Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

The path wound its way through the pine forest near the river then up through the cotton wood and out into the sunlight on the winter avalanche shoot. Empty of snow, it is now filled with low brush, service berries, mountain blue berries, raspberry bushes, ferns and sparse aspen. The colors of autumn are just starting to appear in the bushes, the service berries are ripe, red and orange bright against the dominate green. Leaves are starting to change at the edges spreading green to red and yellow hinting at the cooler weather to come.
We came out of the forest onto the avalanche slope and headed up the steep path to Holden Lake, amazed at the extent of the beauty that the view from the switchbacks offers. We could see up into the valley of Big Creek with the giant gray rocky slope that pours into the bottom lined by evergreen and pine. I wanted at every moment to be taking a photograph so I could hold onto the beauty of the light filtering through the patchwork clouds. It was so fun to just be with Dave. The two of us don’t have as many dates as we had in the outside world and we were in need of time together.
We chatted about many things as we made our way up the trail, and part way up we ran into a grouse that was hanging out on a rock about two feet off the trail. We took a couple of pictures and the grouse just sat there looking at us. Then jokingly I said to Dave, “I bet I could pick up that grouse, and he said I bet you can, so I did. I reached over and put my hand on top of it and picked it up, and held it for a picture, and for one moment my primal self kicked into gear and wanted to cook that bird up for supper, but then logic overtook me and I let it go because I did not have the proper hunting license to do so, although it wasn’t much of a hunt.
The rest of the trail was amazing and the diversity of forest and shrubs was constantly engaging. It felt like every step had another familiar secret to offer. I felt like the trail had always been there and that I had always been walking it, at the same time that it felt familiar it also had a quality of mystery that made me want to know every inch of the land, each rock and stone as if they carried within them some kind of answer that I was in desperate need of. As we wound our way up and through the woods we quieted taking in the beauty and the sereneness of the landscape, and it felt good just to be together.
As we came into the basin rocks spreading out above us I was in constant wonder. We could see the Glaciers high above us piles of Ice blue and green in color within the guise of white. After five miles of walking the forest opened into alpine meadows with low growing vegetation and trees. The meadows offered the feeling of peace and rest in their quietness. We came down through the meadows and around the trees where the lake lay and we both stood in awe holding hands and taking in the enormity of the beauty in that small place. The water of the lake was crystal clear moving from the brown of the muddy edges to aqua green and resting in an icy blue that darkened with the waters depth. The cliffs and trees and the glacier high above were reflected in the glassy surface it was as if we had been waited for, this was the final presentation and we were the guests of honor! As we pressed through our amazement I took the camera out and we both felt that we had to see the lake from the other side as well so we kept walking to find the perfect place to have our lunch. We made our way through a glacial boulder field and found a beautiful flat rock right on the edge of the lake. We spread out our blanket and ate pastrami sandwiches. They tasted so good after a long hike! Dave took an hour nap on the rock and I sketched and wrote in my journal, always pausing to look up for fear of missing something, a change in the light, and animal on the side of the lake, or the fish rising.
The fish seemed to be doing some sort of interpretive dance that afternoon rising and falling creating ripples that reverberated out to the edges of the lake, and it was beautiful to watch. Across the valley in from the far side of the lake we could see the peaks across railroad creek that surround the big creek valley, the layers of vegetation and color brought me to tears. Who am I to have a life like this and the opportunity to experience nature in such a deep and amazing way. It was the best date I have had in a long time and it felt good to be close and experiencing these wonders together.