Summer into … Winter ?

A whirlwind day of magnificent uncertainty. I love surprises ! And today was a lovely one. As a hiker I’ve learned the creed : Always Be Prepared (and you thought it was a Boy Scout thing …) Today I came prepared and so it was just a joyful surprise. I missed a glimpse of sunrise thinking I might get a pink sky at Mowich. Nope.

But I got snowcapped trees, and a grey jay who flew right onto Pearl’s open hatch. I got icicles, and crunchy snow and sunlight through the trees. I got wild waterfalls and persistant, colorful vegetation. I got a windy ridge and clear skies before the fluffy white blanket covered Her Majesty in white. I spoke with three skiers headed to Russell Glacier and three very lovely humans from Vashon Island as surprised by the snow as I was. (Their photo is below 😊)

I got tiny snow-capped mushrooms, crazy-beautiful formations of ice and a bit of windburn or sunburn or something that turned my cheeks pink as the morning sky.

I got water-crossings, a little trailblazing and I got snow-bombed. A lot. The last one especially well targeted: a direct hit on the top of my head. Can beauty be dangerous ? You bet it can.

Here is my day in pictures. Sorry for so many, but it was a “take it easy, stop whenever I like, go ahead ‘take the picture’ kind of day”. I spent nearly seven and a half hours to walk my 9 miles on the trail.

It’s my retirement month.