Mt. MacFarlane...no...Upper Pierce Lake...no, Lower Pierce Lake and a half

My goal was to reach Lower Pierce Lake. My maybe goal was to reach Upper Pierce Lake. My shouldn't-do-it-but-would-be-nice-to-try goal was Mt. MacFarlane.One and a half out of three ain't bad.

Like last week's Flora Peak hike, the trail guide descriptions used lots of adjectives like "relentlessly steep" and "knee-knacker". The summit included Class 3 scrambles as well, out of my comfort zone and not in a good way.

Some hikers' reviews listed the cons as too much forest--no view for three hours. I'm in love with forest hikes, so this was a pro for me. The forest was ever-changing, too. Mostly ferns in some spots, huge tress and carpets of moss in others. Lovely smells in all. And steep! Although I'm getting stronger, I was about four hours in the forest, but getting closer to the trail guide estimates. Yay.

Someone queried if I ever get bored hiking solo. Never. It made me pause, though, especially today. Ten hours with no music, chatter, social media? I like listening to the forest. And my own thoughts. And my aching legs. And making deals with myself on the steep bits not to rest until I get to that next switchback or that downed tree or ten...more...steps.

Four forested hours paid off by emerging to this view. Lower Pierce Lake with Mt. MacFarlane looming above. I was a bit dumb-struck. Stood here for a good few minutes catching my breath from fatigue and awe. Met the first two hikers I'd seen, who said they ended up at the waterfall and couldn't find the route from there. I had been hearing waterfall-like noises for the past half hour, so on I trudged.

There was much criss-crossing of creeks, which also gave me a chance to test my new water filtration system. Glorious! A game changer! Water is incredibly heavy, which I only notice on steep hikes. Plus, it tends to warm up in my backpack. I chugged most of a liter of cold creek water in what seemed like 30 seconds.

The waterfall was beautiful, and where the marked trail ended. This was where I assumed the "may need some route finding" comment in 103 Hikes came in. It also didn't mention anything about a waterfall, and staying right in a "boulder-strewn gully." I didn't know if this was the gully, and the trail seemed to lead left. I also wasn't sure if what I was looking at was actually Mt. MacFarlane, as the area is littered with gorgeous peaks. Having stopped for a lunch/rest break, my fatigue level was announcing itself. I wisely turned around, after double-checking my Fitbit to ensure I beat last week's elevation gain. I'm competitive that way.

The book also mentioned "muddy sections". Yup. Good thing my Keen boots are amazingly tough and waterproof. Fourth summer of use and still going strong.

I liked the variety of wildflowers on this hike.

The last three kilometers were brutal. My knees were finished, my quads were burning, and I was doing frequent Fitbit-checking to estimate how much longer. i did spend a bit of the descent beating myself up for not continuing farther, but when I collapsed on my hot car, I knew I made the right decision. it's not like the mountain is going anywhere.

Got a new Fitbit badge for 40,000 steps. I'm so materialistic.