woodland wanderings: So much for weather reports….Paugus redo

The mountain weather forecast read – mix of sun and clouds, chance of rain with precipitation of .01 to .02 inches. Looked like a nice day for a hike. I needed something reasonably close so I decided on a second attempt at Paugus after a hell hike last spring. Since it was supposed to be a nice day I thought I would head up Cabin to Lawrence and head down Old Paugus to Big Rock Cave. I even thought about hiking to the true summit like my cyber hiking friend Rhonda. I was looking forward to a peaceful, pleasant hike.

An hour and a half into my drive it starts pouring…not sprinkling, not raining, but can’t-see-through-the-windshield pouring! I pulled over to check several different forecasts, none said steady rain, most said mix of sun and clouds… I continued on.

I get to the trailhead and it’s still pouring. Ever the optimist I think, “No problem. It will probably clear up by the time I get to the summit.” Haaaa.

The last time I attempted Paugus, I left covered in scratches and black fly bites. Unlike like the Big Rock Cave Trail and Old Paugus Trail, the Cabin & Lawrence trails are well maintained. Even though the trail was overrun in some places, it was well traveled and easy to follow.

By the time I got to the Lawrence Trail the rain was so heavy I couldn’t see through my glasses and I had to accept the fact there was no chance of clearing. This part of the trail has many switchbacks giving you the false impression you are almost at the top. I didn’t want to keep pulling out my map in the rain so I just kept going. I looked at my 10 lb chihuahua blindly following me without question in this miserable cold, wet weather and realized, at that moment, he is the only one in my life who would ever put up with this! It made me love the little guy a little more.

I finally made it to the South Peak summit! From what I could see in the rain, it looks like a nice place to hang out in good weather. I guess I will have to hike it a third time.

The rain continued as I headed back down, the skies darkened and it felt a little claustrophobic in the deep woods. I got a brief stab of the “Friday the 13^th” heebie-jeebies on an exceptionally dark section of the woods, but it left as quickly as it came when I spotted some lovely edible mushrooms.

I can’t say a really enjoyed hiking 5 hours in pouring, bone-chilling rain, but all and all, I thought it was a beautiful trail and will hike it again on a better day.