This day was short but hard. A lot of elevation loss and gain and rocky trail. The reward was great views, some of the best especially at the end. Deer creek area to Taylor Lake and camp by the lake. Mind you I have no idea how big the lake was or what it looked like.
Since it was to be a short day I tried to relax and sleep in. I also didn’t want to make a lot of noise too early being that there were so many other campers crammed into the site. Around 6:30 I started getting up ad breaking camp, yes, that is sleeping in for me. As I was breaking camp I was rewarded with a visit from a beautiful young lady. She did not seem scared at all and hung out for quite a while.
Packed up, had my first breakfast a headed out. There was a climb right away which wasn’t too bad. At the top there was another campsite, dry, and I came across a Colorado Trail Foundation trail crew. I stopped and chatted for awhile. They had been working the are that I just camped in, I thought it looked pretty nice. Anyway we chatted and I told them I planned on working a crew next year.
Up and down all day, with a decent stretch above 12,000 feet on Indian Trail Ridge beautiful and challenging. Toward the end of the day I started look for a glimpse of Taylor Lake, I knew there was a long downhill to the lake and was looking forward to seeing it. What I saw was a muddy pond, all I could think of is please do not let that be the lake! I kept trudging along and then the lake came into view, whew! It even had a beach at the far end, yes, a beach!
After a long. nasty, downhill I made it to the beach and joined a few of the hikers from last night for lunch. I was done for the day but they were continuing on. One topic of conversation was where is Bill? Bill was an older hiker that strolled into camp late last night, really hurting. With all the climbing we had and the weight of Bills gear we were all worried about him. He eventually showed up and joined me camping for the night at the lake. Spent the evening having dinner and chatting with Bill, turns out that there was nothing to worry about Bill was a very experienced backpacker. Had some great stories!
Taylor lake turned out to be a very popular camping area and we again had quite a number of folks camping there. One trail family showed up, and wandered off to find a place to camp. Next thing I know I hear WOOOHOOOO! Ha, there they are, all in the lake. LOL!
So then a typical on trail evening, chatting, having dinner, and everyone drifting off to there tents for some well disserved rest.
Loved the picture of Taylor Lake!