Enamored by another mountain top in the Pacific Northwest, I started hiking under less than ideal conditions: forecast of grey skies, cloudy weather, gale-force gusts and chance of summer rain. I didn't believe the forecasts, until I was hiking in freezing weather with wind spraying sand and rock on my face. Needless to say, setting up my tent in that unwelcome weather was less than an ideal experience.

I waited until the the wind died, until the clouds cleared up and until the sun peeked from behind. And in the magical moments that unfolded at sunset, all that effort in getting here no longer seemed in vain.

The clouds hung around the valley and on mountaintops, slowly drifting and dissolving into thin air, just while setting aglow in the last light of the sun. Peaks appeared and disappeared for an ephemeral instant, right while the sky above was turning a shade of pink. The scenery all around was a dance of clouds, light and the sky.

Sometimes, heading into the remnants of a thunderstorm can yield dramatic scenes...

Mt Baker Wilderness

WA USA