One of these days I'll realize there's better things to do than hike in the rain. Especially hiking in the rain in a couple feet of snow.

Guess what? I did it again. Not in an, "Oops, I did it again," sly wink kind of way, but a "What is wrong with me?" kind of way. Not only was it raining when I left the car. It was pouring. Not only was there snow on the trail. There was deep snow on the trail. And the super bonus: I had to break trail through mashed potato snow. And I forgot my gaiters.

So... yeah. It was not fun, but did I stop? Do you know me? Of course I didn't turn around. Treen would have. She smart. Much smarter than I am. It took three hours to get to the summit. Twice as long as it would have in better conditions. But we made it.

On the upside, I got a heck of a workout and broke trail for everyone else that climbed that day. And Treen got an extra scoop of food and nobody challenged her right to sleep in front of the fire for the rest of the day.