Granite Escape

Granite Escape.

We live in an amazing place.
And this summer has brought some very unusual and beautiful weather events.

But surf has been absent, even more than most summers.

So we packed it up and headed for the big mountains.
To a place we used to go a lot back in the day.
The western Sierras.

The landscape was just as breathtaking as we remembered, even more so.
But a few things had changed.

The trail in got way longer and quite a bit steeper.

And the altitude was a factor. Twenty years ago, we didn’t even consider that.
Now, it was a valid excuse. At least for some of us.

Pablo seemed fine with the whole deal.
That’s a good thing, because he had all the adult beverages in that backpack…

But all the difficulties made the reward even sweeter.
A pristine lake with not another soul around.

Most years, there’s still some snow around at 9,000 feet.
This year there was none. But there were lots of colorful wildflowers blooming like springtime.

We were in the Dinkey Lakes Area. And it lives up to it’s name.
There were amazing little lakes most every which way you went.

Pablo made it a point to swim in every single one….

We enjoyed a few swims as well.
With the minimal snowfall last winter, the water was the warmest we had ever felt up there.

There’s something to be said for getting off the grid once in a while. No computers or cell phones.
You appreciate the simplest of things.

Like catching fresh fish for dinner.

A relaxing smoke.

And nightly happy hours with live music…..

….with a down and dirty floor show.

When you’re the only human awake at a remote mountain lake, watching the sunrise can be a
spiritual experience. Every bird call echoes in the emptiness, fish jump and shatter the quiet,
and the air is so fresh and pure, it’s intoxicating.