"Lost Lake ~ Why We Hike"  

 

The lake was nothing dramatic enough for National Geographic or a poster on 
your wall.  It didn't need to be. As I gazed across its shallow expanse  
moments passed, but the water showed no ripples.  All was perfectly still, and 
the only sounds were those of my own heart beating.  As the morning droned 
lazily on the air around me began to dance and the lake with it.  Robins, sparrows, 
and grey camp robbers awoke and began their pirouettes and music throughout the 
sky, amongst the trees and mountain ash.  The sun rose higher until her light shone 
through the water.  In the shallowest of places she shown clear through to the bottom, 
where footprints of past explorers still lay in the soft clay.  I would leave a mark 
that day too, but more than that I would take with me a deep love for mountain lakes. 
  
Maybe you've had a similar experience out in the mountains, when you were captivated by 
a sunrise or stood in awe of a herd of deer or elk that passed in front of you.  
Such experiences stick with us.  I will never forget the first time I watched the 
sunrise from atop Spencer Butte, or the time I watched a black bear bound across a 
scree slope in Ewing Basin, or the time I saw mountain goat after mountain goat on 
Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.  

Up there the hurried bustle of life disappears and we're left with the 
essentials.  What will I eat out of my pack today?  How far will I walk?  How full is my 
water bottle?  Should I prepare for rain or sunshine?  It is in these times, when we're 
truly removed from life as usual, that God most easily gets through to us.  Distractions 
fade, we relax, we reflect, and the glory of God's creation speaks clearly.  These 
experiences are what this website is meant to celebrate.  Enjoy...
          -Alicia & Anne