Well the last few days has had unusually nice weather for this time of year. With the advent of deer firearm season starting next Monday I was anxious to get out into the wilderness for a couple of days. I decided on Tuesday morning that it would be the day with highs in the mid - 50's. Is this really November? I packed in a half hour, called and e-mailed friends and checked if anyone wanted to go at the last minute.
I was going regardless, but my friend Ursula decided to rearrange her busy life and she would meet me there a bit later in the afternoon.
Since it gets dark at 5:30 PM now and the trail is only about 8 miles long, I told her to go clockwise and meet me at a designated spot to camp only about 2 miles from the trailhead. I would arrive earlier, circumnavigate the majority of the trail counterclockwise and then we would camp together.
Everything went well considering that there seemed to be a zillion dead falls that I had to climb over and under or bushwhack around. Most likely the October weather that brought 60 to 70 mph winds did some major tree felling activity.
The hike took me considerably much longer than I expected but I did make it by dark. I passed by glacial erratics, rock ledges, fresh bear tracks and a deer. When I arrived at the designated site I didn't see my friend so I started walking further and I soon met her. She and I backtracked to the neat camp site on a rock outcropping above the lake.
We had a great evening and both of us crashed early. It was a windy night but quiet enough to hear the waves gently lapping the shoreline below the short cliff where we were camped. In the morning we were in no hurry to leave with only a few miles to get back to our vehicles.
We lingered over a long breakfast and then took a break on the shoreline before we headed back to our respective cars. It had been great to have the whole lake to ourselves. This is truly a gem of a place and I always look forward to my hikes there.
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