An Exhilarating Hike

What kind of weather do you prefer to explore in?

Or are you like me?

I don’t mind if it’s raining, snowing, or even hailing while i’m out exploring. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where it’s nearly raining all year round. But let me tell you, that rain makes for luscious fields of grass and beautiful evergreen trees that stand tall. Some of my favorite hiking memories happen to be the most exhilarating hiking experiences I’ve ever had.

Once my friend and I were hiking near Carson, Washington, and we were close to one of the second viewpoints of the hike. When we reached the top, we heard a loud crash, my friend screamed! She thought it was an animal or a tree falling. But to our surprise, it was not. A storm was brewing. The crash that we had heard was the sound of thunder, rain came pouring out of the sky faster than I’ve ever seen. Mud was running beneath our feet as we made our way down the mountain, we tried to hurry, but didn’t want to run because the mud made things so slick.

I know what you’re thinking, “oh my gosh, that sound’s dangerous”, and you’re right it totally was. I enjoyed the thrill of it all. I will admit we had no idea the weather was going to be that bad, but that’s what makes exploring fun, sometimes your expectations don’t match reality. Sometimes exploring in the rain isn’t all that bad or dangerous, for example, I went to Round Lake in Camas, Washington and on my rainy walk, I saw a family of ducks.

At first I didn’t recognize them because the water was coming down so hard and they almost camouflaged with the log on the lake. It was so precious to see on my walk.

Even though winter has just begun, I do miss summer. Blue skies and singing birds, oh and the luxury of getting to wear a nice pair of sneakers without ruining them in the muck and water, but I love where I live and I love to explore, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.