What a difference the time of year makes.
Last time I did this hike with Ray, the trail was
knee deep in snow and it was 29 degrees.
Common sense took a back seat to adventure that
day.
7 brave and hardy Friends of the Umpqua on a
beautiful day headed up into the Seven Lakes
Basin. The trail headed up through subalpine
forest. That was the theme of the day:
up and forest. There were huckleberries just
going ripe and Gaoying, who is from China,
discovered the joys of huckleberries. After
a couple of miles, we arrived at picturesque Frog
Lake. No frogs but some mosquitos.
After lunch we headed up the slope to Violet
Ridge.
Alta Lake sits in a cleft at the very summit of
Violet Hill. You could probably throw a rock
across the lake but it is about a mile or more in
length. Well, let's be accurate here:
Most people, but not Ray, could throw a rock
across. I've seen him throw.
After taking in the lake view, we left the trail
and headed up a ridge to a breathtaking viewpoint
atop a cliff. Devils Peak dominated the
vista, Cliff Lake nestled at its base. The
Seven Lakes Basin lay way down below our feet with
Grass and Middle Lake visible. The Basin
sloped up a cinder cone dotted uplands all the way
to Crater Lake. Lots of volcanos.
Gaoying and Lois headed down early and Richard S,
Ray, Phil and myself delightfully lollygagged and
dallied at the viewpoint. We took a little
walk down to the lake and Richard S waded into the
lake to take a picture.
From there it was back down and where I eagerly
approached the huckleberry field only to find
Gaoying did not leave me any. She had a nice
baggy full though. All in all another great
hike, and enjoy the photos.
