I have been trying to get back to hike Alice Lake again ever since I went. The only problem is Alice Lake is about 5 hours from my house. My friend suggested I check out Independence Lake. It didn't take long for me to fall in love on that long dirt road.
I am a sucker for trees and gorgeous views and these views did not disappoint. I have been hunting enough in elk country to look around and almost feel the elk in my presence. That alone gives me goosebumps.
It was a good two hour drive from home. Nova and I had a little bit of a disagreement on the ride there. That girl. Something about a puppy and licking and she wouldn't stop. Then silly me, I brought her squeaky football. I was thinking that would do well in the lake we were hiking too. I didn't think about listening to it on the drive for two hours. I told her I was going to throw it out the window. I kid you not she wouldn't even look at me. Then she took her football and squeaked away.
Once we arrived at the trail head we got everything ready. I let her head down to the creek leash free since it was such a long drive. She gets insanely impatient on the long drives. So I let her go down to the creek and get a drink and play. It was odd coming into this trail head.
I couldn't quite see the beginning of the path but there was two campsites I felt I suddenly walked into. Now mind you, Nova isn't leashed. I see people to my left sitting around a campfire and their tent. I tell her to stay and she listens. Now to the right, I see a tent and no people. Nova heads over there walking around. Next thing I know she is in the tent. I didn't realize it was a floorless tent. I heard someone saying "oh, hello." She literally crawled into bed with someone.
When I finally got her to break away from her snuggles we got the hike started. We started a little before 9 a.m. which was later than I had wanted to start because I knew it was probably going to get a bit warm. It is always so important to be prepared for your elements when going hiking. The beginning of the trail was fairly moderate with some rocky spots. It was mostly shaded which was nice. I used my OnX to follow the trail and track my mileage. You come to a fork in the trail after a bit and to head to the lakes you need to make sure you veer to the right.
This portion of the trail was much more difficult. It was rocky and a little bit of a steeper climb. The lakes end around 9200 ft elevation and the trail starts at about 7400 ft. Most of this portion is exposed and had to take quite a few breaks to give Nova water. This portion has some beautiful views and some incredible sections of vegetation.
Finally at about 3.5 miles we reached the Independence Lake signage and arrived at the first lake. As soon as Nova saw the water she took off. She got right into the mud and water and started playing. This was a smaller lake but the water was clear. To get to the second lake you just need to follow the trail to the left. This trail can be a little hard to see and we just crossed some rocks and the creek to get to it.
Around the lakes it is pretty rocky and was a lot going past the second lake. I met some amazing women along the trail and they told me they couldn't find the third lake and it was extremely rocky going through that. Due to the length of the hike already with Nova, I decided putting her through that wasn't the best choice.
We found a nice spot along the second lake and sat down and had a snack. I then pulled out my fly rod while Nova hung out on the shore and played in the water. It was so beautiful and the water felt even better. Next time I need to bring a floaty and relax in the water. Some guys I ran into said they had gotten some bites but had not caught anything. So I fished for a bit, I couldn't see any fish in the water so we packed up and headed out before it got too hot.
This was definitely a new favorite trail and Nova and I will be back for this hike.
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