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!