The hike to Twin Lake
HC returns to Silver Lake the following day by himself. Looking to attempt the hike up to Twin Lake. There are no moose again around Silver Lake, but the clouds are ominous as they cling to the mountaintops above him.
Between the heat of the day and the exposed trail he is feeling the elevation burning his lungs, sapping the strength from his legs. Precious water helps to replenish lost electrolytes but he must be careful to not drink too much. Only one mile in. He turns to see beautiful Silver Lake below.
The next section is almost a straight ascent. Slow but steady he goes, stopping where ever he can find a sliver of shade under a tree. HC looks to the sky and sees a very strange cloud formation, almost a cylinder. Wet weather is almost certainly on it’s way. He should reach the peak and lake before the rain starts to fall.
Glory comes to those that persevere, so the Gods declare. As he climbs the last hill and walks to the cliff’s edge, Twin Lake is revealed. HC drops his pack and marvels at the scene before him. He reached today’s Valhalla and celebrates with smoked trout and a few moments of rest as the soft mountain breeze cools down his skin.
HC finds the trail that follows the ridgeline before looping around to descend to the other side of the mountain. The silence is epic as he listens for the strange call of a mountain lion or the crashing brush from a moose, but all that is heard is his own footsteps upon the pebbles and the chirp of marmounts and squirrels.
Lake Solitude comes into view. He circles it from left to right, ending up in the same spot he and CBug were the day before. The rain falls hard and fast now, but the end of the hike is near.
The loop is now complete as he walks, once again, around the final stretch of Silver Lake. Not another soul to be seen with the constant rain, but the fish are jumping and a lone little duck is paddling through the water in front of him, perhaps looking for the rest of his flock. “Aren’t we all?”
