Lake Estelle, Moose Lake, & Lake Darling, July 17-18, 2010

My calf is still not at 100%, so still no running for me; this meant missing out on Toaster Splash on the 17th, so I needed a hiking trip to make up for it.  I hiked Lake Estelle and Moose Lake on Saturday, and my calf and knee were both killing me.  I ended up cutting the hike a little short in order to spend some time knee-deep in the icy stream near camp.  This was a cool little hike, though.  I saw a lot of wildflowers, including some I had never seen before.
  

Pretty purplish-blue flowers

Mariposa Lilies

Alpine Laural

Avens

Cool rocks in the frigid stream where I iced my legs

On Sunday we hiked a loop to Lake Darling, Pend O'reille Peak, Lunch Peak, and then back to the car.  I have been trying to make it to Lake Darling for years--the first time I tried to go there was too much snow; the second time I tried to go there was a lightening-strike fire that closed the entire area.  Now I have finally been there!  And the best part is that my calf was feeling a lot better on this hike.

Elephant Head

Indian Paintbrush

Lake Darling from Pend O'reille Peak

Moose we spooked along the trail