Thursday, September 23, 2010

Hannegan, Take Two

The Senior Trailblazers were scheduled to drive 75 miles south to hike up Rainbow Ridge, but the weather was very iffy, so we decided instead to attempt another assault on Hannegan Pass. While I was away last month on the East Coast, the Trailblazers headed up toward the pass during another questionable weather event (Geezerhiker wrote about it here), who described a very wet hike, with actual soaking rain that caused them to turn around and head back down before reaching the pass.

Today's forecast was not much better, but at least we would not be driving 75 miles to hike in the rain, so off we went up the Mt. Baker Highway. Only nine hardy souls showed up for this one, definitely a much lower number than usual. But we hike, rain or shine, on Thursday. The picture above shows that although it did rain on and off, it was quite beautiful with the fall colors and the view of the valley. After a short while, though, we had to stop and don our rain gear.
Al, our leader (also known as GeezerHiker), broke out a new rain poncho that assured us nobody would ever mistake us for a bear (it's that season again). The skies spit on us now and then, but as we headed up the 2,000 feet of elevation again, incredibly the sun broke out to cheer our spirits.
As you can see, the flowers of the fireweed are long gone, but the husks were in the sunshine while the background was in shadow, and I thought this picture showed the beauty of our surroundings quite well. The trail was very wet, much more so than it was last year (when I thought I would expire from heat stroke), and those few sun breaks were all we had for the entire day.
On the trail, I asked those ahead of me to stop so I could get a picture. Dan, in the middle here, is famous for all the pictures I've taken of him over the summer. That's Al behind him and Peggy on the right. With only nine of us, we set a pretty good pace and actually made it all the way to the pass. This is the view we had:
In other words, nothing. No view. And the wind blew from this direction, making us, the wet and tired hikers, quite cold and uncomfortable in no time. Fortunately, everyone on the hike today had rain gear and cold weather gear. We threw on our warm clothes, including gloves, stamped and huffed for a very few minutes after eating our lunch before heading back down the trail. By the time we reached our cars, we were all warm and toasty from the exertion and ready to call it a day. Eight miles and then some, 2,000 feet up and down, and every kind of weather except warm and dry. In other words, a really good day with my buddies, average age of those on today's hike: around 70. Not bad. I've got a few years left, I'd say.
:-)

18 comments:

  1. You be careful walking along those wet trails, slippery. I don't know it I'd say if it's a bad day for hiking but I know you had fun with the company of friends.

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  2. The first photo is very beautiful. I was not happy to see the rain today, thinking we've had more than enough lately. I'm glad you had fun with your amazing hiking buddies.

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  3. Dedicated -- that's what your hiking gang is. The first photo is beautiful; I can only imagine the exhilaration you get from such incredible beauty.

    BTW, I'm to go hiking throught a Texas-shaped cornfield maze with a friend on October 23 -- if the weather holds. lol We Texans heard we might melt if we hike during a cold rain.

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  4. Love it. I really missed hiking this summer. The Fall colors are out already. Nice.

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  5. glad it was still a good day with the buddies...the fog makes it mysterious...glad you got a few glimpses of the sun though...nice pic.

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  6. That first photo is lovely..looks like Fall! It seems you have had your share of rain and fog for Hiking Days..you still come through with some great photos ..and a good day spent with your friends:)

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  7. wow, 8 miles! I couldn't do it. You're a pretty hardy soul, aren't ya.

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  8. It's very nice to see the autumn colours coming in now, isn't it. Of course with it comes the damp and the mist but it's all part of the changing pattern, which you see a lot of with all the walking you do.
    That's a very nice poncho, I think.
    Blessings, Star

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  9. You make me wish I lived near mountains, DJan. I'll just be thankful, that I can go along with you, here!

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  10. I never tire of the amazing pictures you post for us to share your climb. Can't imagine scenery more beautiful.

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  11. I can smell the dewy air from here, lovely, regardless of the view-factor.

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  12. Certainly not the best of weather but a day with good friends is never all bad. You got some great shots DJan even if the mountains were hiding in the fog.

    I really like the photo of the fireweed. In Alaska when the last bloom is gone from the fireweed it's time to prepare for the long winter ahead. And winter usually came shortly after the last petal fell.

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  13. Great photos and sounds like a lot of fun. Everyone hikes where we live, White Mtns. It's an unending source of trails and mountains and headquarters for the AMC who built an unbelievable center for hikers in Crawford Notch. Passes through the New England Appalachians are called "notches".

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  14. You senior hikers have such good attitudes. You are constantly adjusting to the weather, the various circumstances, and you enjoy whatever comes.

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  15. It is so nice that you have such a variety of hikes you can take. If I hiked around here I only have our little Kennesaw Mountain, and you can hike it in ½ hour. I’d have to drive to the North Georgia Mountains, and even so, they would not be tall mountains. Your pictures are always so beautiful – they are like pictures in a calendar. I don’t know about your weather though. I have lived so long in Georgia that I am used to always see the sun. We have been now over 85 days of over 90 temperature. It may rain this evening – the first time I would see the rain in 3+ weeks, and if we are lucky it will go down to the low 80s.

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  16. What gorgeous country for hiking. I do hike a lot here with my GSD but its always flat. :)

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  17. As usual some beautiful pictures! I'll start showing you soon some equivalent (but not as purty!) ones from my hikes in Belgium!

    It's hard to imagine needing to switch to cold weather gear... Although the temperature here is down around 14ºC I'm still hiking in a T-shirt (ok it's an icebreaker) and fleece (if it's cloudy/windy) and lightweight pants. Only have the rainjacket with me for the inevitable...

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