What’s a gal to do when the forecast calls for rain while hiking in the woods? Whine a little, moan a little, and reassess one’s plans, of course!
Others happily camp in the rain. But I am horribly afraid of my sleeping bag getting wet. So whenever possible, we make sure to be at a shelter early in the afternoon to make sure we have a dry space on rainy nights. Everyone piles in for the evening, at least until they head to their tents to sleep. 
And if it’s still raining in the morning, we often choose to take a “zero” day (2 nights in the same place, no hiking). There’s something delightfully cozy about watching the storm through the open side of the shelter. We sit propped up against our backpacks, legs in our sleeping bags, listening to rain on the sturdy roof, happy to be warm and dry!
Somehow, I never mind getting caught in a shower in the middle of the day. After all, my sleeping bag will stay dry, wrapped in multiple layers of protection from the elements. (It’s in a dry bag, inside a large trash bag, inside my pack, inside the rain cover…yes, I’m paranoid!) The trail might turn into a stream, but I’ll be fine… 
I choose not to put on rain gear, which just makes me soaked with sweat. As long as I keep walking I don’t get chilled. Sometimes I laugh at myself, as I’m bouncing down the trail, singing in the rain. Yes, hikers ARE a crazy breed, why do you ask?!
Time to head back on the trail. The weatherman is calling for sun. But if he’s wrong, and we see a storm headed toward us across the valley, I guess we’ll just pick out our favorite silly songs and keep on walking… 
It’s raining! It’s pouring! …
The Big Epic 
Your pictures are beautiful and you look happy. I love reading your posts. Thanks so much for sharing your hike. Sending you and Anna lots of love. xoxo
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I remember standing by my road bike in 2007 near Haines Jct on the Alaskan Highway in the pouring rain. I didn’t mind the rain either, because I had on my rain suit. However, the rain lasted more than an hour and I got bored because I couldn’t read and didn’t want to turn on my radio for fear of draining the small battery on the bike. The highway devoid of asphalt in that section because of fixing frost heaves was getting to be a soupy clay mess. I told the Lord “How much more of this do I have to put up with? The road can’t get much worse!” Well it did and the clay soupy section became slippery as I tried to move out after the rain stopped. I tried a road parallel to the highway, but it was even more slippery after about 5 miles, so I had to turn back and get back on the highway. In the meantime, several trucks must have come through on the highway and left substantial tracks which I could follow on out to where the asphalt began again. On other parts of the highway, the asphalt was removed in 18+ miles segments and loose pea gravel was laid down. I just hit these sections at about 3/4ths speed (about 18 mph) and hung on without moving the handlebars. Lots of fun? Yes, looking back on it, but scary getting through the sloshy clay mud and pea gravel sections.
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Seems like sometimes the rainy days become the most memorable stories!
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Hope most of your days are sunny, Dear Hiking Friend! Love, Prayers, & Hugs ~~~~~~ & a dry sleeping bag ALWAYS!!!!! 🙂 Sharon
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Awww…thanks! We’ve got bunks in a little shelter in a town park today.
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I enjoyed meeting you and your daughter last week. That shower was quite refreshing…. The all day downpour on Thursday, not so much! We finished our 60 mile section hike on Friday and have been happy to be home and busy planning our next trip. Have fun and continue to make memories!
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So good to meet another mom/daughter team out here making memories!
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