Hike with Ian and Trudy to Turquoise Lake,
July 2007
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After a few day hikes,
we decided to take a week-end and hike in to the Turquoise Lake area
in the Mission Mountains.
It's about six miles with a fair amount of up-hill.
Ian had phone meetings at work,
so we didn't get away until about 4 o'clock,
which put us at the trailhead about 6 o'clock.
We didn't hike nearly as fast with those heavy packs,
but there were lots of ripe huckleberries along the way to snack on.
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What's wrong with this picture?
hint: Check the size of the packs |
Nice bridge! |
About half way up,
there's a great overlook
with a nice view of Glacier Lake
and the headwall holding Lace Lake
and the other lakes above.
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| Ian and Trudy at Glacier Lake overlook |
Lace Lake outlet |
Ian at Glacier Lake overlook |
We got to a suitable camp spot at Lagoon Lake
about the time the sun was going down,
so we decided to camp and not stumble around in the dark.
Ian and Trudy put up their tent.
I didn't bring one, and rolled out my tarp.
The mosquitoes were aggressive;
in spite of the heat,
we all put on our long pants and long sleeved shirts.
When I went to bed,
I had to keep my sleeping bag zipped
and my hands inside;
fortunately I had a mosquito net headnet.
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| Camp near Lagoon Lake |
We had the next day to explore and relax.
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| Outlet to Turquoise Lake |
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Turquoise Lake |
Outlet to Turquoise Lake |
I found a nice spot on a cliff that dropped into the lake.
I tried fishing, but didn't catch anything.
It was getting hot, so I jumped off the cliff into the lake a few times.
Ian and Trudy came over for lunch,
but before we could eat Ian had to jump in too...
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| Ready, set... |
Torpedoes! |
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| Outlet to Turquoise Lake |
Looking towards Lace Lake |
We went down to Lace Lake and I caught some fish.
A lot of fish.
I got tired of catching them after a while.
We kept a couple for dinner.
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| Ian at Lace Lake |
Trout for dinner! |
When we got back to camp,
we went down to Lagoon Lake and hung out on a rock.
It was hot, the water was warm...
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| Lagoon Lake Swim Rock |
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| Trudy in Lagoon Lake |
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The sun was going down as we made dinner...
always a sign of a full, fun day!
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| Ian cooking |
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Mt. MacDonald in the background |
The next morning when I was up wandering around,
I found goat hair and a stump goat overlooking Lace Lake.
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| Goat Hair |
Stump Goat |
We decided to hike up to Jewel Lake,
bushwacking around Lagoon Lake
and then walking up some slabs.
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| Mt. MacDonald |
Waterfalls behind Turquoise Lk |
On slabs above Lagoon Lk |
Slab walking down to Jewel |
Jewel Lk |
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| Lagoon and Lace Lks |
Lagoon Lk |
Mt. MacDonald |
We continued on around Jewel Lake,
going up to the Dragon Lady tree.
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| Ian in Dragon Lady Tree |
After our excursion to Jewel Lake,
Ian and I had fun walking more slabs down to the outlet of Lace Lake.
That's where Amber and my nephew Brian camped about ten years ago.
There was a big dead tree overshadowing our camp,
and it was still there.
I said something as we were going to bed about it being an Ogre,
and Brian said,
"That's not an ogre, it's our guardian tree!"
On the way back, we gound a giant lizard tree.
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| Guardian Tree |
Birdhouse Tree |
Lizard Tree |
Then it was time to hike out.
It went a lot faster than the hike in!
We got a few rain drops,
and a little lightning,
but nothing that amounted to much.
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| Ian and Trudy on bridge |
Trudy on bridge |
Ian on bridge |
