To begin our blog we are going to go back in time to our first overnight backpacking trip to Nellie Lake in the summer of 2007. Unfortunately, the photos from this trip were lost or never taken (debatable). Thus, our first blog will be a written description of our trip with no visual aides. While reading, feel free to imagine mountains and a lake, like this:
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We began our hike on a warm summer morning, leaving from the Nellie Lake trailhead on the east side of Huntington Lake. After hiking for some time we came upon Mary's Meadow. As we passed the meadow and looked down upon it from the trail, our eyes beheld a startling sight. We saw a bear sitting under a tree! As we looked on in amazement we noticed a brown cow emerge from the woods near the bear. Our minds raced. Will the bear see the cow? Will the cow be eaten by the bear? Will we witness nature's fury unleashed before our eyes? Will we need some sort of permit to scavenge any leftover meat? As these questions stormed through our heads the bear sat undisturbed under the tree. Finally, when the cow had come within feet of the bear, the bear wrestled to its feet. We were perplexed; the bear stood on all fours, sniffing the cow as if greeting a long lost friend. Bewildered, we stood and stared, when suddenly all of our questions were answered when the 'bear' let out a loud, long, "MOOOOOOO!"
Chuckling, we continued our forge on to Nellie Lake. When we arrived at the lake and began to walk around its northern shore we stumbled upon another group of hikers. There were three men standing around the lake's only formal campsite with a German Shepherd tied to a log, blocking the trail. The men acknowledged our presence and informed us that they would be leaving and we could use the campsite if we so desired. Wanting to push on and see what the rest of the lake shore offered, we continued along the path. When we came to the place on the trail where the dog was tied we paused and looked at the dog and then looked at the men. Receiving a confirming nod from the men, which we mistakenly interpreted as, "It's okay. He is nice", we kept walking. Luke was first to greet the dog. Like any animal-wise individual, Luke put his hand out, palm up, to allow the dog to smell him. Bark...growl, bite, snap...spittle, growl, bite! The dog lunged at Luke, teeth bared, jaws snapping at his outstretched hand. We recoiled, running backward on the trail with the dog in hot pursuit. Then, snap! The dog hit the end of his leash and stood growling and barking at us. One of the men ran over to the dog, grabbed him by the scruff, pinned him to the ground, and urged Luke and I to pass.
After our terrifying encounter with the temperamental German Shepherd, and after accounting for all limbs and extremities, we found a place on the opposite side of the lake to set up camp. We pitched a rain fly, laid out our sleeping bags, collected fire wood, and settled into camp. With plenty of sunlight left we decided to take our fishing poles down to the lake and try our luck. After fishing for a brief while, Luke caught a trout. With the hook too deep to remove, the trout's life was ended and he passed on. Not wanting to waste a life given to such a noble cause, we decided to cook the trout for dinner. We speared the trout with a branch from a nearby tree and began to cook it over the fire. We placed its innards on hooks and threw them into the lake, hoping the fish's relatives were ravaged cannibals. When the trout was finished cooking we attempted to pluck the fish from the carcass and enjoy the treat before us. Much to our dismay, after only a few bites, we came to realize that neither of us enjoy fish. Turning to our freeze-dried lasagna, we watched the sunset as we ate.
As the sun went down and we sat around the campfire, our attention turned towards the construction of a bench. We desired no extravagant fixture, but one that was functional and hopefully a bit comfortable. With no such luck we wrestled with stones, sticks, logs, and dirt for hours before calling it a night.
In the morning we arose to a beautiful view of the lake below us. We spent an hour or two fishing around the lake with no luck (apparently the placement of dinner's guts had the reverse effect). Later we packed our belongings and bid farewell to Nellie Lake. The hike to the truck was a comfortable, downhill trek that was finished in no time. With our belongings packed in the bed of Luke's truck we enjoyed a fresh bag of trail mix and said goodbye to the Kaizer Forest.
