Today Karen and I hiked in Sage Hill Trails of Wenatchee. The trails open on April first, so we stayed on the road until the storm struck. Then we skedaddled out of there. We hiked six and a half miles with a thousand feet of elevation gain.
The sunny south side of the foothills are turning green while the shaded north hillsides are still brown. Wildflowers are just beginning to bloom.
Dark clouds loomed as we ate lunch. Big raindrops hit us. Then all hell broke loose! Sleeting sideways with powerful winds. The temperature dropped.
Quickly I slithered into a down jacket and raincoat. Two hoods. Although Karen forgot her raincoat, she had a warm jacket with a hood. She put on a pack rain cover.
Earlier I had sprayed my pack with Scotch Heavy Duty Water Guard. I wanted to see if it worked. Clothes in my pack were in plastic bags anyway. Didn't stop to cover my pack.
Sleet pelted us sideways. Strong winds. Holy cow!
"Let's take a shortcut," Karen said. We scrambled down a narrow trail, rapidly dropping elevation. White sheets of sleet obscured gullies like a veil. After two miles, we met up with the road.
The sun broke out after the storm blew east. Typical mountain weather in Spring. And yes, the Scotch heavy duty waterproofing spray worked.
What an adventure!
Last photo: Wenatchee, WA basking in evening light on the same day three years ago. We were in those Cascade Mountain foothills.
It sounds like you had a fun outing even with the sleet. I went back-country skiing and it snowed all day until changing to sleet on the way back. to my truck. My pack was soaked. I am going to try the Scotch heavy duty water guard on it, great idea!