Soggy Scott Paul

The above picture shows pretty much what last Thursday was like hiking on the Scott Paul trail in the Mt. Baker Recreation Area (click any to enlarge). That's our intrepid Senior Trailblazer Mike (also known as Mary Poppins because of the huge umbrella) who was the driest person on this soggy hike today. Eighteen of us started out in clouds and a little light rain. It was dark enough when I took this picture (below) that I had to use my flash to get any picture at all. I guess we should have known it would deteriorate from there. I discovered that my supposedly waterproof hiking boots are not, which means they are going back to the store for another try to find waterproof foot gear. This was the first real test they've had, since we've been in a really dry period, up to now.
This was another of those hikes where I kept hearing, "this is a really great view of Mt. Shuksan, when you can see it." The first several hikes I went on last fall with the Seniors were like that, but lately the views have been wonderful. Here's a picture of our lunch spot on the Scott Paul trail. We didn't stay long, since there was nothing to do but try to keep your sandwich in one piece. It was raining so hard at this point that there was nothing for it but grin and bear it.
We had an exciting stream crossing, with this rickety bridge that was pretty stable except when there was someone on it crossing in front of you. Then it would sway back and forth, making for some pretty exciting moments. I enjoyed it, once I was across.
I did stop and take a picture of a monkey flower. Last week these were just beginning to come out. And, of course, they are covered with lots of rain. It made for a nice picture, though. This was as bright as it was all day, during a short period of relative calm in the storm. Occasionally we would hear thunder in the distance, but otherwise it was just, well, wet.
The long term forecast shows better weather next week, when we will tackle Lake Ann. I understand this is a hard hike, starting out downhill and then trekking up to the lake, and the return means a fairly long uphill at the end. More later; my camera was supposed to be encased in a waterproof container, and it wasn't, but apparently it's still working.
:-]