Langer & Ruffneck Lakes!
 with a 'side' of Island Lake


For the goats? A cornucopia of eating delights
Bob Yearsley, hiking partner for this adventure, huffing up this steep section of the trail


Bob, once he discovers he is 'on camera' :-)


George isn't concerned in the least about the camera. His focus is the 'eats'

Langer Lake, which we pass on the way to Ruffneck


George and Bob are both thinking, "HEY! There was a great camping area right back there!!
The 'huffing' continues...

Ruffneck Lake. What isn't obvious from this picture is that on the mountain on the right, there is a lookout at the tippy-top. Ruffneck Lookout. Which barely escaped the evil fingers of the Halstead fire in 2016(?), that burned right up to the back door.




Once I got everybody up to Ruffneck, I dropped Bob (who was bushed from all the 'huffing') like a hot potato, and did some huffing of my own, climbing up the very steep 300' (seemed like 1000') to Island Lake, a location I had not seen since 2009.
Island Lake, like some others I have seen, is apparently draining out the bottom of the lake through the talus, as it definitely has an 'outlet' of sorts, but it is high above the waterline, and only functional during the periods of the highest water.

The 'outlet', such as it is, is at the far left of this picture. As is clear, it is marginally effective except on the infrequent occasions where the water is at max
The outlet's drainage. As is clear, there are periods where there is significant drainage, they simply don't appear to be frequent

The southeast side of Ruffneck on the way back from Island Lake
Ruffneck in the morning glow. Amazingly, pictures come even before the morning coffee!

A little later and the glow is gone
Coffee Bean is thinking, do we have to leave so soon? There's still so much to eat!


The Bush that would be a bear

During coffee-breakfast time Tuesday AM, eagle-eye larry spotted what appeared to be a bear, high up on the side of the mountain opposite the lake. It even appeared to be moving. In the morning light, the small bush in the center of this picture was completely black as was the small tree right below it. The camera is clearly not so vision limited, as it notes that this 'bear' is a bit 'green' and apparently a permanent fixture on the side of the mountain. The 'movement' could easily have been wind up on the side of the mountain, or even just autokinetic motion itself. In any case, it gave us a lot to talk about for a time