Rainy day at Paradise

Today the rain began at dawn and looked as though it would persist.  STILL, the plan was to take a hike and gain some altitude.  With the help of my new friend, Kevin from Indiana, we set off in a rental car to Paradise Lodge again.  This time the plan was to hike up toward Camp Muir and try to go a little higher on the mountain than yesterday.  When we arrived it was pouring, so we waited for a few minutes and saw some naturalist programs.  It seemed clear that the weather would not cooperate, so we just ignored it, put on our rain gear and started up the skyline trail toward Camp Muir.  Three things happened.  We had a great hike. I found out my rain gear performs very well. And we saw some beautiful wildlife and flora.

See the deer in front and to the left of the hikers?

Kevin trying to capture Paradise in a "bottle"

The deer were very close to the trail and comfortable with hikers!

As we got to about 6500 feet we reached a snow field and ran into strong gusting winds, so we retreated back to the lodge for some refreshment and rest.  The hike was about 4 miles and a bit over 1000 feet of elevation gain.  I am now cheering on and nurturing my red blood cells!  Gonna need some more oxygen to make it to the top.

Time to turn around for today

enjoying myself during a brief respite from the rain