Aww... I missed seeing St. Florian and Jim
I took the first tram up with Doreen, Indie Jack, Hengst Joe and Indio Joe. I've been sitting on my butt since the JMT trip, so was looking forward to spending time with my sister San J. Had a nice chat with Craigmeister -- he promised to release a large group of mozzies (mosquitoes) for me as a welcome home
It was very humid -- reminded me alot of my first day out of Yosemite on the JMT.
I ran into a group of hikers at the Marion Mt. junction and another group at the Fuller Ridge junction. Started to rain as I headed up from Fuller Ridge -- big heavy drops -- which actually cooled me off and kept the bugs at bay. As I was climbing out of Little Round Valley, the lightning flashes and thunder began in earnest -- a bit close for comfort. I was ready to bypass the summit and just head down.
By the time I reached the summit junction, it was raining steadily and the lightning had moved to the east. Quickly scrambled up and touched the sign (no one else was on top -- what a surprise
) then headed down to the hut for lunch and to get out of the rain. Coming down the wet rocks was not fun. The hut was packed with wet, cold hikers. Enjoyed lunch and chatted with a nice group of guys from San Diego who had come up Fuller Ridge.
When the rain let up, I headed out. Made good time getting back to the tram and got in the line for the tram. Continued to chat with Craig (our conductor) regarding future Skyline trips and the fall Snow Creek PCT to tram hike. A wonderful dinner at Las Casuelas with Indie Jack completed a great day.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
