Hikes in the Rain

On Tuesday three of us from Seattle Mountain Rescue decided to go for a hike. Nothing exciting or technical, just a walk up a local mountain that we’ve probably been up hundreds of times over the years (Doug had walked up the day before). The hike gains about 3,500 ft in about 3 miles and the trail is reasonable. The weather on Tuesday was a bit strange with a warm front moving in and cold air below. We left the car with the temperatures in the low to mid-30s and rain. As we continued up the trail, we ran into slushy snow and the temperatures felt warmer. We got to the top and headed down after about a minute.

These hikes are usually fun because we get some exercise and are able to talk about various subjects typically relating to our Mtn. Rescue unit ranging from the holiday party preparations to where we should do the next highline training. At some point during our hike I noticed that the conversation level had completely dropped off which is not usual (especially for me).  I realized that everyone was probably entrenched in the misery of the cold wet rain and even the most controversial topic was of little interest to anyone.

As we were about ½ way down, we ran into another guy from our unit heading up. He was completely drenched and looked like he had just come out of a pool. The conversation picked up again, perhaps because we were all glad we were headed down (at least I was). No amount of Goretex or other rain shell could have kept us dry and the temperatures made it bone chilling. As we sat in the car watching the battle of the fogged windows vs. the defroster, Bree said, “wouldn’t it be awesome to have a mission right now.” Both Doug and I looked at each other with apprehension hoping that Bree’s comment didn’t trigger the pager gods.

This hike, with exception for the company, was miserable. Cold, drenching, non-stop rain, doesn’t sound fun, but I look at it as building the fortitude to be prepared for missions when they come. If anything, the long hot shower afterward was reward enough.