Digital Diary - Silverton Weekend - Ice Lakes

After the epic hike up Coal Bank Pass to Engineer Mountain, I continued on into Silverton where I had a burger and peach cobbler at Handlebars and then set out in search of a nice campsite. Fully prepared this time, I was certain I'd be able to get a solid night's sleep, but I was still super cold and cramped. I got up early and made my way out of my sleeping bag into the 38 degree air and bundled up for breakfast in town. Probably not wise, but I opted to hike up to Ice Lakes (a trail I'd seen a lot of on Pinterest). I made my way to the trail head and couldn't believe how many cars were in the parking lot...something I just hadn't anticipated. I guess it was a bit more popular than I'd thought. I started treking straight up through the pines and through several amazing waterfalls until I got to a huge clearing that I thought for certain was the basin. I was wrong.

By the end, I was exhausted and starving. I ended up hiking 24 miles in 24 hours, pretty much straight up hill and it was pretty damn satisfying. You'd think I would have slept like a rock that night, but no. I can't wait to go back :)