Hiking up to Lake Melakwa

Considering it somewhat of a travesty to visit such a beautiful area with such a plethora of great trails, and not take advantage of it, I prevailed upon Nathan to take me on a hike last week. (It took all of about 500 nanoseconds of pleading for him to accede.)  We originally planned to take on a place called Bare Mountain, but the access road pretty much became a single file trail around 20 miles from the trail head.  So we turned around and went further up I-90 to another spot.  It was a great day with a lot of fun.

 A great shot we got as we retreated back to the freeway from our first attempt.

 Some very colorful fungus along the trail.  This was bright orange, similar to the Caltrans vests one sees along the highway.

 More fungus.  This one was bright purple, but the lighting would not allow for an accurate photo.

 The trail was full of great shots like this one of a series of waterfalls.

 Not sure you get the full impact of this one, but that is a long way down.

 For the most part the trail was in the shade, nestled in among the trees.  But there were a few spots where we had to cross granite out in the open.  Also, in some places there were not many rocks and roots, making it a great little hike.

 A panorama view of Lake Melakwa.  As you can see, it is a very clear lake, and the weather was beautiful, clear with a bit of a breeze.  It took us about 3 hours to hike in, a distance of about 6 miles with a rise in elevation of just over 2600 feet.  We sat by the marge of the lake and ate lunch, then while Nathan did some exploring around, I found a comfortable root for a pillow and enjoyed the obligatory nap.

 It only took us about 2 hours to get back out, but my lower legs paid for it for days.  Views like this, and the delightful companionship of Nathan, were all worth it.

 At the lake.

 Back at the waterfall - with a rainbow this time.

I can't wait until the next time we get to go out.