Rainy days and hiking.....

The weather this summer has been really fabulous for a hiker/sightseer. I think we've only had one day that was a total washout, but the rest of the days have been pretty darn nice! It seems that storms came in the late afternoon, or doing the night when we were all tucked in anyway. Or, if its cloudy in the morning, it seems to clear up rather quickly to a beautiful day.

scattered rain showers...we can see from here

the foliage is changing before our very eyes! Fall is coming!

 With that in mind, we started out towards String Lake for a hike around the lake. It was pretty cloudy, and we could see rain in the distance, but since we both had raingear in our backpacks, we figured...what the heck...its only water.

Start of hike at String Lake

the rain shouldn't bother us much

so far so good...its a really pretty lake

this is just part of String Lake...its very string-y and there are a lot of segments to it

This is the area that had the "problem bears" that are on probation and the rangers highly recommend traveling with bear spray. I was hoping there would be other hikers there, and there were! The parking lot was full! Yippee!! So, without a further thought, we started another enjoyable, rather easy, hike. Can you believe, right in the beginning of our hike we saw bear scat....so we were warned! Hahah. We didn't see any bears though. Our hike was uneventful in that respect.

someone had berries for breakfast

 It was on the cool side when we started the hike...maybe it was 50, if that. The dampness made it feel colder too, which I kinda like but my hiking buddy isn't too fond of! He is an eagle scout, always prepared...and so he put on gloves!! Yes, we have totally different body thermostats....hahahahha!

its freezing...these gloves really help! 

it is chilly...about 40 or so, and rainy....not too bad!

String Lake is just that...stringy. There are different sections of it, and its all beautiful. We really liked the mountains in the background, and sometimes we even saw the reflections of those mountains in the water. Nice.

love the green color of the lake!

hiking through lodgepole pine forest

The trail head to Leigh Lake as well, and then goes back around to the String Lake trailhead. If the weather was more encouraging, we would have added Leigh Lake to our hike. Another day, maybe?

a view of Leigh Lake...we didn't go around that one due to the weather

 We crossed back over a river, and then began a walk through the forest and around String Lake. We had some really nice views along the way.

nice sturdy bridge

bridge leads back to String Lake

i think this is also where you could portage a canoe from one lake to the next

clear water!

 Right after we crossed over the bridge and checked out Leigh Lake's canoe portage ramp, it started to rain much harder. We put on our rain gear, and kept going. At this point, we were in the forest, and going UP again, as per usual! We saw more signs of bear activity along the trail, and we were very vigilant making noise and staying aware.

Leigh Lake boat launch (portage)

glad I brought the raincoat

the trail is holding up well in the rain

we don't want to be slipping off!

something was eating insects on this tree

Tom-you need windshield wipers on your "eyes"

 Eventually, the rain slowed down to a nice mist, and we really didn't mind the weather at all. We still had a great hike. The trail was along the mountainside, and there was a rather steep drop. Not sure if you can tell from the pics, but trust me. I have been trying really hard to face my demons and get myself together with this height issue. I have to say I am improving. (You may want to verify that with Tom...ahahhaha)!

ok...weather clearing nicely now

really steep drops...hard to tell from the pic from the trail

reminds us of hiking in Jasper/Banff

beautiful view from the trail

 When we were almost around the lake, the sun came out and was pretty strong! You really just never know with the weather, and need to be prepared for all of it. Even though i don't like hats at all, it is a must in the sun. I had my cap that I use under the raincoat hood, so I was good to go! Hahaha. At some points on this section of the trail, we noticed trees bent. Looks like the result of a really tough winter. Maybe snow damage? or wind?

still walking along the mountainside...steep drop and steep angle up too

evidence of avalanche or snow slide of some sort on these trees

more views of String Lake

The views of the lake and surrounding area were great, and of course, the flowers. I am still spotting new to us flowers. The little dainty white ones looked like snow flakes! Very cool looking!

pretty good trail!

love the reflection of the pines-it smells so great too!

snowflake-y flowers-new to us

nice views all around

 There are so many different views along the trail, and we were popping in and out of forests and stark mountainsides. Quite a variety of trail scenery!

more views of String Lake...its rather large and stringy in parts

nice forest ecosystem up ahead-its constantly changing

foliage comes over our heads

another peek at the lake

sun is out nicely now...warming us up

another view of String Lake...at the far end now

still hiking around it

 As we neared the end of the trail, we came to a busy area of the lake, with canoes, kayaks, rafts and swimmers. The sun was shining and it was a very pleasantly warm day-very different from the start of our hike, where even I was wearing a jacket! ahha.

the view "up" was also great from the trail...looking up the mountain

pretty

fresh flowing stream

looks like a nice landscape design for a home

this is a nice cove!

surrounded by forest

this is a popular swimming hole

 It was about a 4 mile hike, but by the time we finished we were hungry. We did not pack any lunches or snacks due to the bear activity, and so we treated ourselves to lunch at Signal Mountain. We had a nice spot on the deck overlooking Jackson Lake and thoroughly enjoyed not having tuna or peanut butter!!

cheers!

another good day!! we are so lucky!