Thursday, February 19, 2015

A soggy Goose Rock hike

West Beach at Deception Pass State Park
Our day started out well: twelve Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to carpool to the Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island, to hike up to Goose Rock. It's a fairly long drive, so we got started on the beach a little after 9:00am, with a light rain already falling. It had been raining on the drive, but since the forecast was for "occasional showers," we felt sure it would probably stop soon.
Misty scene from the beach
As you can see from the picture, the sea was almost the same color as the sky, with little color to be seen anywhere, except from our colorful rain gear. After a short time hiking, we felt that the rain had stopped, for the most part, so many of us took of our rain jackets.
Rich, Doug, Chris, Rita, Peggy, Al, Susan, Linda, Ward, Steve
The only two on the hike who are not in the picture are Karen, and me behind the camera. The Deception Pass bridge is visible behind us. All pictures were taken with my iPhone, since I didn't want to take my camera out in the rain. At this point, however, it looked like I could have brought it after all. But this cozy scene didn't last long.

A few minutes after this picture was taken, it began to sprinkle and we donned our rain gear again. Then the sprinkle turned to rain. Just a shower, we all thought. However, the shower didn't stop and before long the conversation turned to other things as we made our way up to Goose Rock. There was no view to be had, just mist, so I didn't take any pictures. Plus, I had forgotten to bring my new Seattle Sombrero, so I was hampered by my inability to keep my glasses from getting wet.
Huddled under a tree on the summit
Do we look wet? Well, we were. After a quick lunch, Al asked if he could be forgiven for taking a shortcut back to the cars. He didn't get any objections, and we pulled the remainder of our rain gear out of our packs. For me, this meant my new red poncho, which replaced my soggy raincoat. By the time we reached the cars, we had only covered five-and-a-half miles in total, when we had planned a longer hike. Nobody minded a shortened hike today.
I circled Goose Rock on the map
I decided to show you a picture of the entire park, since I didn't take many pictures. It's a pretty place, and we will be back again before too long. Hopefully the weather will allow us to hike further and take more pictures of our day. Although it was wet, it was my first hike after my trip and I got to chat with my friends about Turkey, and it was good to see the magnificent park, even in the rain.
:-)

20 comments:

  1. a perfect way back into your world...lots of soggy rain, misty weather, but a 'short' hike to break you back into the routine. :)

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  2. nice...lots of cool trails there...but dang....you slogged it through the downpour...

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  3. I could see the bridge in the one photo! I bet it is a beautiful place! :)

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  4. Welcome back, indeed. Looks like you got the only rainy day we'll be having in a couple of weeks. Glad you got to see your people any way.

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  5. I am reading a new Ann Rule book that has a story with Deception Pass in it.

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  6. I really like the name Deception Pass. There's also a Deception bay someplace in the world...I think on Hudson Strait.

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  7. You are back at it. It doesn't take you long to get your feet wet. No pun intended. ;)

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  8. Well, a wet hike is better than no hike at all! Glad you were able to get outside.

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  9. Well, despite the rain everyone in the photo is smiling, so you all must have had a good time!

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  10. You are a very intrepid group. You have my respect and admiration.

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  11. By the way, we changed our trip though it cost quite a bit after you, Linda and another friend in Seattle warned us that spring was coming earlier than planned. :- )

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  12. There is also a Deception Bay in Newfoundland. Nice Photos, regardless of the rain. Nice to have a short hike as you just got back from hot, hot India, eh.

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  13. It's too bad the rain shortened your hike. And I hope you didn't catch a cold from your trip to Turkey and this rainy weather. Stay warm and take care of yourself.

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  14. Tough top avoid rain in your area. I missed this state park when I was out there.

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  15. Oh no! How could you have forgotten your new rain hat!? I bet you'll keep it on you from now on. ;)

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  16. Soggy or not I am sure you were happy picking up your feet and putting them down again for a hike. I wondered if those hats kept the glasses dry. Good to know. Welcome back.

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  17. Im glad you got back safely from Turkey.

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  18. You amaze me. If it had been me, with the weather forecast, I would have just stayed home!

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  19. I just saw that parts of Turkey had a snow storm. Glad you missed that!

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  20. You're home! I had to go back and read your home post before reading this one. I'd somehow missed it.

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