Mountain Goats and Mac'n'Cheese at Gore Lake

Mid-July saw O and I off to the wilderness for the weekend to backpack to Gore Lake, in the Eagles Nest Wilderness outside of Vail, CO. I visited Gore Lake for the first time last fall and instantly fell in love with the spot. I wanted to share it with O as one of my favorite camping spots in Colorado, however, my brain had conveniently blocked out just how tough of a hike it is to get there - especially with a 35lb pack on your back!

O and I are both mountain beasts, though, so on Saturday morning, we trucked our way up the 6.2 mile trail and 2,500 feet of elevation gain and made it to Gore Lake at 11,400 feet. Despite the steepness and general intensity of the hike, it's a gorgeous trail along Gore Creek and through aspen groves, and the reward in arriving at the lake is unbeatable. 

Columbine flowers

My faithful hiking & running hat, caught in action.

It was a perfect Saturday at the lake. There were only about a dozen people there, ourselves included. Once we set up camp in the best camp spot ever (the same exact spot where I'd camped last year), O took a relaxing nap and I went on a trek around the lake (since I didn't walk all the way around the lake last year). On the walk around, I bumped into a pair of mountain goats, who were checking out a campsite across the lake from where O and I camped. They did some investigating, went back up into the higher hills, and then came back down with all their friends! At least a dozen mountain goats came down to the water to drink, graze on the lakeside grass, and enjoy the late afternoon. At one point, I was only about 20 feet from the big Papa Goat. It was awesome! They were so laid back, but very aware. I didn't bother them, they didn't bother me, and they let me get a couple of great photos.

Can you get more picturesque wilderness than this? Methinks not. I love this state!

When evening began to fall, O put together a fantastic backcountry fire right by the lake, and we crafted an excellent gourmet backpacker's meal of mac'n'cheese and fire-roasted Tofurky dogs, mmmmmm. It was a delectable carbo-loaded dinner after a big day of hard hiking. Also, I absolutely love my ultralight stove and cook set, ultralight 2-person tent, water filtration system, and basically all of the camping/backpacking goods that I picked up at REI this past spring. Oh man. It's even more awesome and fun to go camping/backpacking/hiking when you have great gear. Woo!

Tofurky dogs and mac'n'cheese, eaten with bamboo utensils in high style.

After dinner, we enjoyed a lovely sunset behind the surrounding mountains and sat by the campfire until we couldn't see anything but the stars and the bright moon. 

Owen's awesome twilight lakeside campfire!

On Sunday morning, we were up at a decent hour and I enjoyed some quiet solo time in the hammock at sunrise. It was perfect. We then had another gourmet meal - Snoqualmie Falls pancakes with real syrup, real butter, and cooked up in a real frying pan! We go all out when we camp. ;) Then, after some last goodbyes to gorgeous Gore Lake, we packed up the site and were on our way back down the trail. 

Sunrise hammock times at 6:40am. So much yes.

A sunrise, no makeup, backcountry wilderness, 27-year-old-in-a-hammock selfie, for posterity.

It's so much fun to be out in the wilderness and camping with Owen. He and I are a great team on the trail and in the woods; we share camp tasks, laugh a ton, and always keep each other motivated during the treks to and fro. I'm really looking forward to our next wilderness adventure at the end of August when we join Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado for some camping and trail building in Southwestern Colorado. Cheers to challenging treks and enjoying the out of doors in this beautiful state!