Bees, Trees and Lakes

He was a good husband (of course, when has he not been?) and let me sleep in until 7. Roy knew something was up and was totally a hyperactive puppy the entire hour drive out there. With the window rolled down, he would stick his head out happily and then abruptly blow his nose...covering me in a spray of dog snot. Great way to start the day.

We were on the trail by 9 (it was about an hour drive away), Roy loaded up with his pack and our fleeces zipped up against the cold morning air.

Matt had told me that this hike, though 7 miles round trip, was only uphill for a small part of the way there. I should have known better. We gained 1,400 feet spread out over the entire way to our destination--Annette Lake. Thankfully it was a beautiful trip, although I was sure I saw something tan colored duck behind a boulder near a rock slide and Roy kept looking uphill. No cougar ever showed if in fact it was one.

We saw fantastic looking mushrooms, crossed bridges over tumbling waterfalls and even walked along a walkway cut into a log--it was awesome! Roy was frantically excited and the heavy pack didn't seem to deter him one bit.

As we trudged along Matt pointed out something gross on the trail. At first we thought it was a slimy turd, being brown and about four inches long. Then, four-year-old that I am, I tossed a pebble on it and we watched in disgust as it writhed! It was a HUGE slug!!!

At one point while climbing switchbacks, Roy decided to do his business in a most messy and stinky way. Sorry to be disgusting, but its the truth. I held Roy's leash while Matt took a stick and tried to bury it and cover it up.

All the sudden I see him shake his hand, then jump a bit and say, "What the--"

Then he bellowed RUN!!! GO GO GO GO GO!!!

I heard a buzzing sound growing and spun around and as best as I could in hiking boots heading uphill and bolted up the switchback. Roy wasted no time and took this opportunity to sprint--effectively pulling me uphill. I felt one or two small pelts on my fleece and everytime I turned my head back Matt was running behind me still yelling GO!!!!!

He had hit a beehive and they were MAD!

We made it far enough away, but Matt had been stung three times--once on the hand and one in each leg. I whipped out the credit card and got those suckers out while we caught our breath. Thank God Matt's not allergic to bees!

Finally, after a couple of uphill hours, we made it to the lake. What a beauty! Azure waters that turned turquoise around the shore, a stiff breeze whipping up whitecaps and the glorious mountains surrounding it all. I can't remember the last time I saw anything so BRIGHT! Even in manual mode the glare was blowing everything out in out pictures! Roy proved he really is a lab at heart and headed straight for the water. Its like he know's he's supposed to be in it and like it..but he's just not sure exactly what he's supposed to do in it.

And no, we didn't let him off the leash. There were a lot of other dogs around and he was flipping out every time we got near one. I mean, crazy dog. We're going to have to keep working on that...

We have found Roy has a superhero hidden inside him...I mean, don't we all?

he's.........

BAT DOG! Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo BAT DOG!

Ok enough about my dog. We just like him, that's all.

The hike down was much easier than the hike up, though this time there were a lot more people and dogs on the trail which seemed a tad traumatic for Roy. He'll live.

To end, we went back to Issaquah and loaded up on a Target hot dog and a Chipotle burrito--great post hike food. Fall is definitely on its way. As I type this I can hear the wind blowing and rain spattering against the window with every gust. Tomorrow it's not supposed to get above the high 50s--yay! And here's a few leaves turning for those of you who don't get seasons:

That's all for tonight! I posted the rest of the pics, and a few videos of the lake on our Picasa album if anyone cares to take a gander. Love to you all!

Picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/kaitpalmer/AnnetteLake?authkey=Gv1sRgCLXcpNLFjc7nowE&feat=directlink

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