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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Under Cover of Night:Hiking with the Stars

I've hiked up to Rattlesnake Ledge more times than I can count, and I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite short hikes, for many reasons. The surrounding area holds so many sights and scenes to explore. I spent many a summer swimming in Rattlesnake Lake, and later mountain biking on the Iron Horse - John Wayne Pioneer Trail. It holds a special place in my heart, and for some reason I always feel really peaceful and at ease when I'm there.

This hike was going to be a bit different. This was going to be the first time hiking up to the ledge in the evening. I was looking forward to watching the sun go down and star gazing. I had my hiking gear and my trusty headlamp with a flashlight for back-up.

It was a beautiful day, and I got up to Rattlesnake Lake a bit early so I could get out, stretch, and enjoy the view of the water. Some summers the water is so low that you could see all the tree stumps that are normally hiding under the depths. Once I even walked across the lake as it was completely dry! Today the water was high, and lots of people were out swimming, barbecuing, and enjoying the great weather we've been having. This summer has been great so far! It annoys me when people complain all the time about the weather, like if it's been great and then it rains for one day. Like that one day of rain makes them forget about all the nice days. Get over it and just live one day at a time, that's how I feel. Unless it's snowing. But I have months before I need to start thinking about snow.

I met up with my group and we headed out. Maybe because I've been doing longer and more challenging hikes lately, but I felt like we reached the ledge in less than 40 minutes.

View of Mt. Si from Rattlesnake
It was still pretty light out when we came to the end of our short hike, but the scenery was lovely. It was definitely not as busy later in the evening, unlike early morning and afternoon when hordes of people scramble up to hang out and enjoy the sights. 


The sun made it so bright that some pictures are a bit washed out, so it really doesn't do justice to the lake and area surrounding. You'll just have to go to Rattlesnake yourself and check it out to get the full experience!



We stayed up on the ledge with a few other groups of people for almost an hour, snacking and chit-chatting. We were originally going to stay until complete darkness to see the full moon, but realized we would probably have to stay for at least another hour. This wouldn't have been a problem besides being attacked pretty vigorously by a gang of mosquitoes. Having enjoyed our time once again up on Rattlesnake Ledge, we  conceded to nature's little bloodsuckers and headed down. The group voted and had decided we could spend our time looking at the moon and stars down by the lake.

It was absolutely necessary to have a headlamp or at least a flashlight when heading down, and I gladly loaned out my spare flashlight to a group member who had forgotten hers. If you don't have a headlamp yet for late hikes or even just camping, I highly recommend one. Having both hands free is very helpful and sometimes necessary when out on hikes that run longer than planned or are scheduled for evenings, especially if you are using trekking poles. I don't have a headlamp that's super fancy, I actually picked mine up from a hardware store for less than five bucks for late night potty trips on a camping trip. I plan on getting a nicer one soon, but that all depends on the ol' budget.

Soon enough all of our group members were down at the lake. A symphony of frogs were happily croaking their froggy lungs out. I thought it was amazing, the closer you got to them, it actually became hard to talk or hear the people around you!

I don't know which of my group members took this to credit them, but can you see the froggy?


 I didn't stay out as late as the rest of the group, because I had to wake up early for another hike to Franklin Falls and Denny Creek in the morning. I had a fun evening and yet again enjoyed my time at Rattlesnake. If any of you have yet to go to Rattlesnake Lake and hike up to the ledge, I highly recommend it!




1 comment:

  1. Can you take me here? I can't wait to go hiking with you! Next spring/summer for sure!

    ReplyDelete