At first we were a little bummed that the rain showers and low clouds were going to obscure what are said to be great views on our chosen hike, but after we got to hiking, we weren't missing the sun at all.
It looks innocent at the beginning.
But then it starts to climb pretty quickly.
And it keeps on climbing. 2550 feet to be exact. We were welcoming the misty rain that would blow in periodically.
We had originally planned to continue up to Bandera Mountain, but when we reached this point and saw that trail was pretty much vertical up the exposed slope, we opted to take the fork in the road to Mason Lake.
There was still some climbing to do before the trail curved over to the east and dropped 500' to the lake. The temperature difference around the bend was quite marked.
Mason Lake and my two best hiking buddies. Being a Sunday, there were a lot of other hikers, and I think every one of them commented on Zuli. So many people think she's a (boy) puppy, and everyone wants to pet her. She just eats up the attention, and gets a very big head.
The Big Guy has to humble her by denying her a bite of his sandwich. Good thing I'm a softie and had her snausages in my pack.
It was a very pretty lake even without the sunshine. After being soaked from exertion, though, and sitting still for lunch, it was time to get moving again before it got too chilly. It didn't take long to warm up again by climbing back out those 500', and after coming back to the west side of the mountain, it was very pleasantly warm.
I end with a Photo Identification Quiz. No prizes, though, sorry.Do you know what this is?
