The goal was to hike five miles north of Santiam Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail and take a hard right, steeply ascending the climbing trail to a saddle underneath the 7,841-foot peak.

All was going well until the dark clouds began forming. By the time I was at the 6,700-foot level on the climbing trail, the boomers had begun.

Common sense said it was time to turn around and head for the car. And sure enough, the last three miles through an old burn was punctuated with flashes of lightning, intermittent hail storms and repetitive crashes of thunder.

Oh, and did I say I was as wet as a drowned rat by the time the trailhead was reached?

In truth, it was a fun and exciting outing. It is always fascinating to experience nature as it is.

One of the fingers of Three Fingered Jack

Cascade Frog

Entering the wilderness

Three Fingered Jack (climbing trail at bottom right)

Old time double blaze signifying the PCT

Pond along the PCT

Pussytoes

Three Fingered Jack

Beargrass and young Lodgepole Pines slowly bringing life back to the wildfire burn