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Thursday, July 3, 2014

The End of our Alpine Adventure

At the end of Tuesday's post, I was in the midst of telling you about our hike up in the alpine zone. Shyla and I had climbed a few thousand feet up to a ridge and a lake. Going uphill is my favorite part of hiking (it's easiest on my back) so I felt good when we reached the ridge.

There's never any question about whether Shyla feels good during physical exercise. She is an amazing athlete. I wish I had her capabilities!
We'd climbed up from the east so the ridge gave us amazing views to the west that I haven't seen since last summer!
It was amazing to see the high craggy peaks, still with fissures full of snow, standing tall against the blue sky. I suspect that Shyla was not reveling in the sights, but rather the scents, that must have been wafting from the west.
After enjoying the view from the ridge, we kept hiking upward to a large lake in a cirque of mountains where Shyla usually swims. Alas, that lake still had huge plates of ice atop it. There was some open water but I feared that Shyla, being a silly Lab, might mess with the ice and get in trouble. So we took some photos near the lake before searching for a smaller tarn for her to swim.
We hung out in the cirque for a long time because I love being in that high world so much! It's the original "Rocky Mountain High", not the recently legalized one.
Finally, at Shyla's insistence, we moved over to a "tarn", which is a seasonal pond of water fed by melting snow. I thought it might be too cold for Shyla but she swam and swam in it! This tarn will be dry by August.
Then, it was time to start the downhill hike back to the trailhead. Ugh - downhill is what my spine does not tolerate well. Shyla surveyed the downhill route before we departed.
The "Old Men of the Mountain" wildflowers watched stood guard over the downhill trail.
About halfway down, there were some lingering large snowfields covering the trail. At the edges of the snow, Glacier Lilies were blooming. They are utterly unique and beautiful alpine flowers. They bloom only briefly, just after they are uncovered by the melting snow.
Finally, we made it back to the trailhead. What a day! It was a day of confirmation of the friendship that my Shyla and I have built. She's a wonderful hiking buddy!

23 comments:

  1. she's so beautiful and free! nice to see YOU!

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  2. Your photos are always so beautiful. Have a happy 4th of July!

    Monty and Harlow

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  3. Such a beautiful time and we felt like we were right there with you!

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  4. Your hiking buddy is so enthusiastic! I especially like her tarn and post-tarn pictures. She just took right to the water, eh?

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  5. Gorgeous hike! Is water ever too cold for a Lab?

    XXXOOO Bella Roxy & dui

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  6. Shyla is becoming such a confident young lady!

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  7. Oh dog MOM and I are so jealous. It is so beautiful.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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  8. Your photos are just gorgeous and in particular the ones of your girl today are just stunning--She's a beautiful girl inside and out!

    。☆。*。☆。
    ★。\|/。★
    Happy 4th!!
    ★。/|\。★
    .。☆。*。☆

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  9. Nice to see a picture of you!

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  10. Loved the pictue with you and Shyla, a lot of love there. So the flower I missed this year and hope you can get a picture of is the elephant head. Do you ever see them? What an incredible day you had with your girl.

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  11. That is a wonderful photo of you and your girl! We loved the photo of Shyla heading into the water too. And the flower pic was extra beautiful as well!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  12. Happy 4th!!!, lovely photos, glorious colours in the flowers, and Shyla in profile, too beautiful for me to find words. Hugs to all, Jean.

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  13. Wow! Your Rocky Mountain High is better than the other kind!

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  14. Love the photos - especially the last one but our favorite one is you and Shyla together, KB!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  15. Happy 4th to our furends in the Rockies!

    Such beautiful pictures KB. We always love seeing you in them too.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  16. What beautiful views! Thanks so much for sharing them!!

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  17. The photos of Shyla are brilliant, as always - but WOW! The flowers with the snow-peaked mountains just blow me away!
    KZK

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  18. Wonderful photos of Shyla and I love the landscape. It is so different than what we have in Vermont.

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  19. Lovely Picture of you and Shyla...really showing how you are one....
    The flowers are Beautiful must be great to hike in those colours.
    Yes, will be very exciting to have puppies from Tyra again. The last litter has become very talented and this autumn we will attend on field trials with them.
    Have a great weekend!
    Majsan//

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  20. Piper is a natural athlete, too...thousands of times I have watched her spine rippling as she runs in front of me, and just marveled at that effortless flexibility.

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  21. Hi Y'all!

    Who wouldn't love to be your dog?!

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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