We Hiked Staircase Rapids On the Wettest Day In History

Spent some time this past week on Hood Canal with my three favorite people: Alina, Delphine, and Wendy. This photo is from Staircase Rapids, near Lake Cushman:

The Mighty Hiking Crew

Staircase Rapids is a really beautiful place and I highly recommend a visit, though I don't necessarily recommend visiting when there's 1.35" of rain in the forecast (which happened to be the forecast on the day we hiked).

We didn't just get wet, "sodden" is a much, much better word.

sodden (adjective): saturated with liquid, especially water; soaked through.

Incidentally, Hood Canal isn't a canal per se .. it's actually a fjord.

fjord (noun): a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, as in Norway and Iceland, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley.

Here are a couple of photos of the rapids:

The next day, things became somewhat more civilized, weather-wise, beginning with a morning fog:

Boats Docked at The Alderbrook Resort

Which eventually lifted for a rarey view of the mountains:

The Olympic Mountains, Looking West From Alderbrook

Ironically enough, my rain jacket (which, I'd like to take a little time to point out, has only one purpose) is not waterproof. Nor are my "rain" pants, nor are my gloves. As a test drive to see how waterproof our "waterproof gear" is, it was very successful in proving that almost none of it was.