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Despite the sprinkles and my sore back, we drove up to the Bear Lake TH on Saturday, finding the lot more empty than I had ever seen it at 10AM. We slung our packs over our shoulders and set off up Tyndall Gorge toward Nymph Lake. Marci had been to the park before, but had never done any hiking at elevation. We both proved to be in pretty decent shape and made good time.
By the time we reached Nymph, the sprinkles turned into a light rain and made us put rain jackets on. The clouds were beginning to get snagged on the high peaks in the area, so I thought it wise to snap a quick photo of Hallet.
We continued on to Dream and Emerald Lakes and did a bit of scrambling above Emerald Lake before the light rain turned into a plain old rain and made us turn around. Here's a photo looking up at the spires on the south side of Flattop as they peek out of the clouds. Malok and others will attest that weather like this, except for the rain on/in your camera, is amazing.
On the way back, we took the trail to Lake Haiyaha. I had never been on that trail or to that lake, but I highly recommend it. It offered us great views of Nymph and Bear from above and let us see all the way down along Bear Lake Road. Lake Haiyaha was neat, too, except for the now constant rain. I didn't take any photos there because of the weather, but I'd love to go back sometime. We rehydrated some spaghetti for lunch and I let my back get nice and stiff before taking the unimproved trail into Glacier Gorge. Ouch.
Once we junctioned with the GG trail, we took a short trip to Mills Lake (again, no photos due to rain) and then headed back to the car. On the way back, the rain stopped just long enough for me to take these photos of Alberta Falls and some fir trees nearby.
We arrived back at the car about six hours after we started out. We were both a little wet and a little cold, but warmed up quickly inside the vehicle. My back was sore, but the pain felt like it was muscular (not like a slipped disc), so I figured I'd make a complete recovery. Lake Haiyaha was the only new destination for me, but Marci liked it all. I was reminded once again that rain alone should not discourage hiking in the mountains. I think it was Malok who once said that just when you think the day's going to be a washout is when the weather does something amazing. Walking in canyons and gorges and clouds was amazing indeed, and I'm glad I got a chance to do it.
The next day my back was too sore to hike at all, but since it was just as rainy, we didn't mind staying inside and resting. On our last day, we decided to tackle Mt. Ida...but that's another story.
