More Than Just a Ray!

I have claimed that "I am ready to embrace everything winter" even though we are still in the midst of autumn.  I wasn't sure what to expect for our trip into Rae Lake today but I did go prepared for full on winter yet with hopes of just a ray of winter.  With the surprisingly abundance of snow at the parking lot, we decided it was best to carry along our snowshoes for further in along our trek.  That's embracing winter!

We arrived at Elbow Lake to see it frozen and covered in snow.

Happy to have blue sky.

A ray of light and a small opening gave way to a reflection. 

We spent some time along the shore of Elbow Lake admiring the sights and scenes. 

The perfectly formed circles in this stump caught my eye. 

We made it to the far end of the Lake and crossed over from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park into a Wildland Provincial Park and this is where the rules change.  We are now in the dead center of hunting territory.  This calls for cheerful, colorful clothing as we begin the hike along the Big Elbow Trail.  

We could not help but linger here and take time to play photographer given there was no wind, the sky was blue, there were beautiful cloud formations plus the wind blown terrain was an added bonus.

We veered off the Big Elbow Trail and headed into Desolation Flat.  This turned out being my favourite section of the whole day.  Once again, we stopped to take photos and also added a snack break into the mix.  Comments were made that we will never make it to Rae Lake if we spend this much time stopping for photo opportunities.  We couldn't help it though!  Having "just a ray of winter" today has been ideal.

How could one not stop for a photo when presented with a view like this!

As we exited the Flat and made our way to higher ground, the view was delightful.  

I am loving embracing everything winter. 

Even though we are only experiencing "a ray of winter" today. 

After some ups and downs, a bunch of bushwhacking, a few sections of knee deep snow, we finally eye our destination.  Rae Lake! Yes, finally, there it is frozen and snow covered and looking so pretty surrounded by mountains that contain golden colors.  But, what happened to the blue sky?

I put my priorities in place!

First, my destination shot!

Second, my lunch!

With the blue sky gone, the wind picking up, very light flurries falling and the temperature dropping, that "just a ray of winter" was developing into "more than just a ray", we now had full on winter conditions.    I kept my head down and forged on, all the while trying hard to convince myself to embrace everything winter.  I never did embrace it enough to put my snowshoes on.

My friends were probably trying to think the same thing, along with other thoughts!  

The last five to six kilometers were a challenge and I already knew that come tomorrow, I will be paying for it.  I have often said I am lazy and I don't like hard work but when it comes down to it, I can handle it.  I have learned how to dig deep, get the job done then come out the other end happy and smiling.   Now I am ready to handle "more than just a ray" of winter and can hardly wait to get back out there again!