We got up early today, and went on a hike. I had always wanted to do Rachel Lake... as... my name is Rachel. haha. The hike is an interesting one... altho the last part is killer. They say it's a mile... it felt like 2 or more. The hike is 4 miles long. The first 3 are supposed to be super easy. Well, they are for the most part. Altho you start out climbing up for some strange reason. I started to ask ""are you sure it's not the first mile that's hard?"" Well, the uphill part there didn't last long... and the 3 miles were mostly flat as promised. While on the ""flat"" part of the trail. We came across some meadows.... now you may think ""a meadow... oh how nice!"" haha... wait till you get there. I don't think they contain grass... lol. They are mostly bushes... super tall overgrown flowers that have been fed a little too much miracle grow... and some stickery spike plants. They all kinda crowd in on the trail too, so it's hard to see where you're putting your feet and you start slipping on rocks and roots. And then there's the bugs, biting flies... a few mosquitoes... but mostly flies. They swarm on you if you're anywhere even near a meadow. lol. We forgot the deet at home... but I don't think I suffered too many bites. I think i swatted them away fast enough... haha. Yes, so yeah, beware of the meadows! When the flat part finnally ended... it was straight up... with no breaks. Just root after root after rock after root after rock. And i'm not talking your average sized rocks or roots... these were huge! I had trouble when going down cus I had to bend over just so my trekking pole would be touching the ground while climbing down these roots! Altho I do have to say the waterfalls were very nice and pretty. I liked them a lot. When I finnally did get to the lake, I noticed less flies and other bugs. Altho it WAS very windy. The lake is beautiful though. I could almost say it was indigo... probably more aqua though. I didn't go in, altho I saw some other people jump in and swim around. I think the hike practically killed my dear old dad. He could hardly take it. Well at least he humored me and came along. Even I was exausted at points. We passed a group of 3 backpackers on the way up. They had to stop after the first little bit of climb on the way in. And we didn't see them again until hours later at Rachel lake. We had been up there about 40 minutes before they finnally showed up, exausted. And I thought my daypack was heavy... lol. Well I did have my hydration pack, my camera... an emergiancy kit, some nutrigrain bars, and some assorted clothing items in there. When I say my camera, I mean my 35mm slr... not some cheap disposable one. It's not lightweight for sure. I think it only really hurt my shoulders because it wasn't balanced right... after all... it was only a school backpack... not one with nice straps and such. I missed having a chest strap and waist strap like on the one I borrowed from a friend. Could've really used one of those. Oh well. I did just fine. My dad didn't even have a pack... only a little hip bag. lol. The other backpackers laughed at us and asked why I was the one with the pack. hehe. Well, anyway... it was a fun hike. Try it out sometime.

After driving up the fairly well maintained but slightly washboarded road to the trailhead, we hit the trail to Rachel Lake. It's in good condition the whole way. There were lots of happy people hiking the trail, some camping and others day-hiking. At the junction to Rampart Lakes we headed towards Lila Lake, then took a spur trail to the top of Alta Mt. It goes fairly easily. Then I had the brilliant idea to drop down from near the summit to one of the Lila Lakes. Poor Gary had a little trouble with this section, and it cost a lot of time, but we made it. There are numerous hiding spots and ponds and lakes in the area, but lots of trampled social trails. Finally we decided to take in Rampart Lakes, and enjoyed reminiscing about a camping trip years ago. It's a looooong way back (seemingly). Bugs not terrible.

This is an exeptional hike. Rampart Ridge above it, makes Rachel Lake even more beautiful: Very green, and very rocky. The Rampart Lakes are an experience in paradise: The rocky terrain, the flowers, the views of surrounding peaks. The streams. The waterfalls. Alta Mountain is steep, but comes with incredible views; and many false summits. The Lila Lakes are nice, especially from above them on Alta, with High Box behind them. No problems to report with the trail. Few bugs. Maybe a dozen people at Rampart Lakes on this sunny Friday morning. No one on Alta, at Lila Lakes, or at Rachel Lake. I especially enjoyed watching the wind blow across Rachel Lake from five hundred feet above it on Rampart Ridge, and even more so from fifteen hundred feet above it on Alta Mountain. The last mile plus to Rachel Lake passes by several easily-accessed, and unique waterfalls. A mile from the trailhead, there is a fascinating water-carved area on the creek. I would like to see it earlier in the year, with more water. About fourteen miles altogether, including exploration at Rampart Lakes (which is abundant). Started at 7:00am. Back to the car at 4:45pm.

I wandered around Rampart Ridge three years ago and started up the path to the top of Alta Mountain, but started feeling ill and turned back. I promised myself I'd come back and go all the way, and I finally kept that promise yesterday. I should note that Harvey Manning's description and sketch map is deceptive. He makes it seem like you go straight at the Lila Lakes/Rampart Lakes junction. In fact, this intersection is a T, the only real options are left (to Rampart Lakes) or right (to Lila AND Alta Mountain). Straight ahead is just a brief path to nowhere, tellingly blocked off by branches. To head up Alta Mtn, the most spectacular choice of the three in my opinion, go right toward Lila Lakes. The trail climbs for a little while, staying on top of the ridge. Immediately before it drops off the top of the ridge to the right, there is a junction with a trail in some heather to the left. Turn left there if Alta Mtn is your destination. It pretty much stays on top of the ridge the whole way, an amazing tightrope act, with several false summits. It's not that hard, but watch your step -- one bad slip and you're toast. If you've dropped off the top of the ridge by more than a few feet, you've missed the junction. It has been so hot and dry lately that even the Rachel Lake trail has only a couple small muddy spots. There were some biting flies and some skeeters, but not too bad. I didn't have to bust out the DEET, so I feel like a flag is not merited. I propose this be the test. If you never use DEET because it will kill the planet or give you cancer or some other silly reason, try to imagine when you WOULD put on DEET if you weren't so silly. All in favor type ""Aye.""

Beautiful views. A few bugs. No snow. Companion (for most of the trip): Bette