Sat, Oct 5 2013 - Rae Lake (View Original Event Details)
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We were fortunate today in many ways and it all started at the parking lot and trailhead where there was not much snow to speak off and this made the decision easy to leave the snowshoes in the vehicles. We arrived at Elbow Lake to see if mostly frozen but not snow covered. We kept expecting the wind to whip but surprisingly it kept calm all morning and all through lunch. At Desolation Flat, the larch show began and the glow grew, as we got closer to Rae Lake. Today was probably prime time for viewing the golden larch trees in this area. It was a pleasant surprise to see Rae Lake, it was frozen over but not snow covered. There was no wind and it was not cold so we went for the extended lunchtime visit. It was a fun and pretty place to hang around at.
After lunch, we opted to go for the option to explore and we picked the trail that lead down towards Tombstone Valley. We were advised the June flood had damaged the bridge and we wanted to see this for ourselves. We stuck safely to the side on the stable ground but could easily see the damage.
On the return trip, the wind did whistle and whip. We kept our heads down, maintained a steady pace and just got the job done of getting back to Elbow Lake. This time we skirted to the far side where the views were much nicer and we checked out the campground while passing through it.
It was cloudy for most of the day but some blue sky did appear near the end of our hike.
Thank you all for sharing today with me, and thank you to Darlene for helping with the driving.
Andra