Lake Catherine (From Brighton)

The day after Independence Day we were invited to hike up above Brighton with some friends. Normally I try to stay away from the mountains during holiday weekends, but I really like hiking with these people and I figured it would be a good hike to take Titan on.

Titan at Lake Mary

I had planned to carry Titan the whole way up the mountain, and I probably could have. He was able to walk about a half mile or so, though, which gave me a bit of rest in the middle of the climb. 

Lake Martha

I've been up this trail a few times and have a few other more detailed blog posts about the trail, so I don't have a lot to say about the trail this time.

It was a bit of a struggle to make it to Lake Mary, but having been up the trail in the past I reassured everyone that the hard part of the trail was already done. Most of the group continued on to Lake Catherine (passing Lake Martha on the way). We found a snow bank just off the trail and had a snow ball fight (in July!)

Panorama of Lake Catherine

The bugs hadn't been bad at all the whole way up until we got within 10 feet of Lake Catherine. Wee were instantly swarmed. Oddly, though, there were places with bugs, and places without bugs. The bugs seemed to just stay in place. I picked up a few mosquito bites while spraying Titan with some Deet.

This was actually the first time in all the times I've been to Lake Catherine that I actually sat down at the water's edge and enjoyed being there. I'm always quick to arrive at my destination and then move on. It was nice to have the time to enjoy the moment a bit.

The hike was right near 4.5 miles, if I remember correctly, with about 1,700 feet of elevation gain.