This summer just whizzed by! Before I knew it, the leaves had started to change color and alpine meadows started to fill with blueberries. Winter was on its way. I was disappointed about not being able to get in all the overnight backpacking trips I was hoping to. I tried to seize every opportunity to run up mountains and watch the sun paint the sky in shades I could never imagine.
The weather hadn't been very cooperative. I'd spend the whole week gawking at weather forecasts all over the state. Needless to say, bad weather would roll in over the weekend and dampen my spirits. Something similar happened last weekend, but I spotted a little window of sunshine - Saturday afternoon through early Sunday morning. I made a last minute decision Friday night and got a friend to agree to go with me. It wasn't much later that I'd realize it was the best decision I made all summer.
After a long drive under gloomy grey skies, we reached the trailhead and I immediately regretted choosing shorts over hiking pants. It was very cold, but I wasn't ready to let go of summer yet. Having done this at least a hundred times, I told myself that it was ok to feel cold at the trailhead - once you start moving, you get warm very soon. Three hours, several mushroom photographs, a lush alpine meadow, and several ripe blueberries later, we reached our destination. The clouds disappeared and we were greeted with a bluebird day. After several "that's a better tent spot" disagreements, we set up camp and I promptly took a nap under the afternoon sun (best feeling ever!).
Refreshed from the nap and the feeling of warm sunlight, we hiked over to the magical blue-green goat lake for our meal of the day (does 4PM count as lunch or dinner?). And of course I went ahead and dunked myself into those icy waters - refreshing like nothing else!
As we got back to camp, a river of clouds flowed into the valley around us threatening to engulf us.
We initially planned on hiking up to Hawk Eye Point to watch the sunset, but with not much daylight left, we decided to settle for a smaller hill right above our campsite. As we climbed up, we realized there was an entire ocean of clouds beneath us. We gaped at the clouds rush into valleys like waterfalls and gazed in awe as the sun lit everything up golden.
The sun peeked through the clouds one more time, and that was the last of the blue sky we saw for the rest of the trip. We returned to camp shortly after and snuggled up into our sleeping bags after a warm cup of coffee.
The weather predictions were pretty accurate - overcast skies when we woke up in the morning. I didn't think I'd be saying this but the most beautiful part was yet to come. Despite the overcast skies, everything was pink from the sunlight squeezing in through a little gap in the clouds. Every mountain around us had lenticular clouds forming - a sign of a storm brewing.
The last few rays of sunshine turned Mount Adams into a blazing mound of snow and rock. Moments later, the sun disappeared behind thick clouds and everything around us was grey. As we packed our things up, we heard the pitter patter of rain drops on our tent. The rain showed no remorse for the rest of the day. Drenched, hungry, but absolutely elated, we reached our car a couple of hours later. Three hours of driving through the rain, I probably replayed the last 24 hours a hundred times.
Most plans I had for the summer didn't quite work out, but I realized I managed to pack in a hundred other amazing things.
My heart filled with the warmth from the sun, I was ready to let go of summer.
Komal
Absolutely stunning! Got a feel of the grandeur through your impeccable description.