[dropper]

dan, gary & i awoke in the blue skies on the puget sound & headed for the mountains. they were not so blue but our course was set. planned for the carbon glacier but at the ranger station we encountered 5 carloads of people on a field trip heading to the glacier. we chose ipsut pass instead. it rained, the forest was mossy. we crossed so many white water creeks & rivers. i stepped in one & my waterproof boots held the water in. we only saw 3 people the whole trip & they passed us on their way out. they warned us of the thunder. it passed. the rain did not. just below the pass when the trail emerges into the cirque around roughly 3 miles, we ran into solid snow obscuring the trail. we wandered across the snow field littered with boulders. climbed atop one for lunch in the drizzle. dan was about to step from the snow pack on to the rock when he disappeared from sight. after he climbed out we decided the tree line was safer and ate our lunch there. gary climbed inside an old tree. on the way back down we climbed inside the huge root system of an old tree to escape the rain. we all sat cross legged & were completely dry. until we continued back in the rain. best rainy day i have had in a while!