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| Hiking | 8.27 Miles |
1,681 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.27 Miles | 3 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.73 mph |
| 1,681 ft AEG | 52 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a doozy. I had planned on hiking at least 6 miles south on the Pacific Crest Trail from Ebbetts Pass, but Mama Nature had other ideas.
It was cloudy, but not too dark, that morning while I made breakfast at my site at Silver Creek Campground 3 miles down Hwy 4. The sky got darker as I drove uphill towards Ebbetts Pass and the high mountains flanking it to the north and south. The parking lot was full, and I made a questionable parking decision (that worked out) before the hike. The majority of my fellow traveled north on the PCT which I had done the day before, but there were still quite a few hikers headed south to Noble Lake.
The dark sky made it even easier for me to take bad pictures before the rain started. The rain was only spitting on me at first, then turned into a steady drizzle as I put my camera into my new dry bag as I descended to the bottom of Noble Canyon. The PCT began to climb long switchbacks up to Noble Lake at the head of the canyon, and that's when the hail started.
I heard a little bit of thunder in the distance on the way up, then stopped to check my GPS when I topped out to see how far I was from Noble Lake. I was only about 300 yards away from the lake (still couldn't see it) when thunder boomed loudly overhead. I wanted to at least lay eyes on the lake even if I wasn't going to bring back photographic proof so I took another step. That's when the thunder boomed even louder. Time to head back! I burned up the trail on the way back to the trail head with thunder and lighting seemingly chasing me the entire way.
I noticed how every one of the widely scattered trees on the switchbacks down to the canyon had significant scorch marks, and quickened my pace even more. I covered the final 4.25 miles in about 90 minutes as my feet sloshed through every step in the now pouring rain and hail. I was concerned about a group of college-age-looking hikers who hiked out ahead of me with gear that I would consider inadequate who I didn't see on the way back. However, everyone I actually did see on the way back seemed equipped to make it to the trail head in one piece as long as they didn't get zapped. I thought of The Eagle, and vowed to not have my carcass found hugging a tree after being barbecued by 300 gigawatts.
I'd like to do this hike again later in the summer when the weather is nice, and use that as a basis to write up a full hike description. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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