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Whetstone Mountain
Fall hikes – – – one never knows what to expect. I was hoping for a mild day as I set out to hike in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. But no, it was cold, windy with lots of rainfall. Needless to say, it was not a great day for photography.
The summit of 4,969-foot Whetstone Mountain was my first objective. It’s a relatively easy 2 1/2 mile 1,200-foot climb to the top. The trail passes through old-growth forest along the way. Sad to say, instead of having sweeping vistas at the summit I had sheets of rain and cold gusts of wind.
Dropping off the summit, I hiked on a rough, overgrown trail about 3 1/2 miles to a small springs near Silver King Mountain. By this time I was drenched from hiking through the wet brush. Luckily, I had dressed to stay warm no matter how much it rained.
The beautiful fall foliage made up for the rainy conditions. The vine maples and huckleberry bushes leaves were at their fall finest.
Crimson Huckleberry leaves along the rainy trail
Trailhead
Huckleberry leaves
Small pond along the trail
Stormy view from the summit of Whetstone Mountain
Vine Maples with their autumn colors
Autumn colors
Fantastic hike again today, John. Of course it was nice for me, I didn’t get a drop of rain on me. But putting that aside, I, too, like to hike in the rain for all the beauty that the rain brings, something which you have captured and described so well here. The crimson, the changing colors, they are so heightened by the rain. And the long views have a majestic feel too, for the power of the storm that dominates. Thank you, as always.
Thanks for the kind words Jet. One never knows what to expect on a wilderness hike in the fall.