We’ve had some cold and windy days in February but no rain to speak of, though we need it badly. On the same hike as Gibson Hill we crossed a dry valley and climbed the adjacent Peak 2430, also in Cache Creek Wilderness. The hillside had burned in 2015 and we made our way up slowly though the charred manzanita skeletons. As we reached the summit the sky darkened to the north, giving this image, stark fire burned manzanita against the storm clouds.
As we hastened back down to highway 20 the sun came out …. and it started to hail, a scattering of icy hailstones littering the trail, enough to linger a while on the earthen trail. And then as quickly as it started, it stopped. Life returned to the ordinary, leaving just the memories, melting.
Agency: Bureau of Land Management
Location: Cache Creek Wilderness