It had rained during the night but was dry when we got up. This was good as we intended to climb a mountain today. It started spitting again whilst we were having brekky but luckily this cleared by the time we hit the road. It was just a short drive through the national park to the Bluff Knoll car park. As we got closer and wound our way up to the car park the Bluff Knoll peak loomed more and more ominously. The summit though wasn't shrouded in cloud and some blue was breaking through so it looked good. I climbed Bluff Knoll back in November and enjoyed the panoramic 360 degrees views from the top of what is the highest peak in the southern half of Western Australia. I was really looking forward to climbing it again. It's a fairly tough walk, just over 3 kilometres to the summit, but well worth the effort. When we got to the car park we found that we were the only people there as there were no other vehicles. This was great as it meant that our climb would be quiet and free of 'woop woopers'. We set off on the path looking up to the summit standing rugged and majestic to a background of blue sky and white fluffy clouds. As with the surrounding area the vegetation was much more lush and green today than back in November. It was beautiful. It wasn't too cold, there was just a light breeze and we were happy. Jay was a little apprehensive as we started the ascent as this would be the highest that she has ever climbed. She didn't need to be though as she got up it with ease. We decided to wear our headphones and listen to music to make the climb easier and more fun. It was certainly fun as with some up tempo music on my ipod I danced my way up the path in front of Jay making her laugh. This was turning into one funky mountain climb! With all the dancing and with Jay's ipod music spurring her on we were halfway to the summit in double quick time. The view on the way up was absolutely tremendous looking over towards the other peaks and back down towards the car park. After the half way point the path got steeper and hugged the edge of the mountain. The light breeze was now whipping up into gusty bellows and the temperature was getting a bit cooler. At just over the 2 kilometre point we approached a warning sign which said 'STOP and check the weather'. It warned that from this point the weather could change quickly with misty clouds rolling in causing poor visibility. It went on to warn that some visitors had spent a cold, wet and miserable night lost on the mountain. The sign finished by asking the question 'Should you turn back now?'. We had a look up towards the summit. It wasn't that far away height wise. We were almost at the top but the path wound it's way around the other side of the mountain for another kilometre. The summit was clear of cloud but there were some ominous black clouds coming in. The wind though was now whipping up into even more of a frenzy and was trying to blow us both over. Unfortunately we didn't think it was safe or sensible to carry on further and reluctantly decided to make our descent. This was disappointing, especially for Jay, as she was so near to conquering Bluff Knoll. I am extremely proud of Jay as this path was tough and as far as I'm concerned she conquered Bluff Knoll. She is my all terrain action girl. As we descended I played the air guitar for Jay and the wind got lighter. The Aboriginal Noongar people believe the clouds that curl around Bluff Knoll are the visible form of Noatch - a lonely spirit that cannot hold shape for long. Those who stray can be lost in her misty embrace. When we got back to the car park we had some lunch with Bluff Knoll looking down upon us. We watched the clouds now racing past the summit. It must have been blowing a gale on the top and we knew we'd done the right thing to descend when we did. When we got back to the camp site we were too exhausted to even play ping pong. We collapsed on our bed, a mass of aching limbs, and chilled out till bedtime.