Spectacle Lake,  Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area,  Jul 26, 2004 - Jul 29, 2004     page 3 / 17

I pressed on. Spectacle Lake sits at 4260 feet. I had only 300 feet of climb left. Or did I? The trail kept my heart pounding, but there was still plenty of light. Unfortunately, Spectacle Lake sits in a bowl and I needed to climb nearly 100 feet above the lake then drop down again! This would not have been such a big deal, but I had now been up for 18 hours. It's amazing how much more difficult things become when you are suffering from jet lag! I finally caught up with Roger and Dad around 8:45PM. They had just settled down in their sleeping bags. I kidded with them about hitting the sack so early, but I was ready too. I ate only a bit, for I was exhausted and mostly wanted to sleep.

I had pushed myself physically and I was duly punished. The exhaustion caused me to be ill during part of the night. I had experienced this before in the hills and knew it would pass, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

Morning came quickly and the view was astounding. Spectacle Lake sits in a bowl surrounded by jagged peaks. The mountains are rough and inviting, yet menacing just the same. They seem to beckon the hiker to come and explore, yet they seem rugged enough to be daunting at the same time.