Before we left for the woodlands, I ensured to check the forecast in advance. For the most part it was supposed to be decent weather except for Sunday, where a high probability of rain loomed over us. However, I awoke in the morning to sun shining through the clouds and relatively clear skies. Aside from a few streaks of clouds, the weather looked like it would be okay.
Our first wild bear encounter occurred on the trail down into the valley between The Gargoyles and Opal cone. I spotted it lurking in the bushes below, and it was quite close to the trail. We waited for a bit, observing the bear until it slowly shifted deeper into the blueberry bushes. It is at this point we took advantage of the space and descended into the valley talking in loud voices. It lifted its head briefly to stare at us from the bushes, but determined the blueberries were more interesting.
Past the bridge we swapped out our water for the glacial fed river that crashed by.
Regaining the elevation felt brutal in the sense that I knew we had to turn the way we came, and potentially redo it again the next day on another adventure. There is a section of the trail that is partially swept away by rocks but new flagging tape indicates the way to go. Shortly beyond the valley that the trail crosses, a wooden post marks the junction to Opal Cone— from here it is roughly 20 minutes to reach the top.
The rim of Opal Cone was slightly less intense then I imagined it to be, because the outer edges had crumbled inward. All that remains are the waves of black rubble within the crater. On my right the glaciers coating Little DIamond Head were visible, nestled in just below the cloud line. Glacial blue tones and white ice contrasted nicely with the smooth rock of the mountain the glacier resided upon.
Light rain beginning to trickle down from the sky and clouds rolling in forced us to begin making a retreat. Neither of us particularly wanted to be caught in a potential downpour and we figured it was best to be moving while it rained to keep warm.