Heather Lake Trail

I've been struggling with my energy, but I promised Matt we could hike on Sunday. His suggestions were daunting, so I came up with a few ideas, and we ended up deciding on Heather Lake. It was a tougher hike than I'd expected, but totally worth it.

I made my usual rookie mistake: I saw 4.4 miles, 1200 feet and thought, "Oh hey, that's not so bad!" But of course, the elevation gain is all in the first half, so really it's 1200 feet over 2 miles...and that's a whole different ball game.

The first mile or so was well-maintained. There was even gravel along the way, and not the natural kind you sometimes encounter on hikes in this area. But soon we came to some of the obstacles: downed trees, rock slabs, and a few high shelves to climb up. 

So many huge, HUGE stumps on this hike!

The weather was really nice, and none of this felt too hard after the vertical climb of Brandywine Meadows, so really, it wasn't bad at all! I had my new hydration pack on and it was fantastic. We passed a few other hikers, some with dogs, but since we got started really late in the afternoon, it wasn't crowded.

Obsessed with seeing the root systems of toppled trees.

At one point we passed a family that was representing the whole trifecta of hiking obstacles: dad carrying a toddler in a pack (Zoe got an excited "Doggy!" as they passed), an off-leash dog following along, and a visibly pregnant wife taking up the rear. Very impressive stuff.

When we arrived at the lake, it was mostly hidden by tall grass, so we didn't get a good view until we left the trail for a small embankment. And wow, what a view! The still water was a perfect reflection of the sunny sky; the purple wildflowers along the shore were bright pops of color that seemed straight out of a painting. It's hard to believe these views are real, and only a couple hours away from where we live.

We truly live in the most beautiful place on earth.

We hiked around the lake, pausing on a couple big rocks for pictures. I really think it's just human nature to see a big rock and want to climb it! We found a spot for the hammock and spent some time relaxing. I'd downloaded a book just for this occasion.

But once Zoe was disturbed one too many times by passers-by and a beautiful-but-too-attentive husky, it was time to move on.

The descent was tricky, and once again I wished I'd brought poles. I told Matt that from now on, anything with 1200 feet of elevation requires a pole for the downhill portions. Shortly after, I slipped on one of the rock slabs and landed on a root, as if I needed a bruise on my ass to punctuate the statement.

This ended up being a really beautiful hike, and I've since been told it's great in fall when the leaves are changing, so we may go back and do it again sometime.

Ali