A drizzly Hannegan Pass

Wet but happy

It never fails to amaze me: nine Senior Trailblazers showed up this morning in a fairly steady drizzle to drive for more than an hour to Hannegan Pass, where we were scheduled to hike today. The optimists among us felt that we might escape the rain as we drove upwards to begin our trek. Today was just about the opposite of last year, when we hiked all the way to the top of the peak in full sunshine. Check it out here. (You newbies can see just what you missed today.)

Changing leaves, dramatic cliffs behind

It wasn't all bad; in fact, much of it was very tolerable. Last year, I remember almost fainting from the incredible heat from the intense sun; today it was quite easy to hike the more-than-four miles to the pass in a light drizzle. But we didn't ever have a view of much of anything. By the time we made it to the pass, everyone was quite content to settle down to a quick lunch repast and head back down. Nobody was interested in trying for the peak, with no view. Again, last year was very different. 

Bob settling in for a nice lunch, protected from the rain

Our conversation today was quite lively, with Rich and Chris happy to get another chance to check out their rain gear for their upcoming springtime adventure on the Santiago de Camino trail. (I knew I would see them today, and they didn't disappoint me.) We headed back down the trail before 1:00pm, and enjoyed the truncated views.

Waterfalls and flowers

There were several pretty waterfalls to see, and this one goes up quite a bit farther, but since I only had my cellphone camera today, I was limited in what I could photograph. This picture turned out rather nice, considering. As we moved towards our starting point, I kept trying to find a picture that would give a good feeling of what it was like today.

Turning maple leaves covered with water

If you were to enlarge this picture, you would notice that all those leaves are covered with moisture from the rain, which never really let up all day long. Knowing that we had two newbies who have never been on this hike before, I kept turning and looking back as we descended to the trailhead, hoping that some of the incredible views would emerge. But it was not to be.

The valley today

This was all we saw on our return journey down the valley back to the trailhead. We ascended and descended around 2,100 feet of elevation, but the view was the same the entire way: fog and mist. Now I am home, with my glass of wine finished, and now my post finished as well, as I can say that it was actually a fine day, having gotten some good exercise and spent it with good friends. And I might add that something in between last year's intense heat and today constant drizzle might be a great thing for next year!
:-)