There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. … That saying definitely rang true today! One might think that walking 6k to the top of a mountain in wind and rain over rocky terrain sounds miserable, and I must admit that at times it wasn’t pleasant at all, but that was only because I had forgotten to change into my long johns (remember, no bad weather just bad clothes). In my opinion, the weather allowed me to see the true nature of the landscape I was in- I was hiking a lava field to the top of an ancient volcano for crying out loud, not picnicking in the park. Not all things are sunshine and roses, but even so, I try to find a silver lining.
The rain made the horizon foggy and landscape not very photogenic, but it sure made the inside of the volcano something I’ll never forget! The rain and melting snow combined made a thin 400ft high waterfall inside the magma chamber. No matter how many photos or videos I tried to take to capture the otherworldliness of it, nothing could do it justice. I eventually just stopped trying–my little Nikon and iPhone just weren’t the cameras that could conquer such a feat. It was better for me to take it all in than to try to get a good shot. My favorite thing was to watch that mini waterfall. The droplets glistened in the spotlights and slowly danced their way down to the chamber floor. I could follow a single drop all the way from the edge of my visibility to the chamber floor.
Roaming A.Long 