The ride up was amazing, through the trees, along the river, gradually getting steeper and steeper. It is impressive the terrain the horses can cover, as one of our party said, there were places you wouldn’t feel comfortable walking across! The horses are so sure-footed though I’ve never felt safer.
When we arrived at Spruce Lake it was just getting dark. Our Spruce Lake caretaker, Konstantin, came out to meet us and we led the horses up to the meadow to graze for the night. Unfortunately it was too dark to see the lake when we got back, but we had a nice warm cabin awaiting us with some hot food that was greatly appreciated after a long ride.
The next morning we got up to a magnificent view of the lake. The clouds were low and covering the mountains but we could see gaps of blue sky and as the morning progressed the clouds cleared and the mountains could be seen in all their glory
After breakfast we saddled up the horses and went off on a day ride higher into the mountains to a place called Open Heart. The view in the park are spectacular. We had a lovely view of Spruce Lake from above surrounded by great and Castle, Cardtable, and Fortress Peaks, not a bad place to sit and eat lunch. You could pay a fortune to eat out in a fancy, extravagant restaurant but it wouldn’t be a patch on sitting atop a mountain with the views we had. We even got lucky enough to spot a few mountain goats thanks to the eagle eyes of our lead guide Kristin.
After lunch we made our way down the mountain, taking our time to stop and take in the view and capture some photos. By the time we got back to the cabin and brought the horses up to the meadows, dusk was upon us. It has to be the most peaceful time and place. The only sound were two loons swimming in the moonlight. I got some truly beautiful photos sitting on the pier of the lake, the feeling of relaxation is unparalleled.
Another good night sleep and we headed for home after breakfast. We took a different route home across Windy Pass. You can definitely feel the temperature drop as you get higher, but you can see for miles and being a little cold is so worth it.
We got to make a stop at Eldorado cabin, another of our camps, for lunch. It was a great bonus to see this camp as earlier in the summer, some of my friends from the ranch built this cabin. I am in awe of what they accomplished. I had heard lots of stories and saw lots of pictures but I was delighted to get to see all their hard work in person. They did an amazing job.