Haloweenies

Old Robe Valley & Big 4 Ice Caves, 10/31/09, 5 miles, 100 elevation

Forget the Trick-or-Treaters. Forget the parties. Give me a rainy Halloween in the woods.

A few years ago, a friend invited us on a Halloween hike. However, we had other plans and had to forego the fun. Another invitation came this year and we pushed aside all other invitations to go. The name our friends were giving to our day of hiking was the Tunnels of Terror. The only terror, was that I'd actually hike with an umbrella. Yes the rain was falling so heavily as we started out down the Robe Valley that I actually pulled out the umbrella. I'm a true Seattleite and hiking with an umbrella just seems wrong. But after a backpack in Mt Rainer a few years ago when it rained all 5 days of our outing, I decided getting soaked thru-and-thru may not be the most enjoyable way to spend a day.

We finished the Robe Valley hike without reaching the washed out section right before railroad tunnel. We then decided to head up to the Big Four Ice Caves for a quick picnic and another short hike. For lunch, we broke out our costumes and bags of candy to share. Then we were off on the trail to the ice caves. Rain continued to drench our boots from both the top and the bottom from the puddles accumulating in the trail. At points, the trail itself was a stream bed for a stream that had over run its banks.

We played a bit at the caves then returned to town for well deserved hot cocoa and dry socks and looking forward to another Halloween hike. You too can find fun places to hike on Halloween. But don't forget your costumes and don't leave behind the candy, Halloween is for the kid in all of us after all.