We were determined to be on the first tour boat of the day, and that's no surprise since we had to drive eight hours to Seattle that afternoon. We read about the tour and about the mile-long trail down to the edge of the lake where our tour would begin. One mile, not hard right? Already on this trip, we've taken a seven-mile trail and numerous others that were longer than one mile. As we started our hike, I noted that the steep downward incline and loose rocks were what might make this trail a little tougher than we'd first expected. But it still wasn't enough for us to think anything of it. We went on a little further, and not really to our surprise, a steep drop-off came into view. Straight down into the crystal blue water. When I say blue, I mean really, really blue. Like the kind in movies, but it's the real thing. At Canyon de Chelly, we walked down a drop-off trail, and we survived, so there still wasn't a lot to worry about.
We got to the dock just in time to dip our fingers in the sixty-something-degree water before loading onto the boat. It started out really well. We had an enthusiastic guide, the weather was close to perfect, and the blue, blue water was reflecting the sunlight in a way that just made me want to strip down and jump in. At this point in the tour, everything was perfect. Now that I think about it, the storm clouds that had started to form over this oasis were definitely out of place. But we kept on with our tour, and our guide (Ranger Darby) didn't seem to be too worried, so why should we be? Within thirty minutes of spotting those clouds, everything went into chaos mode. A little girl two seats behind us passed out. Luckily there was a doctor on board, and she ended up being fine, just dehydrated. The rain clouds got bigger and scarier, and we were still ten minutes from the dock when a lightning bolt shot through the air, accompanied by a deafening crack of thunder and big drops of rain. Ten minutes later, we were headed up that same trail we'd come down, only this time in pouring rain, thunder, lightning, and now pea-sized hail. Really?! Hail?! It was probably eighty degrees out there, and hail?! The dirt on the trail was now mud, sliding past our feet as we took careful steps for what felt like forever. Twenty-five minutes later, we were at the top of the trail that was supposed to take forty minutes in good weather. It was a feeling of accomplishment when we knew we had just hauled butt up a mountain through rain, hail, thunder, lightning, mud and loose stones. Do you have that setting on your StairMaster? Doubt it.
The lake was incredible. The weather, debatable. But the experience was great. I'd do it again if I had to.
