Tag: Alpine Lake

• Alice Lake – Sawtooth National Forest

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on July 19, 2021

  After leaving the humid and mild climate of Montana, driving into the mountains of southern Idaho was like driving through the gates of hell. The heat is so intense it smacks you in the face, but the landscape is stunning. Southern Idaho is unlike any place I’ve been to. The temperature and the air are remnant of Arizona, but the wilderness is similar to the North Cascades.

  Driving through these winding mountain roads was something words cannot do justice to. The two lane roads go on for miles, hugging the river – a place of reprieve from the intense heat. The pavement is stained black in areas, suggesting extra wear and tear on slightly melted tires. The skies are clear and the air is sharp with such little moisture I needed extra water just stepping outside.

  With all of these desert like features comes a unique beauty I don’t see much in the Pacific Northwest. Even the rest stops had amazing views.

  

  Idaho was never a state high on my list of places to visit until a few years ago. I stumbled onto some photos of the Sawtooth Wilderness, and I immediately knew this was a place I would have to see in my lifetime. When planning a vacation to Glacier, I realized a small detour into Idaho before heading back home would not only be plausible, but also necessary.

  Ironically Duncan and I ended up spending more time in Idaho than in Montana, despite the fact that our original goal was solely to travel to Glacier. Idaho turned out to be a gem among gems with its ever-changing landscape, and beautiful alpine lakes. I had one goal while on this vacation – hike as many times as possible.

  I managed to officially hike five of these vacation days, and these hikes will forever be etched into my memories.

  

  Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the brown, dry, and desert like landscape of Idaho is the Sawtooth Wilderness. An equally hot climate, but with green trees and countless lakes. The first of two hikes we did in Idaho was Alice Lake – a 12 mile out and back trail ending at a glass like pocket of water just begging to be swam in by those brave souls who submerge themselves in frigid waters.

  Definitely not me though…I couldn’t…

  We stayed at a quaint little Airbnb about an hour and 20 minutes from the Sawtooth Mountains, meaning we had to wake up before the birds again to beat the heat. We arrived at the trail head around 0530, and while the temperatures were calm this time of day – the mosquitoes were not.

  Pro tip: bring extra bug spray to the Sawtooth Mountains.

  

  The first mile of this hike hugs next to the above lake before officially entering into the wilderness. While I have always been a fan of hiking early, this vacation was the first time I consistently woke up before the sun this many times in a row, and there is something magical about coming to life at the same time as the earth. The sun slowly rises, the shadows slowly fade, and the heat slowly engulfs you reminding you why you chose to start early.

  The hike up to Alice Lake was moderate, but not overly difficult. The early start was incredibly helpful, and we took our time to soak in the surrounding views.

  

  

  We arrived at the lake around 0830, and we passed by a handful of campers waking up. This area is a prime camping location, and the campsites are all spread out nicely so that you are not on top of each other. I will absolutely be coming back here to camp. We chose to hike to Alice Lake and then turn around, but this trail continues on for a 21 mile loop passing two other lakes. I will also be walking the entire loop next time!

  When we arrived at the lake we first passed by a small lake that was cute, but was definitely no Alice.

  

  

  We managed to find a camp spot that was vacant, and our original plan was to sit and savor the view for 30 minutes or so, eat a snack, and head back down before the peak heat of the day. Disclaimer: this is not what happened. We did in fact sit and savor the view, we ate a snack, and we made friends with a local ground squirrel, but we did not leave before peak heat of the day.

  We instead found a rock to sprawl our bodies out onto, deciding to stay at the lake for a couple hours before heading back down. Duncan even suggested possibly putting parts of our bodies into the frigid waters, but we didn’t plan to swim.

  No way.

  

  

  

  What happened next cannot be explained by anything other than pure seduction by Alice. The day slowly turned into late morning, and the temperature slowly started to rise. By 1030, I was up to my knees in the water. The initial shock of the cold water hit like a knife, but after a minute or two my body adjusted and it was no longer frigid. When in Rome you eat pasta, when in Idaho you swim in the lake.

  With the flip of a switch I decided I was going in.

  

  What was meant to be a quick dip turned into over 30 minutes of swimming, only exiting the water to shoo off our squirrel friend who had gotten into my food garbage. I eventually got cold enough to get out and lay on the warm rocks, and I officially understand seals on a personal level now. The hike to the lake was fantastic, but the swimming was what really sealed the deal.

