Hiking in the Rain, Sleet and Snow - And no, we weren't delivering any mail.

Early in the week I made plans with a friend to go snowshoeing up on Larch Mountain in Washington. When we made the plans there was still snow on the ground down in the valley and much much more up in the mountains. By Thursday however, the city snow was a thing of the past and rain was the reality. Lots of rain. And not the warm rain of the tropics which is fun to run around in. This rain was cold and relentless. But we are from Washington... are we going to let a little rain scare us away from the trail? Of course not! (I will admit, I did pack an umbrella which came in handy as a brush shield just as much as a rain guard)
When we got up the mountain there ended up being too much snow to get up to the upper trail with enough time to actually snowshoe, so we opted for the lower, less snow packed trail. Since it was no longer raining (at that moment) we decided to not put on our waterproof snow pants and just started out in jeans.
About 5 minutes into the hike it started raining again and, for some reason, we never donned on the pants (which were nice and cozy dry in our backpacks)... but by the end we were both drenched to the bone, the only dry areas being the upper core (so at least I never got cold per se) which for all intents and purposes is the best area to keep dry.
I always end up doing something embarrassing on hikes and with as much water as there was, I could foresee myself falling into one of the creeks. I just knew it was going to happen! I could practically feel the mud and water on my legs where I knew I was going to fall.... and I don't know if because I believed it so much that I fulfilled my own prophecy but fall into the creek I did! Luckily it was only one leg, and I wasn't completely submerged in the water. But still.
Some other mishaps I had included, but are not limited to:
I got my foot stuck in the snow and had to literally dig it out to keep my boot from coming off two feet down in the snow (which would have guaranteed they would have been wet from the get-go)
The mud was very slick. Slick! So that is what I am going to attribute all the times I slipped.. Oh yes. The only reason!

Photo Evidence of our Journey:

Just because I am semi-smiling, and just because it doesn't LOOK like I could possibly be stuck that doesnt mean that I am not! And no, I don't need any help but thanks for the very quick consideration (ok ok, so he did attempt to help me after I started digging lol). Don't worry, he made up for his slow action here by quickly building a bridge across a fast running creek that went across our path later on. Sure, he may say that he was trying to divert the water from the trail, but I know the truth LOL.

We were hiking near Cold Creek (such an imaginative name, right?) but this "creek" is not even the actual creek! This is how much excess water and flooding there is in the area right now. If you look closely that waterfall actually is a horseshoe shape.. Unfortunately I wasn't high enough up to be able to capture the full beauty of it.

Doesn't this bridge look inviting? Doesn't it look ever-so safe and secure? Maybe this was the reason why they attempted to reroute the trail? But do you really think that a few trees blocking the path is going to keep us curious hikers away?
Not only did it not, but after crossing it once (and almost slipping on that very slimy and thus slippery wood) we had to go back for pictures! Yes, we make our own luck!

See that waterfall behind me? That was actually the trail! Luckily for me my boots withstood the creek-walking challenge and stayed dry! Unfortunately, they did not withstand the snow-up-to-my-knees challenge and got wet inside that way :(

(I'll be posting the rest of the pictures on facebook if anyone is interested)

Great Trip, Great Company, Great Experience.
If you get a chance, jump on an opportunity to go hiking in the rain. It just adds to the experience and not in a bad way if you are prepared for it :)