We'd been planning to get out for a mountain peak sunset hike for a little while now, but getting my schedule coordinated with my son's schedule for a partly cloudy evening without chances of thunderstorms has been quite a challenge this summer. I checked the weather Saturday morning and the forecast was right, so I knocked on my son's door (he's our neighbor) and asked, "How about a sunset hike tonight?"
The clouds were very thick and heavy all day looking like rain, so I wasn't very confident in the forecast being correct and was a bit doubtful for our chances of a good sunset. But I decided we would go and just see what happens. Sunset was still a little ways off.
No time to dilly dally. Gotta keep moving along to get to the top in time for the sunset.
The fire lookout tower is in view as we get closer to the treeline, but we still have more to go. The layer of clouds is still very thick, so it's not looking hopeful at this point. :/
As we got to the top, the wind picked up its intensity, giving us hope that the clouds might give way enough for a nice sunset after all. Our hope soon became reality. :)
After an hour and a half of quick-paced hiking, we hit the peak with growing darkness and the wind blowing like crazy. There were still plenty of clouds all around, but color was beginning to appear, too. :) Time to get on some extra layers. We were expecting cold temps and high winds up on the mountain, so thankfully we were prepared for it.
We never ended up actually seeing the sun itself, as it remained behind shifting clouds, but the sky was mixed with vivid color. I wish my camera could have fully captured the intensity we saw with our eyes, but here are some photos to give you a little glimpse. :)
We stayed on the summit watching the changing color and clouds with the wind never letting up for 25 minutes. So as the sunset diminished, we scurried off the top and headed back down, hiking out by the light of our headlamps. A 5-hour round trip from leaving the house at 6:30 and getting back at 11:30. Actual hiking time of 3 hours.
It was another awesome mountain adventure! :) See you on the next one...
