First, then Third. Then Second.
“There was always an adventure waiting in the woods”
This August, my friend Katie and I decided that we needed an adventure - so off we went!
It ended up being one of the best hikes this season. The morning started with Starbucks - early mornings must always start with coffee - but Starbucks mornings and open roads tend to be harbingers of great days. We arrived fairly early - second car in the lot, only to be greeted by cows slowly waking up as the fog burned off.
As we walked, we met a delicious wind that teased our hair into knots, heart shaped mushrooms and the littlest Pika with the biggest voice. The dew soaked leaves entangled with the sun - reshaping the forest around into a cathedral built of walls hewed from pine and aspen - strewn with flawless diamonds. Steep cliffs and tricksy rocks littered the trail, and the long grass swayed serendipitously, haphazardly - in the laughing wind.
We found the first lake without much difficulty. This lake is the colour of sun warmed sea glass, baked in the sand and tempered by starlight. This lake glimmered. Cradled in a stone bowl - its depth holds what it means to be ringed by rocks, full of the knowledge that time marches unremittingly on. Cheered on by the littlest Pika with the biggest voice - we moved up and over some slightly terrifying rocks, thinking the second lake was just past the beyond.
We made it, we thought. We sat on a ledge eating our snacks - contemplating what we thought to be the second lake, thinking the final lake - was just past the beyond. However, a pretty large - not so steady… (actually very rickety and precarious looking)… pile of rocks loomed in front of us. We could do that, sure - I mean, the third lake was supposed to be the prettiest - so what is a little rock pile in the pursuit of pretty lakes?
Off we went.
Picking our path gingerly and relying heavily upon our walking sticks, only slightly terrified - we made it across the not so steady pile of rocks. Pausing to catch our breath, pretending our knees were not shaking, marveling we actually did it… only to discover that no lake existed past the rocks. I was also fairly certain Katie was swearing at me in her head.
We somehow lost the second lake, skipped right from first to third. Great.
Turning back, we stumbled across a new path and decided to follow it, - hoping it would lead us to the second lake. And it did, and it was perfect.
On the way back down the mountain, that impertinent wind found us again - ripping the words from our mouths, laughing with audacity born of wildness and freedom. Thank you Katie for a memorable day in the wind, amoung trees, balancing on rocks, and walking all the paths.
