Mt Ida

Our plan was to hike to Arrowhead Lake, which is often an unpredictable hike. After weeks of unseasonable heat, the weather forecast showed that the monsoon rains might drench us instead. Fortunately there is the perfect Plan B - Mt Ida. We hiked through the chilly forest above Milner Pass and arrived at the tundra in time to see a small group of bull elk waking up.

Clouds were in the strangest places. Grand Lake was covered completely by low clouds. Mist kept rising and falling over Mt Ida and surrounding mountains. But we were happy for the first sunshine and had hopes that all would burn off.

The Never Summers kept their fluffy covering for most of the hike up. But then things started changing and the clouds were getting lower and darker. Plan B and Mt Ida looked more attractive.  

As we got to the summit, a marmot was sunning itself. Perhaps a sign that the sun was not going to last long. We were down from the rocks and back on the trail when the rain started. And then the hail started, stinging our shoulders and the backs of our legs. And then the lightning started, as we hurried back to treeline. No photos of the herd of bighorn sheep that were scrambling off the ridge and away from those bolts. We made it back soaked but intact.