[Otter]

Thanks..and your welcome... no kidding about the mud...but it was a beautiful area none the less. That trail crew bunch were quite the hoot. My mushrooming basket seemed to really intigue them. I got all sorts of strange comments..the best one being from some guys working on a bridge...which i chided them for not having in all the way by the time we got there... and there were some that wanted to know if I was still Easter egg hunting...like I said..crazy bunch...good for a laugh though...and the friendliest trail crew I have ever come upon while hiking.

[MCaver]

Welcome to the group, Otter.

[Sore Feet]

Well, have I got a weird weather story to tell... So, we were planning on camping overnight at Lodgepole in the American River valley, so our usual manor, we got out of the house around 11 (I don't recall ever leaving earlier to go camping). Just as we left, it started hailing, and increased to a vertiable downpour of little white stones as we got on 405. By the time we hit Renton, it was all dry. We stopped at Black Diamond for some doughnuts (a necessary stop every time we go to Rainier via 410), then back on the road. By the time we hit Skookum Falls on 410, it was blowing pretty hard. Probably 35-40 degrees with the windchill. So up the pass we go, road was dry and snow free at Chinook, a little fog. We got to Lodgepole around 2:30, at which point, it started SNOWING lightly. Since there was only 1 other person camping there, we figured we'd go and hike and wait for the snow to blow through. So we drove down the valley to the Little Naches and stopped at Horsetail Falls for some pics. Here, the sun was poking it's face through the clouds enough that I had to wait for the clouds to roll back in to get a good picture. Next, we moved up to a small waterfall on the Little Naches, where the wind kicked up again. Brr. Then I had planned on hiking up West Quartz Creek to the base of West Quartz Creek Falls, but it started lightly raining, so I opted for the easier clifftop view instead. By the time we reached the trailhead, a mere 3 miles from 410, it started snowing AGAIN. These were not small flakes mind you. As I proceeded to take one picture, it got to the point where we were looking at near whiteout conditions, so smartly, we retreated back to Chinook and opted to camp at La Wis Wis instead. Now, by the time we got back on 410, the snow was already sticking, and after passing the Fifes Peak viewpoint, there was probably 1/2 inch on the ground. The time was 4:30. At the pass, there was probably 1-1/2 inches of fresh snow, and the roads were getting iced over. We finally made it out of the snow to Ohanapecosh to see what the forcast was, passing through more rain, showers, downpour and hail, and then plunked down at La Wis Wis for the night, and it didn't rain all night. Anyone who says they've experienced weird weather doesn't know the meaning until they've lived in Washington.