Thursday, November 2, 2017

Rain, rain and then hail

Melanie, Richard, Chris, Richard, Mike, Frank (and me of course)
We knew today would be wet. Only one day this week with 100% chance of rain, and of course it is on a Thursday. When we arrived at the Senior Center, I was surprised that there would be this many hard core hikers show up. Al didn't join us, as he is coming down with a cold. It was a good call.

It was nice to see Frank, since he's been missing for a few weeks. Come to find out that two weeks ago today he had his appendix removed. He was getting ready to come on our hike but didn't feel well and finally went to the hospital and ended up having surgery. He's fine now, however, and it was great to see him back.

Mike is a new guy, first time today. He is a good hiker and was well prepared for the weather. We all were, as it turns out, and we sure needed it. Starting at the North Chuckanut trailhead, we headed up to Cedar Lake in dry conditions, to start at least.
Richard, Melanie, Mike, Frank, Richard, Chris
You can see that most of the big-leaf maple leaves are now on the ground (one jumped up on Frank, it seems), and it made for some wonderful scenery, and also some fun shushing through them, as they were sometimes ankle deep. At this point they were also mostly dry.
Piles of leaves
That was about to change, however. The first two hours of our hike to Cedar Lake were only intermittently wet, with just a few sprinkles to keep us in our rain gear. But then about 11:00am, right on schedule, the rain began to pick up. Those who still didn't have all their rain gear on stopped to fix that.
Ponchos, rain pants, and rain skirts
Compared with last week's glorious hike in the high country, this one didn't have much to take pictures of, and as the rain kept on becoming more widespread, we decided that once we got to Cedar Lake, we'd stop for lunch.
As far as we got around Cedar Lake
By the time we reached this spot, it was both windy and rainy, so we decided to find a nice place out of the wind to have a quick lunch. I didn't get any pictures of the spot, because it was, well, raining, and I didn't want to pull out my camera. As we ate, someone reminded me of a phrase our friend Carol once said about us: "We may be crazy, but we aren't lazy." That was particularly true for today.
Cedar Lake
This picture of Cedar Lake is the best shot I captured all day. After we packed up after a lunch where some people didn't even sit down to eat, we headed back the way we had come. And the rain got heavier and heavier until suddenly the rain was making noise! Pellets of hail begin to fall, creating a thunderous sound on my rain hat and on the surrounding forest. It continued for at least ten minutes before letting up somewhat.

I never took my camera out of my pocket again for the entire trip down to the cars. We covered around eight+ miles and who knows how much elevation gain and loss. It was so lovely to be back inside a place where it was warm and dry, and we are now happily ensconced in our homes listening to the continuing rain outside. A good day indeed!
:-)

15 comments:

  1. A fun hike in the rain, what dedicated outdoorsmen and women you are :)
    Looks like you had a great hike, and happy to read that Frank is nicely recovered and back on the trail.
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  2. Love that 'crazy but not lazy' phrase.
    Hiking two weeks after surgery? Wow. Dedication.
    I am glad you enjoyed it, and hope wine oclock was blissful.
    I would like some of your rain too.

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  3. That sure does look like a wet day! But it also looks like you all know how to be prepared.

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  4. It was a miserable day but you got out and challenged the weather and won. I'm sure you feel much better for being out.

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  5. Despite the rain it looked like another good hike. You earned your wine today!

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  6. Wow! Quite a hike, Jan. That is grit!

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  7. Love the crazy not lazy term. You go rain and all. Super dedicated trailblazers.

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  8. The lake is beautiful...so pristine and tranquil looking! I love the fact that rain or shine so many of you seniors show up, ready to tackle what lies ahead.

    ....the fallen leaves along the path just makes me wanna be there!!!

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  9. "We may be crazy, but we aren't lazy." OMG! I laughed! So very different from your perfect weather day. Oh, and glad he got his appendix out without any issues. :)

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  10. Think you all need to have tee shirts made with Carol's apt saying on it. Kind of says it all and a great club motto. Loved it.

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  11. It's now Friday afternoon and it looks like the snow is finally letting up!
    We lucked out yesterday. We stayed dry for Irene's track meet and our trip to and from the Sounders match last night. The players on the field, and the fans not under cover got plenty wet during the game though.
    I thought of you, wondering how the hike was going in the cold, uncertain weather. At the stadium last night we were all startled by a very loud clap of thunder, but the storm moved on and we did not have to clear the field, thank goodness.

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  12. Hail! Sounds cool:) So glad you had a good hike:)

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  13. That's some wild clothing. Guess you need all sorts of things to be out in that rain.

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  14. I too like Carol's quip. Sounds like maybe you'd better get yourself a hard hat!

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