Palisades Lake

Last weekend, David and I packed up, geared up, and hiked up to Palisades Lake with Carston and Allison Quinton. 

Last week I complained to David that all of our Idaho pictures have the same color scheme... orange, brown, and yellow. Now, don't take me wrong... those colors can be beautiful... to some, but... not to me. I am a TRUE Washingtonian through and through and miss my greens and blues (that rhymed... unintentional)! I must admit that I spoke too soon. This hike up to the Palisades lake was full of green trees and the most amazingly blue water I have ever seen!! I felt like I was back in WA! The hike is 4 miles to the lower lake and then an additional 3 to the upper lake. We embarked on our journey at about 9:30 and made it to the lower lake at around 11:00. Here is a picture of the lower Palisades Lake... isn't it amazing?

After seeing this, we couldn't wait to see with the upper lake had in store for us. I didn't think that it could get any more incredible than this... but it did!! Now, the hike is not a hard hike. There is only about a 900 foot elevation gain from the bottom to the top throughout the entire 7 miles, so we made it to the top at around noon. It's a good thing that we packed a large lunch... because we were hungry!! Allison and I sat on a log, dipped our feet in the refreshing water and watched as our husbands tried to make it to the little island in the middle of the lake! They did not make it far... this water was COLD... and I mean COLD!!! I could barely keep my feet in! 

On our way back, we rounded a bend and ran into (what I thought was) a stray horse! David stopped in his tracks and educated me that this was no horse. A MOOSE was in the ravine right below us. We tippy-toed past the moose, took all the pictures I could, and am still in awe of the beautiful animal that we happened upon! Around the last mile or so we started to feel the soreness set in. Walking for 14 miles is enough to make anyone ache... but throw in some good climbs... and it is no surprise that we were struggling on that last mile.

So far, this has been my FAVORITE adventure this summer! Gorgeous scenery, amazing wildlife... and even better company! We had so much fun with the Quintons! David and I are so happy that we have found a couple who is just as CRAZY as us who enjoys going on long, rigorous, adventures that test our strength! I look forward to doing more!!