Today was my birthday. I knew it was going to rain, but I regretted not doing the Sawtooth Lake hike when we were here in July so I decided I wanted to do that for my birthday. We have good, waterproof gear. No reason not to do it. So we did. And, despite the rain, it was truly spectacular. It was 44 degrees when we arrived at the trailhead at 10:30am...
...and the temperature dropped significantly as we climbed.
We only ran into one other person the whole hike. We chatted with him for 15 or 20 minutes. He was an older gentlemen from Boston who was closing up his log home in Stanley. (Sigh) And of course, that had us intrigued and full of questions. The conversation eventually headed back to hiking in general and Sawtooth Lake in particular. He told us the Sawtooth Lake hike was spectacular (I wasn't just saying that!) and that he hikes it 5 or 6 times a year. He wasn't going the whole way - just out for a little jaunt because, and I quote, "the wife thinks I'm working on the house right now". Well...everyone needs a break from work every once in awhile. :)
Alpine Lake was especially beautiful.
The trail was steep and rocky with some tight switchbacks in several places. Trekking poles were knee savers for sure.
The Sawtooth range was ethereal in the fog.
Ansel Adams inspired....
Our Destination: Sawtooth Lake
We huddled under some scrubby pine trees seeking some kind of shelter from the rain and wind while we had our "picnic" lunch. We were at the lake for nearly an hour - which was plenty of time for us to both get very, very cold. The wind was whipping and it was just arctic-like. I would pay for this later...
The hike down provided as many stunning views as the hike up. The rolling fog changed the landscape dramatically and peaks that weren't visible on the way up became visible on the way down.
There were interesting things to see in every direction. I have a tendency to not only look up and all around, but also down. Not just at the trail, but all the stuff that lines the trail (thus all the flower pictures and snail pictures, and well, you get the point). This is unfortunate if you're hiking with me, as I often stop dead in the trail and proceed to investigate whatever has my attention, but it WAS fortunate for this little guy since he was just sitting motionless in the middle of the trail. I guess he was even more fortunate that Bill didn't step on him or skewer him with his trekking pole. Though...he DOES look a little broken.
I suspect he was freezing to death. He seemed to have all his parts and, though moving slowly, was moving just fine, so I found a nice little rocky nook for him to hang out in until the weather warms - which I don't think will happen till May of 2011. Oh well. It's nature's way.
Did I mention it rained? The trail had collected rather large puddles...
...but the rain accented the myriad of colors in the rocks along the trail.
We got back to the truck around 4:45. We were both cold and looking forward to a hot shower. We headed "home" and discussed dinner. Bill thought we should go out to dinner since it was my birthday...I told him an expensive steak dinner wasn't going to make my day any better and I would be just as happy if he went to pick up a veggie pizza at Papa Brunees while I showered. And so he did. The shower felt great and the pizza was really yummy. As the evening progressed, I developed a cough and lost my voice. Okay, so maybe there is something to that "don't play in the rain or you'll get sick" mentality that I always scoffed at. Meh. No matter. Sick or not, it was a pretty good day. I miss Mom - first year without her wishing me a Happy Birthday. That pretty much sucks, but somehow being out here and seeing this amazing place and knowing that she'd be happy that I'm here and having a great time takes some of the sting out of it. :)
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