August 16th and 17th - A Change of Plans

All summer, the weekends have been hot and dry. The weekend where I plan two 14+ miles hikes (one of which a full moon hike to Longs Peak), it rains and snows! :)

The weather forecast was such:

RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS EARLY IN THE EVENING...THEN RAIN SHOWERS...SNOW
SHOWERS LIKELY AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LATE
EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 3 INCHES POSSIBLE
IN THE HIGHER PASSES.  LOWS 36 TO 42. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60
PERCENT.

Needless to say, hiking above treeline (and later on, hiking above treeline at night!) was not exactly the brightest idea.

I've always said "I will not cancel hikes..but I will modify them" :)

So I modified the hikes.

I just did some local hikes in Boulder on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was a drizzly, New-England-esque stroll. Perfect day for a solo, contemplative hike.

From the west ridge, I could see the very cloudy, socked in continental divide. What little of the mountains I could see were covered in a layer of fresh snow.

Sunday a friend joined me for a hike with some beer at the Southern Sun afterwards. My friend had never been to the SoSun; I could not pass up the opportunity to bring a friend to one of my favorite places in Boulder. :)

The hike itself was up Gregory Canyon to Green and back again. The weather was actually nice in Boulder..but the divide was still socked in the clouds.

Not quite the weekend I planned, but enjoyable. The nice thing about living in the Boulder area is that even the local hikes are fun, challenging and offer a good experience in the outdoors.

Not too bad...