We began by walking through the beginnings of the rain forest with majestic trees towering over us. If you click on the picture you will notice that Frederick is wearing both his winter jacket and his wool hat. This morning it was 33 degrees. One way to warm up on a hike is to find a trail that has significant elevation gain in just a few miles.
On the trail up Mount Storm King we noticed a number of these Madrone trees. They are a beautiful red color.
Near the top of the trail we stopped to eat our lunch. Frederick is not wearing any jacket or hat; climbing the trail warmed us right up! I had to put my jacket back on to sit and eat lunch, it was cold when we stopped climbing.
Lunch view to the right and...
to the left.
We could also catch a glimpse of the lake when the clouds intermittently cleared.
Another view from our lunch spot. At this point we were 2/10 of a mile from the end of the trail and 150 feet from the top. We decided not to continue for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons was because we could see that the top was shrouded in clouds. Also, we were told that just a little further along the trail, it was so steep that ropes had been provided to help pull yourself up the trail and already the drop-offs on either side of the trail did not thrill me. Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to skip the very top, where we wouldn't have a view anyway, and return to the car.
Descending the trail where the lake began to reveal itself through the fog.
At a lower viewpoint we had this view of beautiful Crescent Lake.
Today's hike:
Length - 4.37 miles
Duration - 4 hours, 37 minutes (including lunch)
Elevation gain - 1,850 feet
No comments:
Post a Comment