The Mountain is a Harsh Mistress...

... but, man, is she fun.  That's what Bill (of Bill and Linda Trail Angels) told me as they dropped me off in the rain and fog and wind.  The wind was so strong it was whipping the fog across the balds as if it were smoke.  The fog was so thick I could only see about 20 feet.  And then I started climbing up in elevation and over the grassy balds.  So it only got worse from there.

Remember when you were a kid and you could lean into the wind and not fall over?  Yeah, and then you gained 100 pounds and became an adult and you couldn't do that anymore.  Well, I've been dreaming of the time I could do that again.  That dream came true on those balds.  I was wearing my rain poncho, and it was like a sail.  I got the idea of pulling it taut and standing into the wind.  I didn't actually become airborne, but I was blown back.  So, I took that off and leaned into the wind.  I stayed leaning.  Check that off my bucket list.

Then I decided to go over to a stone edge.  I assumed it was just a rock outcropping and there would be more grassy dome below it.  I fought my way over to it in the wind and looked over.  A wall of sheer white blew up at me and engulfed me.  It completely freaked me out.  Fog so thick I could feel it surround me and I was totally blinded for several seconds until it passed.  What an amazing moment.

This lasted the whole day.  It was desolate, but not lonely.  Especially not when I was singing "I got sunshine on a cloudy day" (including the background singers) at the top of my lungs and I saw a human disappearing in the fog in front of me.  It ended up being Indigo and she hadn't heard my singing (Thank God).

Overall, many people were disappointed by the lack of views and the cold and the windburn.  Me?  I had myself a really good laughing spell on that last bald in sheer joy of the experience.  Anyone can hike this on a beautiful, sunny day.  But I got to see a different side of the mountain, a side fairweather hikers won't ever see or experience.  I feel fortunate.