If you are in the Pacific Northwest, the answer is not quite yet.... April, May and early June have been above average rainfall with temperatures hovering anywhere from mid 50's to upper 60's. But you live in Seattle, doesn't it rain there all the time you ask? Well sorta... But May(ish)- October is the dry season. The rainy season extends from October to April, however, precipitation is historically evenly distributed through the winter and early spring months with more than 75% of the yearly precipitation falling during the winter wet season. So yes, even though it rains here versus the snow and could we grew up with.... we are over this extended wet season! Ok... there are a few upsides, like the Mountains having 100%+ of average snow pack remaining which should mean less wildfires in our state and surrounding areas this summer (fingers crossed).
So what do you do when the weather isn't necessarily beach weather? Lots of random yard work, hiking, tour the town with a visiting friend, and attempt a camping trip scheduled six months ago.... Here's hoping the first day of summer turns this weather around!
Oh... but before we get to all of that, shameless plug to check out the Blog's Home Page! Super excited about my animated background! Preferably on a desktop, not on a mobile device... I haven't figured out how to keep the animation of the background on mobile quite yet. https://through-our-lens.wixsite.com/goodtidings
Rattlesnake Ledge
Our first hike since April, Rattlesnake Ledge is near North Bend which is about a 40 minute drive East. An Instagram favorite, we decided to get back on the trail with an easy 5.3-mile out-and-back hike. A pretty easy hike, which means it is also very popular and busy, we decided to find some solitude at the second of the three ledges. Here's what the view from the first ledge would look like on a sunny day. Photo credit to All Trails user Van Phetsomphou for the photo below.
Remember that weather I mentioned?It definitely socked in our view, but it was cool to see the rain showers dance across the valley, so…here is our view from the second ledge. With a group already at the third ledge, we decided to let them enjoy the view and the solitude.
Adam came to visit!
With the second week of June, our friend Adam extended his work trip and explored the city and the trails with us! With the weather once again a bit rainy, damp and chilly, we introduced Adam to some of our new neighborhood favorites and Ted and Adam hiked Wallace Falls, a 5.0-mile out-and-back trail near Gold Bar, Washington which is about 60 minutes northeast. Thanks for visiting Adam!
Wallowa Lake East Moraine Trail
Our second time visiting Wallowa Lake State Park, the weather was quite a bit different than the 80 degrees and sunshine we experienced last year. Regardless of the crap weather, this place just has a magically feeling. Maybe we will be back for the Rodeo in August! The town below is Joseph, Oregon. Wallowa Lake State Park and our campsite, which backed up to a lovely stream is located at the other end of the crescent shaped lake below.
Arriving on Friday afternoon, we set up camp in dry conditions and had dinner and an early night at our campsite. Because we car camp (we have an air mattress in the back of the car) we stayed dry during the overnight rain, but waking up with overcast skies and damp everything else really puts a damper on the day. On Saturday we planned on hiking the Wallowa Lake East Moraine Trail, a 4.2-mile out-and-back which follows the ridge of the lake (on the left) in the photo above.
The trail was single file and lined with grasses and plenty of wildflowers! I probably stopped and took way to many photos of generally the same flower just from a different angle, but just another indication that late spring and signs of early summer are just arriving.
Thanks to Austin S on All Trails for sharing this amazing picture of the view on a clear day! Maybe next time....
After the 4 mile hike, drenched pants, shoes that now squished like jelly and no change in the mid 40 degree, rain and cloudy weather forecast anytime soon, we decided to call it and head home. On the drive home we had a mix of sunshine, rain, clouds, sun again and then back to clouds. The video below shows the clouds hugging the mountains and rolling down into the valley at the Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 heading West.
Until next time, pack it in and pack it out.
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