Lake 22 11-25-2018

I needed to get up into the mountains a bit to try to work off all the turkey and pie I ate over the Thanksgiving holiday, so we headed up to Lake 22.  I got there around 8:30 expecting to be lucky to get a parking spot and was pleasantly surprised that the parking lot was not even half full. 

The trail is wet, but if you wear your hiking boots and some warm hiking socks you'll be fine.  I thought my boots were just water resistant, but between those and some extra thick synthetic wool my feet stayed warm and dry.  It wasn't super cold, so Cedar and Luna enjoyed wading through the various stream crossings.

The sky was clear and sunny for most of our hike, and seeing the huge ent-like trees in the morning light made me happy.  I see most hikers smiling as they hike and think about the natural high we share when on the trail. 

The views once you get out onto the switchbacks/slide area were stunning with frosty peaks rising into blue skies.

There were a couple places where trees had come down that looked fairly new - a hemlock and a cedar.  Both were easy to get by.  There were a couple logs crossing the trail also, which were tougher to get by.  The first we all went under, where my pack full of essentials was a bit bulky, and then my adventure crew wanted to burrow under the second one too with maybe 1 foot of clearance, so I had to convince them we'd all be happier going around. 

About a half mile from the lake we started seeing more significant patches of snow, and then eventually the trail became packed icy snow.  It was really slick, so I put on my yaktrax.  What a difference!  I don't use poles since my hands have leashes in them.  : ) 

The lake was so beautiful in its snowy winter basin.  Most of it is now covered with a slushy looking layer of ice.  The trail around it was easily passable and packed down as well, so easy to find.  With the snow load being pretty light I didn't think the danger of avalanche was too high so I went ahead and continued the hike around the lake.  About 3/4 of the way around I discovered one of my yaktrax was missing!  I back tracked a bit but didn't see it anywhere.

I didn't build this whimsical snowman, but it was too cute not to photograph

We had a snack (almost broke a tooth because my "chewy" granola bar had frozen) and then wound our way back down to the car.  I was super stoked that someone had found my yaktrax and brought it down!!  Now I have one for each foot again.  : ) 

Have fun out there!

Monte Cristo Ghost Town 11-17-2018

It had been almost a month before I was able to get out on the trail... I have been in the midst of a move and my exercise has been wrestling with furniture and carrying boxes.

Today was a beautiful clear sunny day, although pretty chilly.  Fog was laying in the valleys in big eerie patches and swirling up through the forested hillsides.  When we reached the lot, there was plenty of parking, which is nice.  There were about a dozen cars there, so I expected a moderately busy trail.  I think most of them must have been doing Gothic Basin because on the way out I was passed by a group of 3 people and that is it!  I never saw them when I was up there either so the pups and I had Monte Cristo to ourselves.  Amazing!

The first water crossing is on a log and it was wet and slick for the first have and covered with ice for the 2nd channel.  It was too sketchy for me, so I rock-hopped the 2nd channel.

One of the cool things I saw was damp branches had hairs of ice sprawling out of them.  It looked like white muppet fluff, and if you touched it it just instantly melted away.  I have seen ice do a lot of things, but this may be a new one for me.

The cold made everything glittery and beautiful in a new way.  There was a little area of grasses that were completely covered with frozen dew drops.

We saw a cute little squirrel eating a pine cone.  He looked shocked that we'd be so rude as to stop and watch him munch.  I also spotted a mountain goat browsing up a draw right before Monte Cristo, but all my photos were blurry butt photos of it.

Monte Cristo itself was freezing cold and the old iron artifacts were rimed with frost.

The views up to the town and back were stunning, with the icy white peaks gleaming against the blue blue sky.

What a wonderful day out!