The Carthew Trail

We had to cross this snow patch to continue on to the Carthew Lakes. It wasn't as easy as it looked because it was on a considerable incline, and if you toboggoned down it you would wind up in the lake. Jeff offers Brenda a hand as Darla waits on the far side. The snow had an interesting crack in the middle of it. Carthew Trail Map

Jeff and Darla enjoyed playing on the snowbank at the south end of the upper Carthew Lake. They even tried a bit of sledding, but the only sled they could find was a big flat rock.

Jeff and Darla continue along the bank of the Upper Carthew Lake. Despite the sunny day, the wind was so strong that the water was very choppy.

The snow on the opposite side of the lake was very interesting. It came right down to the water's edge. This shows another perspective of the trail we followed to get to where this photo is taken.

We now had a new perspective on the trail we had followed down through the red scree. We hadn't realized that there was so much snow below us. The snow had interesting patterns on it.

Jeff and Darla head on down toward the lower lakes.

After negotiating another snow band, this time requiring just a slide down it, Brenda and Darla move along the shore of one of the lower Carthew Lakes.

At this lower altitude the wind had subsided a bit and we found a thicket which seemed like a great place for lunch. After lunch, Brenda lay down and closed her eyes for a few moments. It was quite comfortable in the sun, even though she was in view of a snowbank.

Brenda's rest was greatly confusing to this squirrel. Soon after she lay down, the squirrel ran out and looked at her in seeming amazement, darting to several spots close to her and stopping to look up at her. It was like the Lilliputians viewing Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels. In 15 minutes, he must have darted back out a half-dozen times. It is a very interesting squirrel, with a red neck similar to the color of the rock in the area. The color is very different from the golden mantled ground squirrels we saw further south in, say, Bryce Canyon or the North Rim of Grand Canyon. Before going off on some great evolutionary treatise, however, you might consider that this squirrel might be just dirty! He may have been digging in the loose red dirt. If the red fur isn't just dirt, then this squirrel is distinctly different from the one we saw on the upper switchbacks of this trail.