  This was easily my favorite hike of the entire trip. The entire day was unbeatable.

  Without pain we cannot truly feel joy, and the joy I felt from this morning of swimming was followed by pain on the hike back. The heat was so intense I could feel my organs cooking like squash in an oven. The last mile was so stagnant and long I had to switch into autopilot to get back to the car. Just moments from the trail head we were passed by a man running with his dog. What’s with these people running in the peak heat?

  

  

  The pain was worth the joy, and I would have done this entire day over 10 times. To add more surprise to the Idaho weather, at the tail end of our drive home we were hit with some of the most intense rain and hail I have seen in a very long time. It was moving quickly in the sky, but lingered just long enough to soak me when I had to run into the grocery store. The drowned rat look has a whole new meaning now.

  I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the Sawtooth Wilderness, this place is a unique beauty that can only truly be experienced in real time. 10/10 would recommend.

  

  I am officially a believer of swimming in alpine lakes after a hot hike, and I hope to find many pristine lakes to wash my hiking filth off in this summer. Any and all recommendations are welcomed, no matter the state, and no matter the country.

  Q: Would you swim?

  

  | 41 Comments Tagged Alpine Lake, Hiking, Idaho, Sawtooth Wilderness

• Austrian Alpine Lakes

  Posted at 2:00 PM by Brittany, on July 29, 2020

  Back in 2015 when I started hiking regularly, I fell in love with alpine lake hikes (this one is my all time favorite.) In order for a lake to be considered “alpine” it must be above a certain elevation (somewhere around 5000 feet, or 1524 meters), and is often fed by mountain runoff. In Washington where I am from, these alpine lake hikes start close to sea level, which means it’s quite a climb to see them.

  Anyone can visit a regular lake, but you have to work to see an alpine lake. 

  Here in the Alps there are cable cars to help cut off some of the climbing, but the assistance in reaching an alpine lake doesn’t make the journey any less spectacular. Last summer I was introduced to two lakes in northern Austria very close to where I live, and I had been daydreaming about seeing them ever since. I finally made plans to spend a day in the mountains, and it was a day I won’t soon forget.

  

  These two lakes are within the same hiking region on the Meininger Mountain range in Ehrwald Austria. I have ridden my bike to Ehrwald a couple times, and I originally thought about biking to Ehrwald, hiking to the lakes, and biking back. This brief psychotic episode was short lived thankfully, because that would have been rough.

  Instead I took a train (with my bike) to Ehrwald (saving an hour and a half of uphill biking), biked to the cable car where my pal Galiya and I took the cable car up the mountain (saving two hours of hiking) and began our journey to lake number one around 10:30.

  First stop: Seebensee.

  

  

  The views on our way to the lake reminded me of the Swiss Alps, and were far more expansive than any of the hikes I have done in Bavaria just next-door. I couldn’t believe I waited so long to experience Austria in this way. The mountains kept going, and around each corner was a new view unlike anything we’d passed earlier in the day.

  It took us about 1.25 hours to make our way to Seebensee, and the terrain was doable for any hiker. I was out of breath a few times, only because Galiya and I were speed walking. After necking it back to enjoy the journey we fell into a comfortable pace. Once we arrived at Seebensee we found ourselves surrounded by other humans, and rightfully so – the lake is gorgeous.

  We also found ourselves surrounded by lots of alpine cows. My favorite!

  

  

  The weather was starting to get quite warm, and I was relating on a personal level to that cookies and creme cow in the above photo. Galiya and I brought our bathing suits so we could dip our overheated bodies into the lake, but we decided to save our plunge for lake number two.

  Second stop: Drachensee.

  The climb to Drachensee was more intense than the walk to Seebensee. This required over 300M of climbing in a short span of earth. We started the climb around noon (aka the peak heat of the day), and my body was definitely feeling the burn (inside and out.) I took my time, and stopped to savor the view of Seebensee a handful of times while I let my heart rate calm down.

  

  What I love most about hiking in Europe, aside from the jaw dropping views, is the diversity among hikers. People of all ages and shapes come out to hike, and everyone goes at their own pace. I saw more people over the age of 50 hiking to Drachensee than I saw people my age or younger. It’s not only motivational, but inspirational! I strive to live a life that will allow me to continue hiking well into my 60’s and even my 70’s!

  We took about 30 minutes to climb the switchbacked hill up to Drachensee, and at the top of this hill lives the Coburger Hütte – a mountain hut where most people stop to savor a bit or a brew. Galiya and I skipped the crowded hut and continued the final few minutes down to Drachensee.

