rain-break hike to ptarmigan pass

     So I am mostly anti-rain and haven't been out for anything long recently.  Yesterday I had the opportunity during the spontaneous multi-hour rain-break to get something in.  I had been wanting to get out to ptarmigan tarn or green lake for some time.  I elected to go for ptarmigan tarn and then ridgewalk peak 4/3/2/flattop back to Glen Alps to keep my legs in shape with some vertical and hopefully good views.  Chugach Lucy just had surgery due to a wad of grass causing a stomach obstruction so she was resting at home. 
     I decided to jog out powerline trail past the bridge to hidden lake, more of a fast-forward to solitude as it is a common turn-around for the masses.  Then I started up the gully to to tarn.  The colors are starting to change with the vibrant reds being most abundant.  The valley bottoms remain a lush green.  Though the pass is relatively low there isn't much climbing before one is afforded views of the valley and surrounding peaks.  Fortunately the clouds were higher and it wasn't raining.
     I noticed that this time the tarn was two-tone, a portion was the typical blue-green and a small somewhat isolated pocket was green which I thought was interesting given it was all connected and had similar depths.  After spending some time at the tarn I decided to take the ridgeline back rather than descend to a heavier-worn path.  On the ascent I stopped for a dense patch of blueberries and also noticed the cranberries were ripe.  A perfect mid-hike snack.  The views of the valley below were the perfect landscape and I found myself thinking of skiing already.
     The clouds were amazing to watch, see the video below to see what I mean.  They came and went on the south side of the ridge but it was clear on the north.  With them they brought a calm and moist mysteriousness like something out of a movie, completely disorienting, shrinking the world to the size of what was visible.  Then with a quick jump to the ridgeline or shift in winds everything would open up like it was a whole new place. 
     Though I didn't see any big game I did see 2 eagles fly rather close over me, walked with some ptarmigan for awhile and had a stare-down with a ground squirrel in the mist.  I would think that the ptarmigan would be more skiddish and the ground squirrel more bold, but they seem to be the opposite of that.  I have never been closer than about 15 yards to a ground squirrel but almost step on ptarmigan all the time.
     I hope the precipitation lets up or turns to snow.