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| Hiking | 2.50 Miles |
339 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.50 Miles | | | |
| 339 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Sorry about the mini novel. But this day wasn't just about a pretty little hike. It was about reconnection and showing someone the possibilities that she had thought were gone forever.
Back at my sister's for the rest of Memorial Day weekend. My nephew and niece and their families were there for the weekend as well, so it was family time with no crowds but ourselves on 700 acres. I had done some research on some cool areas around my sister's place and 1 place stuck in my mind that I wanted to visit. Lake Wenatchee State Park about a 30 minute drive away. It had horseback riding, fishing and kayaking and it looked beautiful. Because the Horseback and Kayaking didn't open before Labor Day weekend, I had to wait. I was going to have to leave for good after the weekend to start heading home, but I really wanted to see this place.
Then it occurred to me that my sister and I hadn't done anything together, just the two of us, in 40 years. All of the visits between now and then also had husbands, kids, sisters and parents. The last time we did something together, alone, was horseback riding in Riverside, CA near their home. An unguided ride on a sandy smooth trail. We were loping along, with my sister in front, and her horse tripped and went head over heels, landing on my sister and rolling off. My sister was ok, just shaken, and decided to inform me that she was just shy of 6 weeks pregnant.  And somehow, she and the little one escaped everything except for some nasty bruises.
Fast forward to this trip. My sister has been pretty immobilized for the last 15 years due to rheumatoid and osteoarthritis in her knees. She finally had gotten both knees replaced in the last year and was rediscovering that she could walk nicely without pain. And I just had a light bulb moment. So I invited her to go horseback riding with me on Memorial Day at the lake. Because of her limitations, she had lived here for almost 20 years and hadn't really explored anything around her, so she had never been to this lake. It was time for us to see it for the first time, together. The brother-in-law, being the protective husband, and knowing my sister's history of being somewhat accident prone, had some reservations. Whatever dude, we were doing this. Call it a mulligan from the ride 40 years ago.  At least it would be a given, that at 67, she wasn't going to be pregnant this time.
We had a plan to do the Horseback ride and then she would see the lake and then drive back home while I kayaked. But you know, things evolve and plans change. We drove both our vehicles up to the stables and went for a 1 hour guided horseback ride. My sister was ecstatic. After the ride, she wanted to see the lake and since we were still outside the fee area, we left her vehicle at the stables and drove in. Surprisingly, the lake was not very crowded, on a holiday. I think maybe because the weather was still unseasonably cool and cloudy for this time of year. We enjoyed the lake, hit the the little gift shop/snack bar there and had some lunch with a view. Talked to the vendor of the gift shop/snack bar and asked him about trails, other things that would be a must see while we were here in the park and the area. He told us about the Hidden Lake hike. Gave us an overview and I looked at my sister. Her expression was enough of an answer. So, ditched the kayaking for a hike and with the vendor's directions, we were on our way.
After a pretty drive, we found the TH and hit the trail. My sister makes hiking/walking sticks that she sells at the local farmer's markets and craft fairs, so she's in heaven finding potential sticks. I told her that I wasn't packing anything out until we were on the way back. The trail was nice and smooth and it was a pleasant hike up to the lake. Just 1 downed tree across the trail. Went around it on the way up, and over it on the way back. Arrived at a beautiful little mountain lake. But you know me. I'm not just content to sit there and enjoy just one view. I found a trail that goes all the way around.  And of course, being a mountain lake, like many, it had a flatter side and a steeper side and the steeper side took awhile. While there was still pretty much a trail, it wasn't that maintained and less used, so route finding happened every once in awhile. But it was worth it. There were a lot of springs coming off the mountain on the steep side and it made for little spots of paradise along the way. While the entire lake was probably only 1/2 mile around at the most, it took us about an hour just on the steep side, between the route finding, a little hiking up and then butt sliding back down, and just enjoying the little cool spots on that side of the lake. My sister did really well, but there were times where I felt she might have been overestimating her abilities to keep her feet, so I had to keep her in check in a few steep places. Didn't want to feel the wrath of the brother-in-law if she tripped and careened 15 feet down an embankment into the water. LOL
We finally made it to the side of the lake close to where we started and I thought I was getting back up on the trail that we had been on when we got to the lake. And I followed it for a bit into the forest. But apparently, even in a place I hadn't been before, I was getting the feeling that we were going the wrong direction than we originally came. Still a really nice trail, but it just felt wrong. Checked RS and yep, totally wrong, so we turned around and got back on track. We suspected that maybe that trail actually ended up on Lake Wenatchee because we could actually see some glimpses of the lake from there and I confirmed that when I got back. Looking at a topo map, it looks to go to a campground on the lake called Glacier View Campground. So we hike back to the truck and by the time I get to the truck, I'm dragging a load of sticks with me.
Sweet little hike, made sweeter with the company I was with. It was so awesome to be able to have some quality time with my sister for a change and I feel like we really reconnected on this day and on this trip. And to see the never ending smile on her face, when she realized some of the things she could now do again, after years of such limiting mobility, was priceless. I feel like I helped open up the world around her again and I think she'll start exploring it more and more now.
On the drive home, the highway follows the Wenatchee River all the way into Leavenworth and I have crossed it several times on it's way to dump into the Columbia River in Wenatchee. It really is a gorgeous, scenic and sometimes a very tumultuous river. The next time I'm up there, I just might do a raft trip down it. And maybe some fishing. It was that inviting to explore some more.
I included a few pics of wildlife from her place, along with that day's actual photos. I left her place for good, to meander home, a couple of days later. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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