Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.

We were ambivalent in pushing thru this hike because apparently, the weather was not going well. It is a 2-hour drive from the city. We surely packed everything that we needed such as cameras, food and drinks, and of course courage and determination to push thru despite of the bad weather.

These were part of the trails we needed to climb. It is not that steep as it seems.  The Rockpile Trail along the actual lake is approximately 300 meters long.

Believe it or not, these stairs made of rocks are actually man-made.

After half an hour of climbing, we made it to the top! You can see in the photo below how stunning the place is.

The water appears to be dark blue. The color is due to refraction of light off the rock deposited in the lake on a continual basis.

Also, wildlife animals are said to be present such as black bears and squirrels. The latter part is harmless but for the black bears, make sure you bring bear spray if you visit.

This is the bottom view of the lake that will welcome you before starting hiking. Logs are obviously from the trees surrounding the lake. I am not sure though what kind of trees were they. They seemed like pine trees to me.

The view of the clouds touching the mountains is breath taking!

And of course, I would not let the opportunity to pass without having my mandatory shot of this marvelous view.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

– Lao Tzu