Hello again! Let's go back a month and look at our little backpacking adventure. Jonathan and I had planned on backpacking a MUCH longer route, but a leaky radiator kept us from getting into the mountains as early as hoped. So, with some help from my brother and step-dad, we decided to hike to boulder lake - just 1.2 miles. Not bad, right?
Wrong.
We did not arrive at the trailhead until 10:05 pm. Here we are...in the dark...in the wilderness...with the animals... and no gun...
but, I did have my camera ( I was convinced my flash could scare away any mountain lion or bear, so I clung to it tightly the whole hike). Jonathan and I also forced conversation the entire way (noise apparently scares off wild animals). I now know more than I wanted about scout camp.
We hiked for a good half hour before I started to worry a bit. I was keeping a pretty darn good pace and we had still not arrived at Boulder Lake? We followed the signs, right? Little did we know that we walked RIGHT BY the lake...and kept going, for an extra hour. By around 11:30, we found a decent enough flat area, next to some fresh water. We set up camp and were safely in our tent by midnight. Not knowing exactly where we were and that large animal that was brushing up on our tent around 2 am kept me from having the best night's rest (besides that fact that we didn't have the highest quality sleeping pads).
Gratefully, in the morning, we were able to get our way back to Boulder Lake. That day was wonderful. We set up camp, read, napped, and swam in the lake. We also hiked up to Little Boulder Lake that day. There is nothing like being in the wilderness - in the Trinity Alps. We can't wait to return - during the daylight hours.
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| Ready to head out. |
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| This is our first campsite. |
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| Our second campsite. |
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| The Cuban black beans and rice were a big thumbs up. |
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| Boulder Lake |
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| Jonathan brought this back to me after his first swim in the lake. |
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| Yep, you are seeing this right. He couldn't resist swimming in Little Boulder Lake, swim trunks or not. |
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| Heading out. Don't mind the attractive "get-up". Long socks and capris are "in" in the mountains. |
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| See you next year, Alps. |
