A Detour to Aspen Lake

 Tuesday, I decided to hit an easier destination than Rudy Lake. I’d noticed in my deep read of the ski trails that North-South branched off toward Aspen Lake. The little distance marker suggested that the extra leg was exactly a mile—easy peasey!  However, my map also gives a vague sense of topography, so I knew that I’d end up going up and down some pretty steep hills (fun for skiing!)  Indeed, at least one was so steep that I hugged the tree line in case I needed handholds!

 

I was unprepared for the fact that the trails are pretty much not set up for hikers and so not at all trampled through. The ferns in the picture are up to my hips.

 

Image: trails with ferns up to my waist

 

However, Aspen Lake was a great destination. The sun was bright and hot. The lake was completely deserted of any activity. I could see that the trail’s end had been used as a campfire site for someone recently, but otherwise I could have been alone for… well, at least a mile. 

 

Image: sign post of the trail head to Moose Viewing Trail

 

On Monday, we also did our annual trip to Moose Viewing Trail. 

 

The very first year we came up to Bearskin Lodge in May, we saw a cow moose and two babies on Moose Viewing Trail. When we told Bob at the Lodge about our lucky adventure and showed off our pictures, he laughed because no one sees moose on Moose Viewing Trail. In fact, there is a platform there for ‘viewing’ in which many people have carved dates and notes that say, “NO MOOSE.”

 

[moose view trail head pic]

 

None of this deters us from going, however. If nothing else, we must marvel at the half-buried car that has clearly been there since… the 1960s by the look of the car. How it got that boulder on top of it is a mystery.  [see previous bearskin entries for description of the car].

 

Because it is an annual tradition, I managed to drag my family into the woods with me.

 

Image: Mason (left) and Shawn (right) on the way to Moose Viewing.