesday, I was hoping you just got busy with something. Of course I go busy and didn't make it here on Thursday. Oh well, life comes first.

    We had pouring rain on Thursday too but the wind was kind to us. I love the photos of the trail littered with leaves.

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  16. When I enlarge those 2 pictures of the trail, I feel like I could be walking with you. But from the *soggy* pic, I gather it might have been a bit slippery. You guys are brave souls...

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  17. Sounds like a great hike,even without sunshine!

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  18. The intrepid hikers carry on even in the rain! Looks like all that wet, windy hiking made the warm birthday celebration even nicer, though. ;)

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  19. It's wonderful when you're so busy you forget to post. People would be envious of your adventurous life. That was really a fabulous hike!

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