Mt Carrie, Cat Peak, Cat Lake,  Olympic National Park,  Sep 21, 2009 - Sep 25, 2009     page 5 / 80

A few minutes later I reached the junction to Cat Lake. It was only another three-quarters of a mile to the lake. I hiked through bright red stands of huckleberry to the lake. The color was intense, and there were still berries on the plants, but no bear were seen on the hillside.

The lake was just as I had remembered it. Beautiful! Another couple was camped there. I expected to have the place all to myself. I was curious about their itinerary, for the ranger at the wilderness center told me I would have the lake to myself. Hmmm. I greeted them. They acknowledged my presence, but did not seem interested in conversation, so I kept to myself.

The evening was cool and quiet, except for a small family of ducks. They swam back and forth on the lake, occasionally diving down for food. After the sun set and the sky darkened, the three ducklings could be heard flapping their wings and "running" along the water surface, as if practicing their takeoff for flight. They did this several times. Eventually, they tired of this activity and all was quiet. The ducks were gone by morning.