Amethyst Lake

Being confined to my house because of Swine Flu for a whole week was not fun. By the time my quarantine was up I had such bad cabin fever that I just wanted out. I didn’t care where I went; I just wanted to be out of there. So when Peter and his coworker Kelly decided to hike to Amethyst Lake on July 26th, I decided to tag along. I thought it would be a good way to gage how well I was and how much energy I had regained after being so sick. So, merrily I joined Kelly and Peter for what I thought would be no more than a four hour hike. Well, I misjudged the distance and most especially, my capabilities.

The hike started out pleasant enough. It was fairly level and we passed many beautiful meadows and streams. About a third of the way into the hike we came upon a very pretty waterfall in Ostler Fork.

The pretty little waterfall.

Peter and me.

The day was sunny and warm and I was elated to be out and doing something active after having spent most of a week in bed. Shortly after the little waterfall the trail got a little more technical. It went from level to practically straight up. After a couple miles of this I was pretty pooped, but I wasn’t ready to give in and call defeat just yet.

Well, things only went downhill (figuratively speaking) from there. We got caught in a small rainstorm and had to seek shelter under some pine trees. Kelly was about ready to call it quits at this point, but I thought we must be close to the lake and so we should press on. Later, I wanted to eat my words. A little damp from the storm, we soldiered on.

“The lake is just over this next ridge. I swear!”

A couple of miles later, including more elevation gain, we made it to the lake. We were tired and sore at this point, but we did it!

Kelly and Peter are both so happy to have made it!

Amethyst Lake with part of the ridge line going up to Ostler Peak.

Peter and me at Amethyst Lake.

Pretty little stream feeding the lake.

These wildflowers were all over the meadow.

Our joy was short lived, however, when we noticed the ominous looking clouds that were rolling in. The thing about the Uintas, which we should have known better about, is how quickly the weather can change. In the morning it can be beautiful and sunny without a cloud in the sky, but by mid-afternoon it can be dark and stormy, and the temperature can drop significantly. We decided it would be best if we didn’t stay very long at the lake. Just long enough to take some pictures, and maybe we could make it out of there before those clouds opened up. It had taken us four hours to hike to the lake, but hopefully it would take us half that time to get down since it was all downhill.

Peter and Kelly heading back down the trail.

Our impending doom.

We didn’t get too far before it started to rain. And boy did it rain. It was pointless to try and huddle under a tree, besides it was dangerous. We had lightning going off overhead, and at times it seemed terrifyingly close. So we kept moving. Then the rain turned into hail, and not just slushy hail, but big pelting hail that stung whenever it hit you. It was awful, and none of us had come prepared to deal with wet weather. Soaked to the bone and shivering we plod along. We didn’t dare stop for fear of hypothermia setting in.

Aside from being drenched and cold, my legs were bothering me. They had started to ache by the time we got to the lake, but now they felt like dead weights. I had underestimated how weak I still was. It took all of my focus and energy just to put one foot in front of the other. The entire time I kept thinking, you have no one to blame but yourself for this. Kelly was completely miserable, too. She was freezing and suffering a little from altitude sickness. All she wanted to do was keep going at a very fast pace to try and get warm, but it was all I could do to just shuffle along the trail, and I quickly fell behind. Peter looked panicked. He was torn between protecting two women who were in dire straits: one being his work superior and the other being his wife. I obviously won out, and he stayed by my side, helping me to get over rocks and mud puddles, but I know he felt badly for Kelly, and so did I. We were all miserable.

Finally, the sun came back out and lifted our spirits, making the last two miles of the hike much more pleasant. We started to dry off and warm up. I was still completely worn out, though. It took everything I had just to keep moving. By the time we got back to the car I was about ready to collapse, but I made it! We were all still alive, and we had made it out before the sun had gone down! In celebration we drove into town to get some dinner and we gorged ourselves on fatty, fried food. We figured our bodies could handle it after having burnt up so many calories on the hike. After sitting down and taking a good look at our map we figured the hike had been a little over 12 miles, round trip, with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet. Certainly more than what I should have tried to do. Sure, it was stupid of me, but I felt a great sense of accomplishment that not even Swine Flu could stop me for too long. I had bitten off more than I could chew, but I lived with only a few stiff muscles to remind me of my foolishness.