This morning I went back to the semi-wilderness I visited last week, and repeated the first part of the hike, about four miles to Upper Rock Lake. But I started much earlier this morning, so to take advantage of the cool air, I hiked an extra mile and a half to the next lake, Penner Lake. Nearly all the snow that I saw at lower elevations last week was gone, thanks to the recent heat wave. The mosquitoes seemed happy about the changing conditions, and there were a lot more of them buzzing about today.
But there were still some nice wildflowers in bloom, like this cluster:
and this pair of flowers next to a rather large pine cone:
I had read in online hiking forums that Penner Lake was very popular, and I could see why: it’s a very pretty rockbound lake with several nice camp sites. Indeed, there were two campers and dog there when I arrived. I found a private spot on a peninsula and took a brief swim in the very cold water.
I then retraced my steps and took another swim at Upper Rock Lake. All told, a very pleasant eleven mile morning jaunt. It’s lovely being back in mountains where I can swim in a lake every few miles.
What a lovely place! Thank you for sharing your trip.