Hanging Valley Lake

It has been raining non-stop for days, so I was wondering if our Valley Wanderers planned hike to Hanging Valley would be canceled.  It was raining here at home when we met to carpool at the Trunk Road Park and Ride. In fact, it rained most of the way to Eagle River. But once we left the highway and turned onto Hiland Road, the rain stopped and the cloud ceiling was much higher. Even the mountain tops were now visible. We were all delighted because it was finally not raining. The hike was lovely along the South Fork Eagle River Trail once again. But soon after we crossed the bridge over the river, we took a turn to the left towards the mountains opposite the Rendezvous Ridge side of the valley. The South Fork of Eagle River was very high after all of the recent rains. I've never seen it moving that fast. We did encounter a few muddy spots and even some large puddles that we had to work our way around. Up higher there were also several snow fields that we had to cross. But the snow was hard packed but soft on top, making for easy footing. Grippers were never needed. After the long approach we reached an area that suddenly climbs steeply up to the Hanging Valley itself. I was getting really tired and even felt a little dizzy working my way up this section. Once we crossed over the hill we had a beautiful view of the peaceful tarn sometimes called Hanging Valley Lake. It was surrounded by steep rocky mountains, with a lovely meadow full of wildflowers and big rocks where we took a lunch break. After a bite to eat, I felt back to normal. We stayed for a while and enjoyed the view. It was getting a bit breezy and I felt a few raindrops. We soon started our way back down as the raindrops became more frequent. It never rained hard enough to get our clothes wet, but we did wonder if that could suddenly change. It didn't start to seriously rain until the last mile of the trip. It was almost a perfect day with nice cool temperatures that kept us from overheating. We all felt quite blessed to finally have a dry day, even if it was very cloudy. At least we were able to see the beautiful views we had hoped for. As with all of my recent hikes, I imagined Baby my dog trotting along beside me, enjoying the trail as she had always done before. I really miss her, but still feel her presence everywhere I go.