Spring is here and that puts me in a happy mood (well until I looked at Washington DOT’s set of photos up on Hwy 20 in the North Cascades!). My mind is drifting to where I want to hike when the snow melts (er, maybe I better plan out to August with dump-o-rama of snow we got in late winter). Still, planning is a great way to while away an afternoon – where I get to shut my eyes and dream of something besides low land rail to trails 
Like staring at Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake (from a viewpoint nearly anyone can experience!):
Blundering into a hillside popping white with Beargrass:
Or maybe walking in a storm of snow and ice in August:
And hiding from it under large evergreens:
And a couple days later it is hot and sunny and you climb up into alpine tundra:
Ford walking ahead of me as we left a lonely subalpine lake in the central Cascades – a brutal short ascent to get back to the ridgeline where mosquitoes chase you back down to the truck:
You might recognize this photo:
As the sun sets and summer is nearly gone on the wind, the icy coldness of Rainier is there:
When you walk into two edible berries the living is good:
When the sun is up, the walking is easy and the summits are green:
Walking in the Olympic Mountains – always in back but not minding, Kirk and Ford ahead of me:
When you get back to the truck and change into jeans and sandals….ahh!
When it is 8 pm and you are still hiking, trying to outrun darkness:
But most of all….sitting in the shade and smelling the flowers in alpine – there is nothing like that:
~Sarah
Thank you. I’ve been having these summer dreams too…
Fantastic post Sarah! I envy you your mountains and climate. Thanks for the inspiration and catching the essence of summer