Day 112: Unlike the groundhog, Pacific Northwesterners don't see their shadows often enough to have developed any regard for them other than mild curiosity. On the other hand, we go a little berserk when the grey canopy gives way to blue and white, and a great glowing spot appears overhead, so painfully bright that it makes us put on hats to shield our eyes.
I followed my shadow for several hours today on an eight-mile patrol of Pack Forest's 1000 and 2000 Roads, the literal high point of my adventure on the 2032' summit of Pack's Peak overlooking Eatonville. Although it was a bit chilly on the back side of the hill (snow was patchy), for the most part, my walk was very pleasant. I saw no other hikers once I'd left the parking area, but heard a deer bounding through the brush and had the company of two Golden-Crowned Kinglets briefly. I searched for Snow Queens and violets, only finding leaves of the latter, and stopped to check on a colony of Devil's Matchsticks (the only site outside the Park where I have seen Pilophorus growing). As the day lengthened, my shadow lost its verve and returned to hiding, suggesting that it was time to go home. Who knows when I'll see it again?
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