Rosemary was the leader of this hike. It was originally Virginia leading, with a destination of Microdot. But Virginia discovered that there was still too much snow for Microdot. So, she changed the destination to Government Peak and asked Rosemary to lead because she needed to get done early to help Dan who just had a knee replacement. Rosemary really doesn't like the Government Peak Race Trail and turned back in the first half mile. I was worried about Bella because she was really moving slowly at the start. I lagged behind with her until we reached the picnic table. Virgina left later and caught us at the picnic table. From there, Virginia, Erin and Chris took off speedily up the mountain. Bella was no longer feeling slow and took off after them. I had to call her back. I guess she wasn't tired from Lazy Mountain after all! Jane, Judith, Sarah, Machelle and I continued up from there. Jane and Judith had obligations at home, so turned back at the big rock prominence. Sarah, Michelle and I couldn't resist the urge to press on, in spite of the huge black cloud on the summit. We really didn't want to hike in the clouds, but we weren't ready to turn back. Bella tried to chase after runners who passed us heading up. Close to the top, we ran into Virginia, Erin and Chris heading down. They reported that it was clouded in at the top and they decided against the traverse down Blueberry Knoll Trail. I put Bella on her leash, so I didn't lose her in the fog. But I soon discovered the visibility was good enough to let her off, rather than have her trying to pull me off my feet over the steep rocks. This entire trail is very steep, and Bella tries to pull me up at her speed. No way can I travel at speedy dog pace. We pushed on through the fog to the summit. We had almost no view, but we could see the route down the ridge, so elected to head down to Blueberry Knoll. Actually, it was very beautiful with majestic views through the fog into the valley below. Bella bounced through the rock field, showing the three of us the best route. It was windy and I was glad I left my rain jacket on as a wind breaker. Then the rain finally caught us. First it was light, then it got harder. Bella ran faster; I moved faster. Then I looked back and couldn't see Sarah and Michelle anymore. I knew they had stopped to put on rain gear. Now it was pouring rain. Bella was soaked and dripping, and so was I. I tried to wait for them but realized there wasn't much point since they had each other, and I was getting worried about Bella. The rain got worse, and the steep trail narrowed. Through the brush it was only a foot wide, and Bella would disappear now and then. I'd call her back and she would reappear. We finally reached the actual Blueberry Knoll Trail. Then it all got worse. This part of the trail is much steeper, and the heavy rain had caused an actual creek to form on the usual muddy trail. I started to get a little worried, but figured Bella and I would find our way. She disappeared from time to time, avoiding the heavy flow, into the brush. But she would always reappear below me. She was quite the trooper, in water deeper than her body in places. But she was good at navigating through the vegetation. I passed some hikers who had turned back and were clinging to trees. Tree branches were our only salvation to prevent falls on the slick mud and rocks. I fell several times and was basically covered with mud when we finally found our way down past the steepest section. Once on the gravel path, Bella and I ran at my fastest running speed back to our car. We both looked like a couple of drowned rats after making our way through the deluge. I waited in my car with the heat on high for about 20 minutes until Sarah and Michelle finally appeared. It was a crazy adventure, but I sure preferred that route to coming down in the torrential downpour on the much steeper route we had climbed to the summit. It was a really fun adventure, but I'm not sure that's how Bella would describe it if she could speak!
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| Summit Photo |
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| Bella back in her car bed |
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