C177 PLT ENCOUNTERS IMC WHILE VFR ENRTE TO RAL.

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AFTER RECEIVING AN ABBREVIATED WX BRIEFING FROM FSS PRESCOTT; AZ; IN THE COURSE OF WHICH WE (ANOTHER PLT/PAX GOT THE BRIEFING) WERE TOLD THAT THE LCL WX IN THE WHP AREA WAS 2500 FT SCATTERED. BY TELEPHONE I CHKED THE ATIS AT BOTH EMT AND RAL WHICH WAS OUR INTENDED DEST. BOTH OF THOSE RPTED CLR SKIES AND VISIBILITY GREATER THAN 6 MI. MY OBSERVATION OF THE SKY ABOVE WHP IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO DEP SEEMED TO BE HIGHER THAN RPTED BY FSS SO WE DEPARTED VFR WITH FLT FOLLOWING. AS WE CLBED TO OUR INITIAL ALT OF 2500 FT AND APCHED THE BURBANK ARPT ABOUT 4.5 NM ESE FROM WHP THE HAZE INTENSIFIED AND SMALL CLOUDS APPEARED ABOVE AND LATERAL TO OUR FLT PATH. DARKNESS PREVENTED AN EXTENSIVE VIEW. WE WERE CLRED TO CLB ABOVE 2500 FT BY BUR TWR AND TOLD TO CONTACT SOCAL ON 135.05. WE BEGAN TO CLB TO OUR PLANNED ALT OF 5500 FT BUT AS WE DID VISIBILITY BECAME GREATLY REDUCED. WE MAINTAINED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE GND BUT LATERAL VISIBILITY WAS GETTING RAPIDLY WORSE. I DECIDED THAT GIVEN THESE CONDITIONS IF WE WERE TO CONTINUE AS PLANNED TO RAL WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SAFELY RETURN TO WHP EVEN IFR. I CALLED SOCAL ON 135.05 AND REQUESTED TWR ENRTE BACK TO WHP WITH A VOR-A APCH TO WHP. SOCAL TOLD ME TO TURN R TO A HDG AND MAINTAIN VFR AT 4500 FT. WE COMPLIED. SHORTLY SOCAL CAME BACK WITH A NEW XPONDER CODE FOR US AND ANOTHER TURN TO A NEW HDG OF 240 DEGS IF I RECALL CORRECTLY. WE WERE ALSO TOLD TO CLB TO 5000 FT WHICH WE DID. WE WERE THEN SWITCHED TO SOCAL ON 134.20. UPON CHKING IN THE CTLR SCOLDED ME FOR AT LEAST 45 SECONDS ON IFR PROCS. NO PHONE NUMBERS WERE OFFERED AND I RESPONDED WITH 'I THOUGHT WE HAD DONE THAT; ROGER.' AT THIS POINT WE HAD BECOME FULLY IMC. WE WERE THEN HANDED OFF TO SOCAL ON 124.60 AND CLRED FOR THE VOR-A APCH. WE COMPLETED THE APCH AS PUBLISHED AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT.