The month of May has brought some brief, unexpected wintry blasts. With the current drought conditions, they were all welcome! Memorial Day weekend was full of weather surprises for us when we hiked up to Tahquitz Peak.
Our hike up the mountain began in a misty cloud. Fortunately, we had our rain gear;otherwise, we would have been soaked by the end of our 3 hour hike.
As we climbed higher, the cooler temperatures had created icy formations on the trees.
At the highest elevations, we were stunned by the beauty of wind swept ice. We've never seen ice frozen sideways on branches.
Our destination, Tahquitz Fire Lookout Tower, was covered in ice. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional opening of the tower. We were both quite happy that we packed extra clothes and hot chocolate! Brr...
By morning, the sun returned and started melting the ice while a snowy blanket filled the sky.
Over the next two days, we were inspired by the newly created ocean and waterfall clouds below us. It was easy to imagine being surrounded by magnificent crashing waves and waterfalls. Views like this are rare on the peak. All the hikers who made it to the tower were equally inspired. I constantly remind myself that some of the best hikes occur when I venture out in "bad weather". It's quite tempting to stay inside until the sunny skies return.
When we hiked down the mountain, the clouds were dissipating and the ice had totally melted. Once again, Spring has returned to the mountain.
"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think."
A.A. Milne Winnie the Pooh
