When I woke at first light, the mountains had vanished, with nothing but clouds as far as I could see. The closest trees were alpine firs were there, poking through the mist, but The Mountain was hidden from view. I closed my eyes and snoozed, until the beginnings of sunrise woke me up.
I was tempted to close my eyes and let the morning come, then I rolled out of my bunk and grabbed my camera and tripod and waited for the sun. It didn't come, not for hours.
We lit the kerosene heater and cooked breakfast, and were entertained by the resident chipmunk who kept coming to the windows with a bright orange Cheeto in his mouth. We never did figure out where he got them; we didn't bring any snacks with us.
We had a few visitors today, including three hikers who checked out the lookout and the fire finder, then had lunch at the picnic table with the killer view of Mount Rainier. The forest service came to deliver fresh batteries for the two-way radio, and showed us where to find the Kelly Butte and Fremont lookouts. When the light is right, you can see both of them.
My day was spent walking around with my camera, talking with visitors, and once the last had headed down the mountain, cutting pieces for a new quilt project.
No star gazing tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
Awesome adventure!
ReplyDelete