This was not our first time on this hike, but it had been many years, and we never did reach the lake the first time around due to..well, snow. Thus, it felt like a brand new hike. For the pups, it was. My favorite part was this:Not far into the hike, we encountered an older lady by herself who told us that the last time she was there, the rangers were ticketing people who didn't have their dogs on leashes. She seemed tickled by this, as she didn't seem to care for dogs much. We did, at that time, have ours leashed -- we normally do, and we don' t care for those who normally don't. After we had reached the outflow, had our lunch, and were headed back down, I detoured up a small side trail to the TOILET. No, really, on some trails there are actual large boxes with wooden seats set high on hills and marked with trail signs. It's BYOTP, though. Anyhow, The Big Guy stayed down trail and let the pups off leash to splash in the water. Wouldn't you know that's the time this same lady was coming up the trail, and Otter was missing me so he came running down the trail, trying to find me. I heard a loud "huffing" type noise, which I later learned was Otter surprising Trail Lady. (bet she thought it was a bear at first.) Nothing bad happened, which is good, because it gives me the giggles something fierce. I also wonder how Trail Lady handled Old Man With Two Little Poodly Dogs Without Leashes later on. I hope she didn't flick them off the trail with her walking poles...
