Lake Caroline — Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023

Arrived at the trailhead about 9am and there was only one other vehicle in an overnight spot. The first two miles or so up to the Caroline junction is very easy and pleasant with great fall colors. The trail starts climbing aggressively after the junction and doesn't mellow out until right before the lake. Good views of many Enchantments peaks from the climb up atleast! We saw many piles of fresh coyote scat in this area all up the trail so I assume there was a pack nearby but we didn't see or hear any, only a few deer. The trail drops down a bit to the lake, and you start to see a few golden larches here. I wouldn't consider this a "larch hike" by any means, but they do grow sporadically around the lake. We continued up past Little Caroline lake towards Windy Pass, but hit our turn around time before reaching the pass. Lots of opportunities to refill water. Very sun exposed so I would image it to be pretty miserable on a hot summer day. We clocked 13 miles and 3500' on Gaia. Only saw one other person all day!