This morning we took our time getting up and ready and we’re excited about a hike today. With Kim and Ryan’s kids here, our kids usually get dressed and ready pretty quickly so they played before we left. The Jenson family went on an ATV excursion and we headed to Lost Lake.
It was an ambiguous trailhead (no sign), and we saw two trail markers the whole time, but the trail was pretty straightforward. We saw two men and a dog right at the trailhead and they gauged the hike at around 2.5 round trip and let us know we were in for some mud.
I loved this hike. The terrain changed with every few hundred feet. The hike started through the trees, then to a hillside covered in flowers with a bigger lake to the right and a smaller see-through pond to the left. The trail ascended and descended throughout and was a fun kind of challenging at close to 12,000 ft. We went over a large creek on a log, then several smaller creeks, then back into the forest of evergreens, then to another flower-covered hillside with mountains surrounding us, then across the bog. We named it the bog, and we are sure this is the official mud the travelers warned us of. It was straight-up mucky mud and water and we tried as much as possible to stay out, but it was no use. We helped the girls across as much as possible but muddy shoes were a thing. After the bog, we headed uphill through some boulders which opened out into a lake surrounded by mountains and rocks. We sat and had some snacks on the lakeside but didn’t stay long because there were thunderous clouds chasing us the whole hike. It was just an exhilarating and breathtaking hike.
After our long hike, we did a short 1200 ft up to the summit of Cottonwood Pass. It was a pretty steep climb and definitely challenged our lungs. Elsa almost didn’t make it to the top but felt pretty accomplished afterward. Anna really wanted to touch the snow, so we found a little bit close to the bottom to satiate that need! We then headed to a day-use area a mile closer to our campsite to use the restroom and there was a great view where you could see all of Taylor Lake and maybe even our camper (but definitely the campground).
When we got back it was raining and we had a little rest time, ate dinner, and headed up for an impromptu birthday celebration for Anna because last year we celebrated her birthday with them (thanks for the cake Kim!). We stayed for our nightly fire, games, and ladder ball championship (Kim won), before heading back to our camper for the night.
Here is the link to photos/videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FWSys2WYDaXMn1rm9