So unsuspecting...
Our friends even left ribbons for us to follow, but we somehow lost the trail. I guess that's what happens when a couple of city slickers venture into the forrest.
Are we there yet?
We made it!
It was a beautiful sight.
Unfortunately, I didn't much care at that point. We had already wandered almost two miles out of our way and still had to get back!
But then we found our friends...
who offered us seats and mugs of wine.
And some snacks.
C even took a dip in the alpine lake. Things were looking good again.
But before we knew it, it was time to hit the dusty trail once more. It would be dusk before too long. So we posed for one last shot at the summit (just to prove we'd actually made it), and headed out.
It took some doing to get around the lake.
Some found it less challenging than others...
There were some good times before the bad, like this view of the Sierra Buttes.
Well, there aren't any photographs of the treacherousness that ensued (who has time to take photographs when you're lost in the forrest with the sun going down behind you??), but once we made our way back to the trail, we were treated with some beautiful views of the sunset. None of these photos have been edited, btw. It was THAT beautiful.
I guess the moral of the story is that when a 6-mile hike turns into a 10-mile hike, you have definitely lost your way more than once and more than a little bit. But you still might also be rewarded with a beautiful sunset. Never mind if you're too sore to walk the next day and are covered with lashings from running like a scared rabbit through the underbrush - you're gonna love those pictures.
A dirt parking lot never looked so good.
