A Day of Sharing

Within a miserly fifteen minutes of arriving at the Tower Lake & Rockbound Lake parking lot at Castle Junction, the only thought that instantly crept into my mind was "this is going to be one of those days that wasn't meant to be!"  Once everyone realized all the events that were unfolding at the very same second, miserly was not even a word in our vocabulary, instead "sharing" was the only word of importance!  To nix that thought of "a wasn't meant to be day", the sharing began!  In fact the sharing began two hours prior with G-Force sharing in transporting all of us to Castle Junction.   Before we could even leave the trail head, clothes needed to be shared, a bungee cord needed to be past over, batteries needed to be borrowed and water needed to be dispersed to others.  

Sharing continued for the entire day!

We were finally ready to make today happen and hit the trail!  For the first few kilometers, just hiking boots were sufficient but as we climbed the snow very gradually got deeper.  Even before reaching the open area, we gave in and strapped on our snowshoes.  I was surprised at the quantity of snow.  The quality of snow was wonderful but the quantity was a challenge to get through.  We had to share in breaking trail.  

First view of Castle Mountain!

My greatest anticipation for today was reaching the boulder section.  

I absolutely loved this view and spent time here enjoying it.  

I thought this scene was so perfect.  

I want to share it with you! 

Enjoy!

Our destination of Tower Lake is just beyond these trees and we are desperate to get there because that means sitting down and dining, both of which we were almost in dire need of.  We were still sharing the task of breaking trail through the snow.

It still amazes me how trees grow out of rocks.  I pondered this as I sat and enjoyed my hot quinoa & apple dish plus my black forest ham & monterey jack cheese wrap.  For desert, a big thank you to Short Stop for sharing your rum balls with us.  The one I picked paired nicely with my chamomile tea.

After lunch, a few of us stayed back to take destination shots.  

I was thankful for no wind, some blue sky and a decent temperature.

Rockbound Lake sits in the center of this photo just above the trees.

My destination shot!

Looking back at Eisenhower Peak from Tower Lake.

After enjoying our extended visit to Tower Lake, we began the trek back.  There were still opportunities for photos such as this view of Helena Ridge.  Due to one of the events that unfolded at the trail head, I would be needing to share some photos  of todays' trip so made sure to take extra.

Leaving the wide open space behind, it was time to head back into the trees.  

The views would become less but the stories shared would become more.  

I find these can be the times when friendships flurish.  

I was ready for this snowshoe trip back to the trial head to be over before it was.  This was a big snowshoe for being the first of the season and I believe we should congratulate ourselves on accomplishing this.   Another accomplishment of the day was that "Lady Osprey" is happy with being "Lady Osprey".   So glad I got to share today with all of you!

I truly enjoyed this "day of sharing".