Into Larch Lakes

Upper Larch Lake

August 14, 1982
4:40 PM
Larch Lake

I am sacked out in the tent; Micki, too. She is so tired that she didn't even wake up when I started eating snack stuff! We are camped at Upper Larch Lake, and a bloody lot of work it was to get here!

This hike reminds me a whole lot of the Lake Caroline hike – lots of work for relatively nothing [although … now that I look back upon it all while putting these hike accounts together and scanning the old 35mm slides, it really WAS some pretty good stuff].

We hiked in 8-miles, gaining 2300’ in the last 3-miles, and there's not all that much glorious stuff to see on the way up. The best views were north up to the peaks around Snowbrushy Creek.

Larch Lake trail

Lower Larch Lake is basically a marshy mud-puddle. The upper lake is pretty, but the damned mosquitoes were a problem. The blood-sucking little bastards were everywhere; you could hardly open your mouth to breathe! There are millions of the little buzzing shits. When we came up through the lower lake, there were visible clouds of them. You could hear the ‘zzzzt’ whine. And, of course, they all smelled me coming from miles away and were just waiting with their little suckers quivering. Even Micki was snapping at them as they hovered around her

These lakes would be a great destination in mid-September to early November, when the fall colors are out and the bugs are not. As it was, I couldn’t get the tent up fast enough to suit either me or Micki. You really have to pick your season: summer is for wildflowers, fall is for colorful foliage and no effing bugs. 'Yay!' for cold nights that kill the little blood-suckers!!!

Meadows around Upper Larch Lake

I suppose I ought to mention that today is my 30th birthday. Happy Birthday to me (appropriate music in the background). Micki says, “Much ado about nothing. When is my birthday? Do you even know? Of course you don’t! So why is your birthday more important than mine?”

I've got to admit, she's got a point.

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