Today was a rest day. We had hoped to rent kayaks and go out on the lake. But, as I may have mentioned, it was too cold.

We explored around the lake a bit before heading across the highway to the Elk Lake Trailhead for the Three Sisters Wilderness. We didn’t really plan for anything, but figured there would be some hiking trails.

After filling out the permit (including listing where we’d be for search and rescue purposes), we headed on the path, planning on a loop including part of the Pacific Crest Trail.

There were patches of snow along the trail. As we got higher, the patches grew more frequent, including some blocking the path. They were mostly hard, though some parts you could still crunch through. It’s possible my sandals were not ideal footwear for this particular adventure.

We reached the intersection with the PCT, and the snow blocked the path for as far as we could see. Anne scouted ahead and reported it cleared up, so we tromped through. After a bit further, another patch of snow for as far as we could see. Anne scouted again, out of sight but still seeing no end to the snow. We decided it was time to turn back.

As we hiked, Max played a game we’ve done in various hikes and rides. He acts as game master in a freeform RPG, going between us to advance the sometimes hard to follow story. Last time we were all deer joined by Chitchat, an NPC rabbit the size of a bear. I had led the party to a radish field, and somehow Ruth had transformed into the Queen of Radishes. By the end of the hike Anne and I were in Chitchat’s burrow being attacked by a pack of arctic wolves, and Ruth was frozen on Mars.

We got back in time for lunch at the resort restaurant, followed by an afternoon in the cabin. We played an Exit escape room board game and I taught the kids how to play Crazy Eights.

We explored the lake a bit again before dinner, including some fish heads that had been dumped near the boat launch.

There’s not really any services between here and Bend, so we ordered a double dinner – one to eat now, one to pack for lunch tomorrow. We already bought pastries from the resort office for breakfast.

Tomorrow should be exciting. It’ll be cold again, with rain and possibly snow in the forecast. We should have enough gear, though it might make the long descent less fun.