Music at sea was part of my preparation for the next hike. It was a privilege to see some of the J-pod Orcas and quite amazing to see those giant Steller sea lions. 'Here's that rainy day' was written by Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Burke.
While I was packing for a trip recently I heard that a hiker had fallen off a cliff
and died at the very place I was headed. Another person was seriously injured
on the same trail at the lower waterfall a few days before that.
Shortly after hearing about those, the person who was going to drive me
to the trailhead called to cancel. At that moment a quote from Tom King popped into my head, "Stay calm, be brave and watch for the signs". These seemed like enough signs for me to change to
another mountain and let that one rest. My alternate plan worked well
because it was lower and less strenuous while having no idea the air quality was going to plummet due to the forest fires in Washington, Oregon and California. As the smoke rolled over the peaks I watched carefully and figured it was from far away. Being late in the afternoon the first thing I did was cook dinner in
case I had to spend the night walking out,or worse, crouching in the
river to avoid flames. If I started to hear a lot of aircraft activity, that would be my que to leave. I found it better to sit in the forest and lay low until I walked out two days later.
