The night air was cool and we flipped on our headlamps in the parking lot and started the trail to Duffy Lake. The sun had just set and we were hoping to meet our friends at Duffy Lake before they turned in for the night. We moved quickly, dodging six large toads and a snake that were bedding down on the trail. We made good time, but it was too late. The sun had been down for about an hour, and everyone who was camping had retired to their tents for the night. We tried to remember what our friends’ tents looked like, but we couldn’t. It should go without saying that there was no cell service.
We decided to make camp in a flat-ish area that didn’t seem too close to any other campers, and spent the night sliding towards the bottom of the tent. When I got up, I realized that Joanna’s hunch from the night before was right: we were set up right in the middle of the trail. We hurriedly broke down the tent and packed up, ready for a lengthy excursion to find our friends. But we only made it another sixty feet before I saw my friend Angela. We had walked right by their site the night before! We made camp, once again, and had breakfast.
That day, we hiked to the top of Red Butte, with great views of the Sisters, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack and Mt Jefferson, and then made a detour on our return to visit Santiam Lake for a quick swim before returning to Duffy Lake. The mosquitoes were bad, but the company was good.
My photography has been feeling a little stale lately. I brought along my portrait lens on this one to mix things up.