Day 145

I slept in longer than I should have and looked at the time. I had 9 minutes to make it to breakfast on time. I hopped up and jogged down the hill to the lodge for breakfast. Made it just in time. I hadn’t thought about what I would be doing today yet but I was invited to hike to lost lake. Absolutely. 
Olivia, who works at the ranch, had her father and two sisters visiting and we all were excited to go hike to a spot that many people can’t go to. I got ready quickly and headed to the rendezvous. We all packed lunch and water and hopped into a 6 seater Polaris for a long ride up the mountain. I was designated to be the driver and happily accepted. 
We talked the whole way up and had fun on the mountain roads. Olivia just graduated high school and is working out here for some adventure before starting college. Her older sister Emily and her younger sister Sophie were just as cool as she was. Their dad was hilarious. I had a great time getting to know them and sharing stories about the walk. 
We reached the “parking lot” and got out to hike about a mile up to the lake. It was a steep and strenuous hike. A creek crossing and many switchbacks on loose rocks. Signs of bears were everywhere too. I loved it. We stopped every so often to catch our breaths as no one was in a hurry. The entire time was filled with great conversation. 
We made it to the top and wow. Just beautiful. The lake is at 10,600 feet and the water is crystal clear with beautiful trout all over. The water temperature is said to be at around 40 degrees. We all jumped in. I can now cross the lost lake challenge off of my bucket list. 
We got out quickly after a few pictures and dried off with one shared towel and sunlight. We walked to the other side of the lake for more pictures with a great view. The clouds were forming and I knew we needed to start getting back down to the vehicle so we made our way back down. Less strenuous on the way down and more time to take in the beautiful scenery. 
We reached the Polaris and Emily wanted to drive down. Good. I actually had phone service on the top of the mountain and wanted to play on Instagram and Facebook. Also, we ate our lunches as we rode down. We got to the lodge just as it started to rain. Perfect timing. 
Lunch was being served at the lodge so all of the staff was there. Chris invited me to ride with them to go clear out some roads in the high Country. Definitely. I wanted to contribute some work as I was having such a great time here. 
There were 5 guys including me in a 4×4 suburban and we rode up and down mountains for a few hours. Every now and then moving a rock or a limb that had fallen into the road. Nothing big enough for me to get out and help came up. So I just got to enjoy the ride. 
We saw a bear in the road. I’d say probably a teenager. Not a cub but not full grown. He took off quickly before we could get pictures. Some of the guys didn’t see it at all. We got to this place called Brown Park. A stunning cleared out area with beautiful trees all around and signs of flourishing wildlife. I could imagine a heard of elk roaming happily. 
We made our way back down and spotted some Columbine flowers. They are Colorado’s state flower and can only be seen about 10,500 feet and above. We arrived back at the lodge just in time for dinner. What a great day..
Dinner was fantastic and when everyone was finished I said my goodbyes as I knew that I was going back to my walk early tomorrow morning. I took a photo with the backpacking believers and we headed back to the house for my last night at the ranch. 
We stayed up late talking and then we all realized that we needed to go to bed as we all had big days tomorrow. I loved every second that I spent with this family and am very happy to know them.