The sky was thick with grey clouds and humidity hung heavy in the air. Rain held off until the afternoon, though, allowing me to enjoy the hike through Kelso and Rattlesnake Point.
All was quiet in Kelso when I started out. I looked up at the rocky cliffs where I assumed I was headed. There were many interesting interpretive signs to read as I passed through the museum area with its old farm buildings: the blacksmith shop, the bellcote, the driveshed. Then the Trail, for the first time on my journey, actually went inside a building - the one that houses stairs and walkway over traintracks to the escarpment.
I noticed two ravens on an overhead wire, crouched closely together. Curious, I aimed my binoculars at them. It actually looked like they were whispering to each other.
The Trail took me past a lime kiln which was totally fenced off, unlike the overgrown ruins I'd seen alongside the Trail in Mulmur. Then it led upwards along bluffs, past the ski hills and to lookouts over the 401 and Kelso's small lake. Plenty was happening down below now, perhaps a relay or a race, with many teens participating.
I shared the Trail here with many mountain bikes. A couple of ATVs passed me as well, though I think they may have been Parks employees. Then the Trail turned onto a busy road for a while, and took me into Rattlesnake Point. I noticed the smell of pancakes drifting down to me from the camping area, which prompting me to stop and retrieve some of the lunch Mandy had packed for me from my backpack.
That's when the skies began to open, and the rain started teeming down. I waited for a bit under the umbrella of a huge cedar, but the downpour wasn't slowing; if anything, it was worsening, with rumbles of distant thunder. Resignedly, I ventured out into the pouring rain, and was soon soaked to the skin. I inched my way along the Trail with its treacherous, slippery rocks, through the Crawford Lake area, right to Mandy's doorstep for the night.
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