Granite Escape 2.0

We did it. We made it back up to our favorite spot in the Western Sierras.
Early the first morning, Enzo and I looked out across the lake and let it all soak in.

This was all crazy new environment to Enzo. But for me, it is a touchstone.
A place I need to check on every now and again to make sure I’m still living in the same
world I grew up in.

Almost 40 years ago, my future wife invited me on a backpacking trip with her church
that brought us to this lake. And it was here that we decided we were more than friends.

Since then, we’ve made a habit of returning throughout the years,
bringing friends and family to see if this place was still as amazing as we remembered it.

And every trip the answer was yes, it’s still remarkable.
And it’s the only place in our lives, that hasn’t changed at all .

As we get older and our family grows and the dogs come and go,
these granite mountains, green meadows and clear lakes stay exactly the same,
unchanged year after year.

The smell was intoxicating and the silence was deafening. Literally, dead silence.
The only sound was the occasional flip of a fish tail somewhere out on the lake.

The day before we had made the journey in.

For most experienced backpackers, and our kids, it was a casual stroll.

But for “experienced” backpackers like us, it took some effort.

But that just made the reward that much sweeter when we stumbled out of the pines
to see this sight…..

For the next several mornings, this was our alarm clock.
Pristine, natural beauty, screaming into our tent.
Getting me up way too early, just to be out in it.