Elbow Lake Desolation Flats November 17, 2018

 A Winter Wonderland is what we wanted!  After yesterday's all day snowfall I was for certain our hearts would be content somewhere up in the Highwood Pass area.  I knew we would not cover lots of ground as we have been investing our time capturing beautiful photographs.  These adventures and scenery have all been firsts for my friend.  Hiking up to Elbow Lake, along the Big Elbow Trail then visiting around the wide open Flats area would give us an eyeful of winter wonderland.                          

                        

There was much more snow than I expected.  We could have worn snowshoes but donned microspikes instead.  I figured we could move more freely and quickly in them.  There was a trail for us to hike in as others had snowshoed here on prior days. 

                                         

We arrived at Elbow Lake before the sun came over the mountains.  The scenery was dark blueish greyish without ant kind of cloud at all and I still cannot take nice photos under those conditions.  I like the section at the end of the Lake as you cross over into the Wildlands.                              

                                   

We slowed our pace even more waiting for the sun to come up.  As it appeared through the trees it lit up the snowflakes in front of the mountain.

We reached the wide open Flats where Tombstone Mountain seemed so close that we could almost reach out and touch it.  We take many destination shots.  My friend put her own twist on the jumping shots.

Our lunch location was down by the river which afforded us some shelter and offered up a prime time view.  Lunch was not long, we wanted to get back up and out there to enjoy more of the winter wonderland.

After filling our bellies it was time to go back to filling our eyes.  We began the hike back knowing it would take some time.

                                  

                                   

                      

Elbow Lake was much more photogenic now with the afternoon light.  We skirted around the opposite side and meandered along the shore and through the Campground.  A fellow was setting up camp for the night in the spot that was my home away from home for two nights in July.  

                       

                                  

We made the most of every meadowy area and savoured every last second before heading into the trees for the last downhill stretch.  The sun was going down and we were now ready to call it a day.        

                                  

With the many sighs and yawns throughout the drive home, one could tell we were pleasantly depleted with our hearts content.  We were high on life and that about sums it up.