  

  We had every intention of swimming in this lake, until we arrived. Drachensee is a beauty of a lake, but her inner core disappears into a thick darkness hiding whatever lives under the surface (Drachensee = dragon lake.) I don’t like swimming in water where I cannot see what is underneath me, and I have self diagnosed myself with Thalassophobia.

  Side note: this Buzzfeed article made me want to vomit and I could not finish looking at the photos! 

  The deal breaker for me was seeing a large pipe leading into the lake from the shore, and almost immediately disappearing into the darkness. Nope, nope, nope. Instead we sat around the shore of the lake where little to no other humans were, ate a snack, and savored the view while our core temperatures cooled off naturally from lack of movement.

  

  The trails surrounding Drachensee are seemingly endless, for more intense hikers and even climbers there are routes that continue onto the peaks above the lake. There is a Klettersteig route as well, but I like living so I opted for the lake as my “summit.” We planned to go for a swim in Seebensee after avoiding being sucked into the dragons lair of Drachensee, and began our descent back down to our first stop.

  Initially I couldn’t figure out why no one was swimming in either of these lakes. When the sun is strong and people are out hiking, it’s hard to find a spot to set up and swim because everyone is out swimming. I was worried all these German speakers knew something we didn’t, but we decided to go for it anyway.

  I quickly discovered why no one was swimming. 

  

  This icy blue water was just that – icy! The moment I stepped my toes into the water I was met with an overwhelming surge of cold. I slowly continued to wade deeper into the water, hooting and hollering the entire way. Had it not been for my feet slipping on the algae covered rocks I likely would have taken much longer to submerge my body.

  I then went in and out of the lake three times. I guess I was a sucker for the pain. Overall it was my feet and hands that suffered the most. I could have kept my core in that water for much longer. After cooling off our internal heaters we sat on the grass next to the lake watching small human specks walk across the mountain peaks surrounding us.

  We were in the middle of a cow party, and had a handful of cows come to see what we were up to. 

  

  As we dried off and reclothed, we made our way back towards the cable car to start our journey back home. Not before stopping at the Seebenalm for a bite to eat and a chat with a tiny human. A small boy came and sat with us as we ate our food and I proceeded to make him count in German for us (he spoke to us non stop in German, but I only understood 1/10 of what he was saying.)

  He was such a sweet and pure soul. 

  

  

  Our original plan was to bike back home (it’s mostly downhill), but after a full day of hiking (we managed ten miles) we decided to train back home. We made it back down off the mountain at 1700 – 6.5 hours later! It’s days like this that make it really, really hard to leave Europe.

  

  Q: Does swimming in bodies of water without a clear view of what’s below you scare you too?

  

  | 29 Comments Tagged Alpine Lake, Austria, Brittanys Life Abroad, Hiking

• Solo Hiking – Why and How I Do it

  Posted at 8:40 AM by Brittany, on August 10, 2015

  Escaping to the mountains is by far one of my favorite things to do. I have a lifestyle that allows me to up and go practically anytime I want, but for others that’s not always conducive. Sometimes I make decisions last minute.

  

  Brittany, party of one.

  

  Fortunately for me, I sometimes prefer embarking on my hiking adventures alone.

  

  

  

  Melakwa lake was my recent destination of choice for a solo hike, an alpine lake nestled comfortably at the end of a 4.25 mi climb, and at 4600ft. On the way up my mind was being used to tell my lungs to inflate and deflate, but on the way down my mind filled with thoughts of why I enjoy solo hiking.

  

  

  There are many reasons why I hike solo, and there are also a handful of ways “how” I hike solo. While I know it may not be for everyone, it’s something I’d encourage if the thought has every crossed your mind. My only advice is to be prepared.

  Here are a few of my how and why’s.

  
  How(H) and Why(W) I Solo Hike

  • H: I always eat a large balanced breakfast. Always.
  • W: I love being on my own schedule, moving at my own pace, and venturing off on any (well marked) path I want.

  

  • H: I always read up on whatever trail I’m interested in before I go. Things like trail reports/conditions, distance, path information, things to expect and so on. This helps reduce any unknown surprises.
  • W: I work a job that requires a lot of talking, sometimes it’s nice to not talk. Aside from the greetings I provide fellow hikers. I crave alone time.

