Friday was a rainy miserable day, and I wasn't looking forward to going out in the cold to walk dogs. I kept waiting, hoping the weather would clear up, or at least quit raining so hard. I ended up waiting so late that Becca came home from a full day at work (she starts at 4am- gets off at noon) and I talked her into going out with me. We hiked up to Coal Creek Falls on Cougar Mountain with my crew for the day Dexter and Dunn, two Golden Retrievers that are housemates, and great hiking buddies. The waterfall was really gushing due to a solid week of rain and was really beautiful. It was about a 2 mile hike to the falls through constant drizzle, puddles and deep mud, but gorgeous scenery. I did have to hose the dogs down after I got them back home, however, they were so covered in mud.
These dogs just love water, no matter how cold, and love to wade and swim whenever possible. As we are hiking to the falls, when they start to hear the rushing water and know they are close to getting wet, they get excited and pick up the pace.
The nice thing about hiking in rainy weather is that we often have the trail to ourselves. We did not meet another soul out there that day, and it seemed like we were in a remote wilderness rather than 15 minutes from home (at least the trailhead is that close). There are 37 miles of trails on Cougar Mountain, but they are well used, so it is a treat to have the place to oneself.
Dexter decided that he wanted to remove all the limbs and debris from the waterfall, and started taking them out one by one. If they were too big to move he just started chewing on them until they broke into smaller pieces that were easier to remove.
Dexter hard at work
It is hard to get myself out the door when the weather is crummy. But once I get out there, I really enjoy myself and my hiking companions even in a downpour. In fact I have so much fun, sometimes its hard to turn around and make my way home.
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