Summer Vacation - Colorado & Utah

Hike to Black Lake - 11.5mi.
In the morning I packed everything up and met everyone at breakfast. It was good to see everyone again. Most people I hadn't seen since the last reunion 4 years ago. After breakfast, we drove up to Bear Lake, which in the park is a huge tourist attraction. You don't actually get to park at the trailhead parking lot, you have to park in one of many lower lots and get shuttled up to the trailhead.

The hike itself was incredible. There were some of THE MOST scenic views in Colorado I've ever seen. Wow. I was taking tons of pictures, I think half of my vacation pics are of this hike. We stopped for lunch just past Mills Lake. Half of the group turned back at this point, and the rest of us kept going up to Black Lake. The segment up to Black Lake was even more beautiful and we were all glad we decided to keep going.

Once we arrived at Black Lake we sat down and started to rest, but just as we did that a guy came past and said that there were even better views up ahead above the lake. So we continued on. Let me just say that you should take everyone's opinion like a grain of salt - lightly! The views further up the trail were not really as good, and we didn't really get the rest we wanted since a thunderstorm was coming in, fast! So, we quickly put on our rain jackets, turned around, and hightailed it back down to treeline. We weren't fast enough to beat the rain, thunder, or lightning and so we ended up trotting down the trail, slightly sacred, trying not to slip and fall. By the time we go back down to Mills Lake the rain had stopped and we finally got that rest we were so deserving.

The final leg down the trail consisted of finding wild raspberries which tasted SO good after 8 hours of hiking, and seeing 2 huge female elk in the middle of the trail. We waited politely and they took their time grazing their way into the trees.

Everyone was glad to be back in the car at the end, and already we were talking about how much fun we had, even with the rain. So far, a good vacation.

Special Mention

James did the entire hike in his sandals! He didn't get a single blister, and even took a wrong turn in the beginning, so ended up hiking a 1/2 marathon, off-road, at an elevation of 10,500'-13,000'. WOW!