Emerald and Rougher Lakes

On Friday afternoon we picked up Thane from school, met up with friends Troy & Melissa, and headed back to the Coffeen Park trailhead to camp for the weekend.  After setting up camp, Melissa made us a wonderful dinner, and we sat around the fire making s'mores and visiting.

 

We at an early breakfast on Saturday, tightened up our packs and headed up the trail to make our way over Edelman Pass to Emerald Lake.  This was a pretty rigorous hike, but we took our time and enjoyed the sites along the way.  We found a cool old mine (see the boys at the entrance above), and really appreciated the flatter sections of the trail (like this beautiful meadow below):

From there it was a pretty rigorous trek up some steep sections of rough trail until we finally made it to the pass.

The pass was super steep, but every well earned step was worth it when we finally crested the top and caught a view of the scenic Emerald Lake.

It's not hard to see how the lake got its name!

We rested and packed in some calories, and then Jordan & I explored the area while Thane fished.  Thane's patience was rewarded with several beautiful cutthroat trout.

The nearby Rougher Lake didn't live up to its name, as the water was smooth and absolutely gorgeous!

At the other end of Rougher Lake, we were treated to a panoramic view of the west side of the Big Horns.  That rocky ledge off to the distance on the left in the photo below is the Shell side of the mountains where you pass on your way to Cody and Yellowstone.  It's another 6.5 mile hike to get there, and Jordan & I have added this to our hiking list - but maybe with a restful night or two of camping up near the lakes first.  We'll need to recover from the Pass!