After a solid day of wind and rain yesterday, during which I thought the roof might blow off our hotel, we had a beautiful day today which we filled with a long hike.  In our last 45 min or so of being out we did happen to get completely drenched (it would have only been half drenched if we hadn’t of had to make a detour to the store before returning to our hostel during which we had to turn around and expose our dry side to the wind and horizontal rain), but I really enjoyed today’s “epic” hike through various landscapes and up to a lake.  The walk kind of felt as though it were a miniature version of Frodo and Samwise’s journey in Lord of the Rings.  We started out looking for the trailhead on the hill behind our hostel.  I think we took a less trodden route, and though it was steep, the view along this ridge was definitely worth it and energized us for the main section of the trail ahead.

We continued gaining altitude past rocks and trees for a while before reaching a viewpoint of the valley below, chowing a couple of sandwiches, and heading downhill into the valley.  Here the landscape went through a few changes including grassy areas, swampy dead forest, a magical grove of trees with a fresh green canopy of leaves, riverbeds, and a windy lake. I know Matt put up a bunch of shots from this trail already, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites that he didn’t post.