Talus

The Summer Snow adventure sadly comes to an end but not until some more adventure ensues. Our hike out continues, crossing streams, snow casms, boulders, talus fields, fallen timber areas, and lots of snow and mud. The scenery continues as well and it was majestic. But the hike is tough, having taken a different route out that added about 3.5 miles to the route...all with no trail. Lots of snow drifts still covered it. The wind kicks up too, gusting to 30+ mph. We press on and I decide to stop at the base of a huge talus slope for a rest break. We heat up some lunch and filter some water out of a fresh glacial water source (awesome water!). LastSuspect has some fun boulder climbing while Allie and I do the work (standard). An osprey hunts the lake not far away and we bid farewell to the lake as we make our way upslope to re-intercept the trail. I break through a snow bank into a hidden creek, getting soaked. We are careful not to sprain an ankle or break a leg in this treacherous section. Pressing on through the many fallen trees and obstacles, we reach the open trail (and check out some other beautiful glacier lakes nearby too). Finally we are rewarded with some downhill, on-trail hiking...piece of cake but lengthy. Allie is a great companion all through it all and we love having her along. And yes, despite my best efforts, she throws another shoe to be lost forever. We grab out cached supplies on the way down and call the adventure complete. This was an awesome <b>...</b>