Sunshine...However Briefly

Sunshine

Today we woke to bright sunshine.  Cooper enjoyed his morning nap in the warm sun after the cold night.  After talking about it last night we thought we'd stay one more day in the Uinta Mountains and then pack up to head to Wyoming.   Since it was a nice morning we headed out on a short hike...it was looking like we'd better do it early because rain was in the forecast.  

As luck would have it a trailhead was right at the campground...Crystal Lake.  We chose a short one out to Long Lake (4 miles)...got to save something for the Snowy Mountains.  Along the way we walked past a number of small lakes...Crystal, Cliff, and a few unnamed even smaller ponds.

Cliff Lake lily pads

The trail was pretty even though you could not see much in the way of open vista.  Mountain views were pretty much hidden by the trees.  We did climb to an elevation of 11,527 at Watson Pass...pretty decent, but when camp is 10,000 it really wasn't much of a climb.  Once we reached Long Lake we watched the birds chasing dragon flies for a few minutes, but the clouds started to look more menacing so we packed it up and headed back to camp.

Due to the threat of storms we cooked our dinner early over the fire...just in case the rain prevented a fire later.  The storms started just as we finished cleaning up and packing away the gear. 

California Tortoiseshell

Long Lake

Catching dragon flies

Long Lake

Clouds building

Milbert's Tortiseshell

We spent the rest of our day napping and knitting...tomorrow we head to Laramie and hopefully sunshine.  It is not looking hopeful on the weather front.  We may have to head back to the rain in the East.