Wing Lake — Friday, Oct. 8, 2021

This hike has been on my bucket list for about 10 years, and I’m so happy that I decided to finally do it!  My only regret is that I haven’t done it sooner. What a gorgeous, gorgeous trail. The larches are at full peak right now, and there are so many of them, especially between Lewis and wing lake that at this time the rest of the maple pass loop pales in comparison.   The boulder field between heather pass and wing lake was tedious with a few inches of snow, as long as we were careful and took it slow we were fine And it generally was not hard to follow the trail.
I was not expecting Lewis like to be as beautiful as it was. Wow! What a gorgeous color. Surrounded by larches, it was very striking.  To get to wing lake from Lewis lake  takes about 30 minutes at the trail is easy to follow.  This is probably my favorite section of the hike because he walked through stand after stand of beautiful golden larches, with views of of Lewis lake below.  There was such a peaceful serene energy here. Wing lake is also gorgeous, a place that I have wanted to backpack and see the larches, but I knew that it would be too cold, and I am glad that we did a day hike instead.  
Not too many people out on this beautiful day- One of my favorite things about this hike is the much smaller crowds that on the adjacent maple pass loop. The Boulderfield took us less time on the way back because it was mostly uphill  and you could move faster all in all, it was one of my favorite days in the mountains this year, and I can’t recommend this hike enough.