Poncho Anderson

Eleven intrepid Senior Trailblazers met at 8:00 (in the dark) to decide where we would hike for our "October Surprise." Since this was scheduled to be our last hike in the High Country for the season, I think we were all a little disappointed with the weather forecast: rain. Almost everyone, including me, was ready with ponchos to drape over our gear (click any picture to enlarge). We have a fairly interesting weather situation here in Bellingham. We are right at the bottom of the Fraser Valley which comes roaring out of Canada and Vancouver, meaning that our weather tends to resemble Vancouver's more often than Seattle's. Here's what Cliff Mass had to say about today's weather, written last night:

A warm front is now approaching our area, bringing clouds and light precipitation. Most of the rain will be done with by 10 AM and there should be breaks tomorrow afternoon. The 24-h precipitation ending 5 PM shows modest rain over the lowlands, with heavier amounts (1.5-2 inches) southwest of the Olympics and Mt Rainer. Nothing major.

Well, of course I told my fellow hikers, and eleven of us showed up to hike in the rain! I told them confidently that by 10:00 or so we would no longer be in constant rain. By the end of the very wet day, after being subjected to numerous comments on the order of "sun breaks?"  and snickers, I had to remind them of this important fact: "A forecast is a forecast; it's not a guarantee." That warm front has still not made landfall, and it's 5:00pm.

We hiked up Anderson Mountain for a round trip of ten miles in light rain, mist, darkness at times, and even some snow (see above).  I had a great time and I hope my ten fellow hikers did, too. It was the first extended hike I've done since I banged my shin way back on October 8th. Today, the 29th, marks three weeks, and I didn't have any problems and did not fall or even stumble. I did notice the slippery spots and made sure that if, by some chance, I did fall, I was NOT going to hit any nasty exposed tree roots. Our lunch spot was very dark, down in the trees, trying to escape the wind and rain:

That's me with my totally cool mittens that allow you to stick your fingers out while leaving them on the rest of your hands. Notice Frank behind me; you can see he's a little wet. And it's, well, a little DARK. We didn't spend a lot of time having lunch, since everyone was very cold. But once we got moving again after lunch, we warmed up pretty well. All in all, it was a great day, and I'm here at home now, happy to be showered and fed, and ready for tomorrow.

We will be heading up to Vancouver in Canada to see a specialist about my iMac. Like I said, it's making sounds it never did before, but since I've got AppleCare and there's a Genius Bar there, we will haul my baby up and let you know what happens. I've got my camera ready to show you what the place is like up there in that other country! Until then.

:-)