Once again, a thwarted birthday hike

I took the third week of August off of work to go hiking. I planned one hike, but my car couldn't make it down the terrible road to the trailhead, so at the last minute I changed to a different hike. I went to Necklace Valley. Pretty, but not worth the horrific trail you have to endure to get there. Pictures are in the usual place. I did the mile-long scramble up talus to get to Chain Lakes, which would have been nice if the sun was out. Of course, it was totally overcast, with no view whatsoever of the peaks across the valley. Oh, and it was 51 degrees, and the clouds blowing across at eye-level were very cold and wet. The high-point of the hike was the sow and cub that I got within 30 feet of before seeing them. They ran away so fast I didn't even manage to get a reasonable picture, just bear butts running up the slope away from the trail. Curses! Foiled again. On the other hand, I saw more frogs on this hike than I have seen in the last 10 years. And the blueberries were perfect.

But before that, I accidentally found a new job. I wasn't looking, it just happened! I was minding my own business and got a phone call from an ex-coworker, who told me about the opening. I went for an interview on the 17th and got an offer on the 18th, which I accepted. I start my new job on September 11th.