Day 12 - ... until Today

Hike Day

I've done a lot of hiking in my life but I've never been on a hike when a tree fell near me in the forest... until today. I heard some loud pops and then some crackling and saw the tree fall across the path about 30 ft in front of me. The hike started out innocently enough - cloudy with mild temperatures. Based on the forecast I figured I'd be back before any serious rainfall. So I left my rain jacket at camp and just took a thin windbreaker. About a half hour into the hike it began raining, but not too hard. I kept hiking because everything was so beautiful - see pictures below. But then it began pouring and I became drenched. Except when I've been swimming I don't think I've been so wet in my life. After the tree fell across my path, I scrambled over it - all the while listening for more loud pops - and eventually made it back to camp. I had to walk through lots of little streams because the ground was so saturated and the rainfall was so heavy. I spent a lot of time using the hand dryer in the restroom getting my clothes dry enough to pack.







I don't know why these stones are piled on top of each other, but someone did a lot of work so I thought the least I could do is take a picture.
Beautiful little grotto with some waterfalls - hard to see the falls in this picture, though

Campground all to myself.
I was a lot wetter than this picture makes me look.
Seeds from walking through tall, wet grasses growing on the side of the trail.

The weather suited this little guy.
One good thing about the rain during my hike today was - no bugs! They were waiting for me upon my return, having found shelter under my rainfly.
My favorite hand dryer in the world - this one helped me get warm and dry.

Comments

  1. Robert AJune 4, 2021 at 9:26 AM

    No wonder everything is still so green...
    Next time, take the rain jacket😁 and stay away from trees that pop & crack!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rolff ChristensenJune 6, 2021 at 2:37 AM

      I think the sound of that tree falling will forever be embedded in my brain. I hear you all had a great m360 milestone ride - good job!

      Delete
  2. NanoJune 4, 2021 at 5:20 PM

    Glad you don’t have ANOTHER story about a tree falling on you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Angie RJune 5, 2021 at 4:16 PM

    Very adventurous out in the rain hiking 🥾 Great pictures again.
    M360 completed the last milestone ride today-only 35 days before we depart on our adventure along the coast 🚴🏼😀. It’s always so hot on the Hartvickson and Hogan Dam climbs and today was no exception even though it was only 86 at noon, but felt like 100 out there! All of us made it safe.
    ...just keep pedaling and stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rolff ChristensenJune 6, 2021 at 2:35 AM

      That was a good, hard milestone ride. Very impressive that everyone made it!

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 8, 2021 at 6:36 PM

    Awesome, Rolff!! Love the pics and updates!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ada CJune 11, 2021 at 11:08 AM

    So if a tree falls in the forest, it DOES make a sound!

    ReplyDelete

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