Three Lakes via Laughingwater Creek — Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022

Memory can be a funny thing. In my memory, the Laughingwater Creek Trail, was around 11 or 12 miles. I hiked it yesterday and my GPS told me I covered 15.6 miles, with 3,311 feet of climbing. I am a bit sore today. That isn’t to say that the hike wasn’t worth it. One of the reasons I hike is to provide a physical challenge. I also love hiking through our beautiful forests. And I like to get away from the crowds. This trail checked all three boxes. It is unrelentingly uphill and mostly through a “green tunnel” of trees. With no spectacular views of the big mountain, this is one of the least hiked trails in the park. I spent seven hours on the trail and saw one other person. Most people who do choose to hike this trail head up to the Three Lakes Patrol Cabin and turn around. I discovered several years back that there is another pretty little lake a half mile (and 400 vertical feet) farther up the trail. I once saw a cougar on the banks of that lake - only the second I have seen in 60 years of hiking. There were no predators to be seen on this trip, though there was an impressive pile of bear scat in the meadow. In the cool of the morning, the mosquitoes under the forest canopy were terrible, so I paused to slather on some DEET. That held them at bay. Up at the lakes I didn't see a single biting insect and when I descended through the shady forest the bugs had disappeared.