We had a great overnighter/backpacking trip this weekend. WE drove up to the parking lot/trailhead for Ruth Lake and the we hiked in. We didn't get there until 6 pm and then we hiked in to Ruth Lake. Ruth Lake was our first stop, just a rest stop really, and then we kept hiking to get to Hayden Lake. We never made it to Hayden Lake. At about 7:45-8:00 pm it started to rain cats and dogs and so we found a nice little grassy area and hurriedly set up out tents. Thankfully they all went up pretty fast so they didn't get too wet on the inside.
After our tents were set up we pulled out the backpacking grills for dinner. The boys had cup-o-noodles and I had my beef stew. Yummy! It then proceeded to rain and didn't stop until 3:00-4:00 in the morning.
Here we are getting to Ruth Lake. Not too bad for a big fat guy. I was able to keep up with all the little energy balls.
Kanyon is picking his boogers to help lighten his load!
There were only 6 of us. Four boys and two leaders.
I found this cool tree at Ruth Lake. I had the boys climb up so we could get a great shot.
Strike a Pose!
Looking down on Ruth Lake from the ridge between Ruth and Hayden Lakes.
Here is our tent shortly after we set it up. Thankfully the rain let up for bout 30 minutes so we could enjoy a nice warm dinner.
Here is where Kanyon and the other two boys slept.
My dinner stove!!
I thought this was a beautiful image!
The morning after!! Saturday dawned with a beautiful sunrise! We had a great cool morning to go hiking and exploring.
The moon seen at 7:30 am. It looked awesome just drifting down the ridge line.
After a long rainy chilly night we warmed everyone up with some good old fashioned instant oatmeal. Yummy!
Kanyon and the dead tree!
I warned and warned the boys that they would need pants and a jacket and a poncho/rain coat for this trip. I stopped hassling them after they told me they knew how to pack. Kanyon had no coat/jacket of any kind and Noah brought no pants! To quote Trevor...Der-da-der!
After breakfast we headed out to hike. Our first stop was Hayden Lake. Seen in the picture to the left.
We were supposed to climb to the summit and look out over the entire valley; however, we all got side-tracked on the rocks. We ended up playing in this rock field for 2 hours instead. We threw rocks and rolled rocks and climbed rocks.
 |
| Noah is on a rock in the middle of this picture. Can you see him? It's our version of Where's Waldo!!? |
Noah receiving illumination!?
We found a whole bunch of wild raspberry plants. Yum!
Kanyon found the Raspberries first.
On the rock field was this hole. It was about 20 feet deep. I had Noah climb down into it so I could get a good picture.
Noah on a cliff face!
Noah on another cliff face!
The boys loved rolling huge boulders down off of the cliffs.
My BOYS!!
Here was the group coming down off of the face so we could hike over to Naomi lake and then back to our camp so we could pack up and head home. I, the fat old guy, was the fastest one down the mountain. HA! Take that!
The boys drank a bunch of water so we had to stop twice and reload with water.
Thank heaven for water filtration pumps!
After our hike the tents had dried off enough to pack them up and head home. We started to hike out just a little after noon.
 |
| Overlooking Hayden Lake |
 |
| This is Ruth Lake in a panoramic shot! Beautiful! |
 |
| This is a panoramic shot of Hayden and Jewel lakes with Hayden Peak in the background. |
Noah is a ham!
This is a shot taken just minutes from the parking lot! That garbage bag we filled up at someone's abandoned camp site on Ruth Lake! I hate pigs! WE left the area pristine! LEAVE NO TRACE! We had a great little trip! We stopped off at Subway in Evanston on the way home for linner.
