Aldous Lake

My wife went hiking in the Tetons this morning with her friends, so I decided I would go for a hike to get some material for a newspaper article. Jumping in the pickup with my camera, fishing rods, huckleberry picking equipment and enough food and drink for a week, this would classify as one of those "travels with an old fat bald man" that I sometimes write about.
Half a mile from the house I decided to head to Kilgore and hike to Aldous and Hancock Lakes. The trailhead is about an hour and 10 minutes from home.
This wild hair that I had was soon rewarded me with a wild hare. I hide behind a tree not far from the trailhead and soon he came sneeking out for some brunch. A snowshoe hare.
A couple who had lived 50 years in Rexburg, just 70 minutes away, came hiking up the trail for the second time in two days after finally discovering this hike.
"Everything was just too beautiful not to do it again," explained Fern, as we visited.
I let them pass by as I got busy taking pictures of flowers, insects and birds. Too beautiful to pass up.
As I hiked up the trail I located this Tortoiseshell butterfly hanging on pine tree. I believe it is a California Tortoiseshell.
After flushing a family of ruffed grouse, many juncos and sparrows, I made it to Aldous Lake. A family of Common Goldeneye ducks were working the weeds in the middle of the lake. A toad jumped into the water and Yellowstone cutthroats were dimpling the surface of the small shallow lake as I worked my way around the lake.

The lake was surrounded by meadows of mixed flowers as well as areas totally covered by a specie of flowers.

This group of Indian paintbrush was on next to the trail leading to Hancock Lake just another mile up the mountain. Both lakes were formed when mountain sides slid many years ago, blocking small streams and backing up the water. Slide Mountain is the landmark that can be seen from Kilgore and it forms Hancock Lake.

Just another day in the "wild" life of a man that enjoys the wildness of nature. Over 300 pictures taken, eating a few hands full of huckleberrys it was time to head home to pick raspberries, peas and squash. Oh, isn't life wonderful.

The next four days, I will be away from my blog as my wife and I are headed to St. George to hike Zion's National Park and to attend two theatre shows. We know it will be hot, but we survived it last year and probably will again this year.