Family Reunion Day Three and My BIRTHDAY!

We decided to go on a hike today.  So, Sarah, DJ, Keith, Nathan, Tralee, Nate, LIndsay and I set off on a 40 minute drive that would take us to  the trail head for Skein Lake.  An hour and a half later on a harrowing 4 wheeler road we finally stopped to walk the road as Tralee was done in the car and the fear associated with the road and the car combined. We walked the road for a while and found that about 3/4ths of a mile farther was the trail head.  Keith and DJ walked back to get the Yukon and bring it up the trail head while the rest of us walked up ahead.  Poor Lindsay was sick as a dog throwing up from the car ride so decided to stay at the car while the rest of us hiked the 1 mile trail to the lake. The mile to the lake took us about an hour to hike as it was straight up.  Keith, Tralee and I kept having to stop due to the out of shape thing and Sarah and DJ kept having to stop due to the altitude thing and Nathan was a gazelle.  I think he could have run the trail twice in the time it took the rest of us to go once. The lake was well worth the hike.  I had been there once before about a decade ago and remembered that it was breathtaking.  It was again.  So beautiful.  The first picture is Skein Lake and the second picture above was a photo of Cascade Lake from the road on the drive in.  Decidedly a great birthday!  A plan of going on a quick hike, eating some lunch and then going to the lake to swim turned into being gone most of the day on the hike, no lunch, no lake and coming home to dinner.  IT WAS GREAT!