9-27-07
We stood on the boat launch at Lewis Lake early in the morning taking in the sights before driving to Heart Lake trailhead. Lewis Lake was still and dark. As we pulled out onto the main roadway we came upon a young woman hitchhiking. She was her mid-twenties, and blonde pigtails hung from her winter hat. She carried a large backpack and a 35 mm camera. We offered her a ride, but she was going to Grant Village, past our turn off, for a backcountry pass. She too, was headed to Heart Lake.
At the trailhead parking area we were met by this sign,“Warning, ravens have acquired a
taste for windshield wipers”. Two ravens stared at us, one from the bumper of the car next to us. Our wipers were promptly removed by Tim and placed in the camper. We donned our packs and started the hike in, which was relatively flat through partially burned forest.
It wasn’t long before we met Laird from Ft Collins, CO. Father of two boys in college, Laird had been carefully planning this trip for years. Alone in the wilderness for a week, he was very happy to see us. During his trek, Laird had watched a bear in a meadow from about 200 yards and had seen three wolves, which had circled back behind him at one point and unnerved him. He asked us if we wanted his bear pepper spray. He was only a mile and ½ from the end of his journey. I happily accepted his offer and smiled on our luck.
The trail wound in and around wooded meadows and climbed gradually to its apex, about
6 ½ miles in. There the trees broke and a valley stretched out before us. At the bottom of the valley, Heart Lake was a blue dot in a sea of green. Beneath our feet the ground was warm and steam rose from surrounding thermal areas. The thermals dotted the landscape stretching all the way down the valley, ending at Heart Lake, a mile and ½ from where we stood. Up and to the right loomed Mt Sheridan, our planned hike for the following day. There was a dusting of snow on top of the 10,500 ft mountain. The forest stretched in every direction, as far as we could see. We 
descended into the valley, following the hot springs and warm streams, which fed the lake.
We met two part-time park rangers who were departing the ranger cabin at Heart Lake for the season. We asked them how they came to be rangers. They explained they had both volunteered with the park service for two seasons before they were hired on. When we returned to the VW two days later we found a note in a ziplock baggie addressed to “the couple from Colorado Springs” encouraging us to contact them for more information on becoming park rangers.
At Heart Lake we turned right, heading toward site 8H3 (recommended to us by Ranger Milo). We walked along the gravely beach,
which crunched beneath our hiking boots.
We were amazed to see so many animal tracks en route, especially wolf tracks, but thus far, we had only seen squirrels, birds and the occasional darting lizard.
The campsite was tucked into the trees at the water’s edge ¼ mile off of the main trail. We crossed a stream via a split log. After the nine-mile hike, my feet were sore and I was a little off balance carrying my 30 lb pack. I had to remind myself to look forward and not down.
The site had a fire pit/cooking area, bear food hang area, tent site, and pit toilet with a view. Several deer grazed nearby. W
e pitched our tent, gathered wood and rehydrated our camping food. After dinner we walked 50 yards down to the lake and gazed at the stars. At around 8:30 P.M. the space station hurtled across the sky. It was a very cold night. 
We stood on the boat launch at Lewis Lake early in the morning taking in the sights before driving to Heart Lake trailhead. Lewis Lake was still and dark. As we pulled out onto the main roadway we came upon a young woman hitchhiking. She was her mid-twenties, and blonde pigtails hung from her winter hat. She carried a large backpack and a 35 mm camera. We offered her a ride, but she was going to Grant Village, past our turn off, for a backcountry pass. She too, was headed to Heart Lake.
At the trailhead parking area we were met by this sign,“Warning, ravens have acquired a
taste for windshield wipers”. Two ravens stared at us, one from the bumper of the car next to us. Our wipers were promptly removed by Tim and placed in the camper. We donned our packs and started the hike in, which was relatively flat through partially burned forest.It wasn’t long before we met Laird from Ft Collins, CO. Father of two boys in college, Laird had been carefully planning this trip for years. Alone in the wilderness for a week, he was very happy to see us. During his trek, Laird had watched a bear in a meadow from about 200 yards and had seen three wolves, which had circled back behind him at one point and unnerved him. He asked us if we wanted his bear pepper spray. He was only a mile and ½ from the end of his journey. I happily accepted his offer and smiled on our luck.
The trail wound in and around wooded meadows and climbed gradually to its apex, about
6 ½ miles in. There the trees broke and a valley stretched out before us. At the bottom of the valley, Heart Lake was a blue dot in a sea of green. Beneath our feet the ground was warm and steam rose from surrounding thermal areas. The thermals dotted the landscape stretching all the way down the valley, ending at Heart Lake, a mile and ½ from where we stood. Up and to the right loomed Mt Sheridan, our planned hike for the following day. There was a dusting of snow on top of the 10,500 ft mountain. The forest stretched in every direction, as far as we could see. We 
descended into the valley, following the hot springs and warm streams, which fed the lake.We met two part-time park rangers who were departing the ranger cabin at Heart Lake for the season. We asked them how they came to be rangers. They explained they had both volunteered with the park service for two seasons before they were hired on. When we returned to the VW two days later we found a note in a ziplock baggie addressed to “the couple from Colorado Springs” encouraging us to contact them for more information on becoming park rangers.
At Heart Lake we turned right, heading toward site 8H3 (recommended to us by Ranger Milo). We walked along the gravely beach,
which crunched beneath our hiking boots.We were amazed to see so many animal tracks en route, especially wolf tracks, but thus far, we had only seen squirrels, birds and the occasional darting lizard.
The campsite was tucked into the trees at the water’s edge ¼ mile off of the main trail. We crossed a stream via a split log. After the nine-mile hike, my feet were sore and I was a little off balance carrying my 30 lb pack. I had to remind myself to look forward and not down.
The site had a fire pit/cooking area, bear food hang area, tent site, and pit toilet with a view. Several deer grazed nearby. W
e pitched our tent, gathered wood and rehydrated our camping food. After dinner we walked 50 yards down to the lake and gazed at the stars. At around 8:30 P.M. the space station hurtled across the sky. It was a very cold night. 
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People should read this.
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