Chester Lake -- September 12, 2009

Strangely enough, I'd only ever hiked the Chester Lake trail when it was fully engulfed in winter -- deep snow, lake frozen over, icicles dripping from trees. So when Dave suggested a fall hike, I jumped at the chance to see such a beautiful place without the usual white touches.

My first real education was midway through the hike. A meadow type plateau on the hike that I'd always assumed was windswept, causing drifts that piled into hills:



Those little hills are actually the ground itself!



Equally awe-inspiring in fall:







I can never get over the colours of fall:





The layers of time.



Finally got to see Chester Lake in its unfrozen glory. We were among the last on the trail this day, and got to see the lake in a calm state, only the odd splash from the fish:





So calm, it was easy to catch the reflection of the mountains surrounding it:





Looking forward to visiting this special place in spring....