We planned on going to Blackmare Lake, but we had also prepared ourselves for the possibility that it wouldn’t be possible with the snow levels.
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Starting out from Kennally Creek Campground a couple hours before sunset. |
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Less than a mile out, okay, maybe a little closer to sunset than I thought. |
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We camped after the first junction, but before the trail started to head uphill. |
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Heading out to Blackmare Lake! Will we make it? |
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Hiking up towards the sunrise. |
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Still a bit chilly even though the sun is fully up. |
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I’ve never seen this crossing so deep. Usually we can rock hop it, but this trip the crossing was boots off. |
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The huckleberries were nowhere near ripe. |
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Snow! On the ground! I still get excited seeing that. |
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Ah, more snow. Over the trail. That’s okay. |
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Time to head up the no trail and find out if we’re going to Blackmare. |
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It’s hard to see from this picture, but the answer is “Nope”. The trail heading down has snow on it, and a slip from that trail would land us on some rocks. We both agreed it wasn’t a good bet. |
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But that doesn’t mean we turned back! On to Stump Lake! |
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Usually this trail has a couple easy little step over creeks. Not this time! |
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We managed to keep our boots on, but it wasn’t always easy. |
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The snow continued to increase as we hiked higher and higher. |
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Lovely little snow well. |
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I found the trail! After I lost the trail and took us haring off to high ground away from the snow for a while. |
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We made it to Stump Lake! |
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And the only place clear and flat enough to pitch a tent was the same small space that we used when we ended up here last time in 2014. Also on the way to Blackmare Lake, but from the other direction. |