When I started this blog, part of my motivation was the inspiration of the words and images of other bloggers. So when Alpine Lily invited me to join her and a group of other hiking bloggers for a hike, I jumped at the opportunity. Eventually, we narrowed it down to an early morning trip to Snow Lake. I was beyond excited about the chance to meet some of these inspiring ladies in person and the day absolutely exceeded my expectations.
I'd been to Snow Lake once before, years ago. At the time, I'd made the mistake of hiking the trail at mid-day on a summer weekend. My memories of the hike were of crowds, sun, and heat. Getting an early start made all the difference! We left the trailhead around 8:00 am, and had long shadows and cool morning air to make the climb much easier. That, combined with the wonderful company and conversation, made the hike up to the lake fly by.
The last bits of shade as we climb up to the ridge
Rocky views from about halfway up the trail
We made it to the ridge by 9:30, where we left the trail to find a stunning view of the lake and take plenty of photos. Normally when I hike with friends, I'm the only one making frequent stops to take photos. While they always insist they don't mind, I still feel as if I'm holding things up. Hiking with this group, we were all stopping to take photos!
The four of us stopped at a viewpoint just off the ridge
Snow lake, with the last few puffy morning clouds
It only took us another 30 minutes to drop down to the lake, with several stops along the way for more photos. Because of our early start, there were only a few other people at the lake, so we were able to relax and soak in the view and sunshine while we talked of favorite hikes and good books.
Sun dappled greenery surrounding a pond near the lake
By the time we were headed back out around noon, there was a constant flow of foot traffic headed up to the lake. While we were hiking up, we had agreed it was beginning to feel more like fall than summer, but hiking back down the trail in the full sun and mid-day heat, it was definitely summer.
By the time we made it back to our cars, I felt like we were old friends. Hiking is an excellent bonding experience, and I hope to join some or all of these wonderful ladies for more hiking in the future. Thanks so much to all of you for the wonderful company!
Find these ladies wonderful blogs at:
A Day Without Rain
Pacific Northwest Seasons
Alpine Lily