Father-Daughter 2014: Hub Lake, The Great Burn

Elan and Ellie among cedars

A few weeks back I went with Ellie on our yearly father-daughter backpacking trip. For the past five years or so we've done an overnight trip with our neighbors Elan (who is Ellie's age) and her dad Kevin. It's always a great trip. Ellie and Elan get along great, and so do Kevin and I. Kevin is a therapist in town with a spiritual bent and we always go deep with our conversation.

This year we had a couple of options in mind, from the more ambitious, like Lolo Peak, to the mellow, like biking up the Rattlesnake. Last year our trip was on the ambitious end of the scale, with a trip up Trapper Peak. This year, we opted for something in the middle and went into The Great Burn. Neither Kevin nor I had been before. It's an amazing and unique place, and we both talked about going back for more exploration. This trip, we opted for Hub Lake, which is a great spot just under three miles from the trailhead, after a healthy climb. There are also a couple of peaks nearby to bag (Ward and Eagle), but the girls weren't into doing them, which was no big surprise. And anyway, the weather and company were fantastic; it was another magical father-daughter trip.

On the way in. The trail was steep in spots.

Rest stop.

Our camp

Ellie 2014

Hub Lake, Ellie, Elan, Pudge

Morning at camp

Hub Lake in the morning

A little hike for a view in the morning.

Headin out, another father-daughter trip, and year, down.