In Genesis, God flooded the earth. After the waters receded, he showed Noah a rainbow and promised He would never cover the earth in water again. As we hiked out this morning, there was a light drizzle, due to the fact we were hiking in the clouds. The sunrise was spectacular once again but what truly caught my eye was, not one, but double rainbows above the trees! What a welcome sight from all the rain we have experienced in the past few days.

We had only 13 miles to hike today and little climb. It was probably one of our easiest hike days in quite awhile. The trees were glistening from the rain drops that occurred last night. The pines were fresh and the ground was soft. There is something to be said about a little rain, well let’s be real, a lot of rain that soaks into the ground. It helps to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. No slipping and sliding on loose pebbles (marbles as I call them) and bigger rocks that sometimes like to jump in front of me. Nope, the rocks are firmly encased in soft gooey mud just like my feet from time to time!

So today was a mixed bag. The weather report said 70% showers and we were ready for whatever nature was ready to give us. We hurried down the mountain to a trailhead and found some asphalt to dry our gear out. As we headed out, the clouds started moving in. They looked so whimsical at first. Almost like the Holy Spirit floating above. As we looked over a small lake, I was thinking what do those weather forecasters know anyhow?

But obviously a heck of a lot more than I! As we got ready for our second climb, it was time to break out the umbrellas, rain jacket and pack covers! Oh boy, here we go again! At first I was thinking this isn’t no big deal but I was way off base. The showers kept coming and by the time we reached Dry Creek, it was raging! I pitched my tent as fast as I could, which is never a recipe for success! I crawled inside only to realize my tent already had water creeping in. So back out I went, in the pouring rain, somehow someway dragged my tent about ten feet ( oh and with all my gear inside of it) and managed to pitch it correctly, the second time around! Lesson learned. Patience grasshopper! If you do it right the first time, you don’t need to do it a second time. Now I am sequestered in my tent for the remainder of the evening and attempting to stay dry and warm.

Tomorrow, oh joyous tomorrow. We will be headed to Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort to stay for two glorious days. It couldn’t come at a better time as I am smelling like a wet dog! Not pretty.

I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ” I will remember the covenant I made between you and me and all the living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” So God said to Noah, ” This is the sign of the covenant between me and all life on earth.” Genesis 9:13-17