I woke up at 9 today and went climbing. I had no plans to hike, but I got out around 1 PM and it was sunny out with gorgeous clouds. I looked at the weather for the next 10 or so days, and on seeing that it would be rainy for the forseeable future, decided to hike on an impulse.

By 1:30, I had eaten and packed all my things. I looked up close hiking areas in the I-90 corridor while buying some clif bars, and got to the Mailbox Peak trailhead around 2:30. I think I was the last person to start hiking.

The weather didn't stay sunny for very long, and it was overcast for most of the hike. The trail was very well-maintained, although there were the obligatory winter fallen trees. I took the new trail, which is a gradual 4000-foot rise over about 4.6 miles.

Near the top, I started hearing reports that the weather at the summit was very windy. It didn't disappoint. I'm not a great judge of windspeed, but someone else estimated 80 mph. That seems a bit high to me, but I'd believe gusts of up to 80 mph. I almost was blown off my feet at a couple points, and separately my camera was almost blown out of my hand. It was difficult to take pictures because of how much the wind shook my hands. I thought I heard thunder at one point, only to realize it was my jacket's hood being whipped back and forth.

As the last person to start hiking, I had the summit to myself starting at 5:00. It started to drizzle, and I left around 5:30. Sunset was at 5:55, and I hiked down with my headlamp.

Now, after a day full of climbing plastic and mountains, I'm sitting here eating fast food and watching Netflix, about to head to bed.