Silver Lake Hike

Silver Lake, I assume....

So this is my 100th post on the blog and what better way to celebrate than by posting about a hike!

Heading up the trail and looking down at the lake.

A friend invited me to go hiking on a weekday morning at 8 am. Now for a teacher on summer vacation - a SINGLE teacher on summer vacation - this is kind of early, but I accepted the invitation because I enjoy hiking and I enjoy this friend's company. I had no idea where we were going or how long the hike would be, so I over-prepared by packing two water bottles and three snacks.

When my friend arrived to pick me up the morning of the hike all they said is we are going up the canyon. I had no idea how far up or where - there are two main canyons and many hiking trails along both. This was a mysterious trip. (For all I knew, they were taking me into the woods to kill me! just kidding....)

The dammed lake at the top of the trail.

We drove past several popular trailheads. Past the Silver Fork restaurant and the trailhead to one of my favorite little spots. We were going pretty much all the way to the top of the canyon at Solitude and Brighton ski areas.

Just when I thought we were either going to run out of road or start down the canyon on the other side, we pulled into a little parking area at a little visitor center that said "Solitude" and "Silver Lake" on the outside of the building.

Still some snow up here.

The hike was about 3 miles round-trip. It was fairly steep in some areas and I was breathing hard, because of the elevation and physical exertion. But the views along the way were amazing. I'm so glad I got up early on a weekday morning during my summer vacation.

Green and beautiful against a clear,
blue sky without a cloud in sight.

At the top we came to a dam and lake. There was snow on the far side of the lake. We decided to stay on our side of the lake to just sit and talk instead of wander to the other side. It was a beautiful day with clear skies, and because we'd gone up in the morning, it wasn't too hot out yet.

After sitting and talking for a while, we headed back down the trail taking some slightly different routes, but still enjoying the gorgeous scenery. The views were breath-taking.

We saw some wildlife. An unidentified rodent of some sort - a little smaller than a beaver. There were also birds and ducks and even a few chipmunks along the way. Thankfully we did not see any snakes!

And thankfully, they didn't take me out into the woods and kill me because I lived to tell you all about it in my blog. Now, I wonder how many more hikes I can get in during my next 100 posts?... TBD!

Heading back down the trail.

Back at the bottom of the trail we circle the lake again.
A momma duck and her babies swim by.

Amazing views of God's beautiful creation.