Noted. Good tip!

Couple years ago we went to some ghost towns with Molson being one of them and my goodness the amount of rattlesnakes we saw in the road, side of the road...never thought I'd see that near the North border

Beautiful shots. I only hope I have some moments of clarity without fog and precipitation!

I hope you are able to use it and get the help you need ❤️ hang in there

It’s tough right now to even make a phone call. But it is good advice. Thank you.

Call and ask! I found them really helpful when I had questions about my parental leave through pfml!

Yeah, the thing about rattlesnakes is that they're usually shockingly polite. When humans are involved, the rattle means "yo, you're getting a little close and I'm spooked". But they're more likely to try to get away then to fight something like 20+ times their size.

Glad you're still with us!

No worries, it’s tough out here.

Feel free to dm me if you need to chat or want advice on anything

I've peed here so many times

I truly appreciate the thorough response. Thank you for the advice and the kind words.

I’d say either or both. If you have a GP it might help to talk to them as well. While mental health may not be their field I’m sure they’d be willing to help.

I’m between GP’s at the moment and went to my neurologist. I was very upfront with him about my mental health reasons for taking time and they were my main concern. I do have a seizure disorder and had one ~3 weeks before my leave but made it clear that I believed it was stress induced due to my job and mental health status.

He disagreed about the stress being a factor in my seizure but said that if my mental health was as I depicted he had no issue authorizing my leave despite it not being his direct field. He set me up with a therapist in his hospital system for a ASAP sessions and i worked out a regular therapy schedule. My psychiatrist wasn’t much help and consistently tells me that he is medication management and not really about diagnosis, but more so for medicating a diagnosis from a psychologist. Really weird and a system I am working out of. Oddly enough my therapist and I have decided to reduce my medication to zero (not there yet) to help with some side effect overlap from my seizure meds.

Help is out there, seek it. It may seem daunting but it’s better than suffering in silence, I promise you.

ETA: my leave was officially designated by my neurologist for mental health reasons and as far as my work was concerned it was a medical leave.

The last time I saw a rattlesnake was out at the lakes near Quincy. I heard a rattle and saw it slither under a rock, so my dumb ass walked up as close as I could to take a picture of it. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm not* dead yet.

I didn't have my phone on me, but one of my favourite signs was on at a Kalaloch Beach Lodge where this simple (and silly) graphic sign about avoiding logs in the surf.

Like I don't deny that it could be a real problem, but that the sign about it was hilariously silly, very 50's about it. Man, I wish I got a picture of it, it was SO funny. It was like "Them" but with logs.

The only thing I would add, is don't use the time intermittently like I did. I went to work when I could and called in when I couldn't. I probably would have been better off just taking a block of time off with counseling like others have said.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I’m sorry to hear about the complications. But I’m glad the leave helped you. I’m hoping it will do something similar for me.

What type of Dr. did you see for the referral? I have a therapist and a psychiatric nurse but I want to be sure the state will accept the credentials of whoever gives the referral/recommendation for leave.

Unfortunately Johnston ridge is the only real option this time of year for views. The road to Marblemount Sno-park is closed right now too. Yeah, the road past Coldwater Lake is closed this time of year but, you can still hike up the road, or the Hummocks trail, to the observatory. Right now it will be snowshoeing, and easier to follow the road. However, it’s roughly 7 miles to the observatory, or 6.5 to the Loowit viewpoint each way. The Hummucks trail is 9.5 round trip, but you’d want to check NWAC for avalanche prediction, and have route finding skills. The lower part of the trail would be fine for tromping around, and there are some sneak peaks before you start to climb higher. If that interests you, there are plenty of places that rent out snowshoes between PDX and Mt St Helen. The most recent trip report I found, here, was from the 7th. Says there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground at Coldwater. It’s supposed to be warm this week, but the snow level isn’t predicted to go higher than 3700’ and the observatory is at roughly 4300’. So, there will definitely be fresh snow up top.

Apply for aid from the state ASAP! I took a leave recently for medical/mental health reasons and it was fully approved with dr referral(who i saw after my leave began). That said my company’s leave consultant (outsourced company) deducted available state benefits from their payout and won’t pay without a denial from the state.

I’m still waiting to hear back from the state ~6weeks after my missed check that I was expecting from the company. They never told me about this policy and I still likely wouldn’t have been paid by the state in time given how long it’s taken and my dr’s insistence that the leave was the appropriate course of action.

This is just my personal experience and not set in stone advice, just a recommendation to apply for leave with the state in congruence to whatever benefits your job offers (if any). I ultimately used pto and sick pay to cover my loses and got a check cut by my company to keep me whole in the meantime.

No matter what you should take the leave of you need it and have the means to get by. Don’t toil until breaking, it will only make it worse, imo. A month off did wonders for my state of mind and I am a much more effective worker because of it.

I saw that sign at Oregon Raceway Park too. Something funny about doing a basically dangerous thing like racing cars but also having to watch for snakes.

Thank you for your reply

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I think there is a hint of Mt. St. Helens in the middle of the second shot.

Wonder what the historic view looked like, before 1980...

Oh, and of course, great picture! I meant to say that, but I got too excited about rattlesnakes.

EWa native here. As good a time as any to share rattlesnake tips.

- If you are walking and hear a rattle, slowly back up the way you came.

- If someone is bitten, do not suck then venom out with your mouth or apply a tourniquet.

- Call 911 and start making your way to the nearest medical facility.

- Keep the bite wound below the heart if possible and try to keep the victim calm.

I too have laughed & then promptly took a picture of that sign! SW WA here & was honestly surprised that rattlesnakes would be an issue. Beautiful rest stop - I always aim to stop there, but we usually end up stopping at the gas station in Goldendale for snacks instead haha.

Snowbird here. That sign feels like coming home every spring.