  

  The common stop spot for families. Thankfully the rest of the hike I was to myself a lot.

  • H: I tend to go on Sunday’s, a day I know there will be other hikers. I also go to hikes I presume will be populated enough that I’m not completely alone, but alone enough to have long stretches without seeing others.
  • W: Being alone means I don’t have to shower before I go, despite all the onions I ate the day before seeping out of my pores. I can also let any air trapped in my stomach escape. Beans, beans, the magical fruit.

  

  Fungus umungus.

  • H: I ALWAYS let someone know where I am going, and when to expect me home. By someone I mean my mom.
  • W: There is something immensely freeing about being alone on a mountain. Not like being alone in sketchy woods, that’s different. Being alone with nature (and enough fellow hikers that I feel safe from boogie men) gives me so much peace and I feel more alive in these moments than any other.

  

  • H: I always carry the essentials. Food, water, a knife, mace, a whistle/light, a poncho, nun-chucks, matches, sunscreen, my phone, beef jerky for Sasquatch. The knife I carry could use an upgrade though, if anyone wants to send one my way I’ll happily accept.
  • W: Independence, mental clarity, accomplishments, learning new things about myself, inner strength, inner peace, inner love–I’m a crunchy granola.
    

    Always in my hand, just in case.

  • H: My head is constantly swiveling, and I don’t get too lost in my thoughts. It’s easy to get distracted by all the beauty, but being aware of my surroundings keeps me safe. Falling branches are my nemesis.
  • W: I am my best when I feel strong and confident. I’m also my best when no one hears how heavy I’m breathing while climbing hills in 90+ degrees.

  
  

  • H: I always go early, ensuring that I have plenty of daylight should I somehow get off track. I also try to never get off track.
  • W: Solo hiking allows me to practice my terrible selfie skillz.

  

  I was going for 1980’s solo prom pose.

  

  

  • H: I listen to the cricket in my head. Pinocchio taught me not to listen to talking foxes, but also to let my conscious be my guide. The voice in your head and the feeling in your gut–listen to it. 
    
  • W: I can use the wilderness bathroom anytime. I can actually do this when I’m not solo too, but it’s a tad bit easier when I’m alone.

  

  

  

  

  I think that’ll do for now, but if you’re still not convinced solo hiking is for you I’ll leave you with this: No one will see you take the shoes you find mid trail.

  

  Just kidding, those weren’t my size.

  Q: Do you/have you/would you solo hike? If yes, what are your tips and tricks?

  

  | 65 Comments Tagged Adventure, Alpine Lake, Hiking, Melakwa Lake, Solo Hike, Washington

• An Alpine Lake Stole My Heart

  Posted at 8:03 AM by Brittany, on August 21, 2014

  All of the hikes I’ve done lately have been similar. I start at the bottom, and I go to the peak – very straight forward. Or “up” forward?

  

  When I got a text from my friend about doing an Alpine Lake hike I knew it was time I checked one of these off my list, and man am I glad I did. Lake hikes are a bit different because instead of going from bottom to top, there’s lots of winding and up and down and up and down.

  

  An Alpine Lake is considered any lake or reservoir at a high altitude. Alpine lakes are usually clearer than lakes at lower elevations due to the colder water which decreases the amount of algae and moss growth in the water. Often these lakes are surrounded by varieties of pine trees, aspens, and other high altitude trees.

  My first Alpine Lake hike was to Snow Lake, and then I carried on to Gem Lake. Two birds with one stone, because why not? Ten miles total with an ending elevation of 4857 ft.

  It was the perfect balance of a climb.

  

  My compadre was a better man than I, and actually jumped crawled into both lakes. Me? Not so much, I observed just in case a wild animal came. Someone had to take care of the serious stuff.

  

  One thing on this hike that really captured my interest was this.

  

  There are camp spots all throughout these mountains, so someone built totally legit wooden toilets around them. Lucky for me, because my bladder is the size of a peanut.

  What can I say, I am easily amused.

  

  Forget a pool, I want an Alpine Lake in my backyard. With cookies, always with cookies.

  

  

  I’ll be back to uphill climbing this week, but these lakes will soon see my face again.

  For more Snow Lake photos click here.

  Q: Do you prefer long and gradual hikes, or shorter and steeper climbs? Definitely both, depending on my mood. It’s all about the balance! 

  

  | 46 Comments Tagged Alpine Lake, Gem Lake, Hike, PNW, Snow Lake

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