A soggy good time on Mount Rose

Rough skinned newt

What a wet day on Mount Rose, but I had to do it.  I had already scheduled my dial-a-ride to the trail head and it was too late to cancel.  I was also depressed, but I knew that hiking might help cheer me up. I was depressed due to our financial situation and due to it being exactly one day to the year since my oldest daughter flew the coop.  I have not seen her once since then.

  I left my DSLRs at home and packed along my waterproof point and shoot camera for this soggy trip.

My bus picked me up at 6:15, there was already one passenger on the bus and she got dropped off at the Port of Shelton.  The bus left me at the trail head at 7:04 am and my return ride was due to pick me up between 3 and 3:30, so I had ample time to hike all of the Mount Rose trail.

For this hike I wore my boots so I could keep my feet dry.  I also left Patches at home.  I knew she would be wet and cold and miserable out there.  I sure missed her, she is so cheerful when she runs up the trail ahead of me.  She loves hiking and when I go without her she howls and cries and makes the most pitiful noises, or so I am told.  But she did just go hiking two days before so she probably  needed to rest her arthritic knees.

It took me over an hour to reach one hour rock, I was depressed and moving slow and I am not a morning person.  I must have perked up after I passed one hour rock, because I was at horse camp before I knew it.  Shortly after I passed horse camp I saw the first snow on the trail, then as I got near the summit it started snowing.  The snow was wet and fat and mixed with rain, so I knew it would not stick.

I had my tea on the summit and I managed to stay warm because the snow and rain stopped for a bit and I had my hot tea to warm me up.  If Patches had been with me she would have been miserable and I would not have been able to take my break on the summit.

I headed down the loop in the long direction as and I headed down the rainfall gradually increased. First it was just misting, then it was drizzling and by the time I got down to the benches it was raining.  When I reached the road it was pouring, but I did not really care because I was in a good mood by then.

I got to the road nearly an hour before my pick up time so I wandered down to the lake shore and had my tea.  Then about ten minutes before my pick up time I decided to start hiking up the road in the direction that my bus would be coming from.  I did this so I could keep warm, I knew that if the bus was at all late I was going to get quite cold.

I made it all the way out to the pavement before my bus arrived at 3:30.  The driver was very glad that I had walked out to meet her, it saved her some time and she was unsure about where the Mount Rose trail head was.

By walking out to meet my bus I added and extra 1.3 miles to my hike.  Also by being out there for 8.5 hours I got quite a work out.  I'm still tired today and I know that I'm in pretty good hiking condition but I think that being out there for so many hours kind of took it out of me.  Also I had just done Mount Walker two days before.

Thanks to Mason Transit I can keep hiking even if there is no money for gas in the monthly budget.

7 miles with 3,500 feet elevation gain

Mount Rose loop plus some road walking

This feather was standing up like it had been dropped there just for me

Slime mold on the move

illegal campfire at 3,500 feet on the steep half of the loop

 Ptilidium Liverwort

Hot tea on the summit, note my patented tea bag
toe warmer on my left foot

fairy slipper orchid

crucified on Mount Rose

Lake Cushman bus stop

My bus just reaching the dirt

My view at lunch time