Ship Lake Pass Hike

 This was a very rainy trail at first, then it progressed into being a very muddy and extremely windy trail.  I hiked with the Walkabout hiking group.  I was wishing I'd worn rubber boots instead of my summer hiking boots because it was really wet and swampy in many places.  When we reached the higher ridge, the wind became so extreme that it very nearly blew me over.  I estimate the gusts to be 50 to 60 mph. It was at that point we all agreed to call it a day and leave the pass for a better day.  There were so many clouds and off and on rain showers, so we didn't get the best view of what is really a gorgeous area. But it was great exercise.  My dog, Baby did great as usual.  Once back down in the lower flat area, we encountered large areas of deep black mud. I was really trying to keep from totally submerging my feet into that black gunk. At one point we were all carefully tiptoeing on wet willow branches across a section of that black slime, when I noticed that Baby was really having a hard time. I didn't want her to end up totally covered in that stinky stuff, so I scooped her up in my right arm and carried my trekking poles in my left hand. I was doing ok when as I stepped on one of those slick branches, my foot slipped off and my right foot plunged into the mud. Simultaneously, that foot caught on the branch and I toppled over into the mess.  I did manage to keep my dog elevated above the mud though. But my left shin smacked either a branch or a rock and I was suddenly in extreme pain. I crawled out and was happy that I hadn't broken anything and could still continue to walk. Farther down the trail I pulled up my left pantleg to see that I now had a huge abrasion that covered about half of my shin, along with a huge lump that was at least 8 inches long. Fortunately it wasn't bleeding significantly. I was so glad I had worn thick leggings and my rain pants, so the mud didn't seep in and contaminate the wound. 

Later, I got separated from the group because I had stopped to take pictures. I no longer could see them so just continued along the trail. I came to a fork in the trail, and being unfamiliar with this trail, I took the fork with the sign that pointed to the parking lot. Unfortunately, there are two parking lots and this trail led to the wrong one. A fellow hiker told me how to get to the other lot, where we had actually parked. When I got there I learned via a text message that the others were waiting for me on the other trail. I texted what happened and started back towards them, and we met about halfway. I think I'll wait for a drier day to do that hike again!