Marion Lake

Not a bad view from our tent, huh? Marion Lake has breath taking views and we were blessed to have this one from our camp site. Josh and I spent our Saturday evening fishing. Even though we didn't catch anything, we enjoyed watching the fish jump to the surface for flies and bugs. While we watched we saw a bald eagle swoop down from the trees and ski along the water. It was truly amazing!

The hike itself was the toughest I have ever done. I knew it would be and this is what I have been training for all year. The 3 mile trail hike to the lake was rough terrain and a climb of some 800-1,000 ft of elevation. There was still several feet of snow on the trail 2/3 of the way. It was good Josh picked up some trekking poles. Several times those things were the only thing that saved me from sliding right off a cliff. There also was a tough spot of rocks over a flowing creek which we had to walk across. That was a challenge right out of the movies!

Josh packed and planned for everything. He has been planning this trip since Christmas and has had a lot of time to get ready! I had one responsibility. To remember the camera. I did remember the camera and the extra battery but I forgot the memory card! I could only fit 6 images on the internal memory. Alas, no video!

The snow was every where and in places had started to melt. We were visited by the Forrest Ranger and he said the snow was normal for this time of year. That little fact must not be known to the general public, because most everyone we met up there hadn't expected the snow. We also didn't expect the nights to hit below freezing either and had a long sleepless night. We decided to head home a day early since neither one of us thought another cold wintry night would be a whole lot of fun. Needless to say, Josh is right now on the hunt to purchase some new sleeping bags rated for colder weather. You know, for our next trip.

Over all, we both had a wonderful time and I survived my first real camp out!