Mystic Lake Hike

This Saturday, I went with a couple ladies from my work on a hike to Mystic Lake. It was a 3 mile trail that had a 1200ft elevation change. We started at 6500' and climbed to 7700'. One of the ladies had a really cool watch that shows your elevation and she would keep us informed of how far we had ascended. It took about 2 hours to get to the lake. The topography was varied; starting out fairly level and wooded and eventually getting steeper with more rocky terrain. Once we reached the peak, Mystic Lake was in a small valley between all the surrounding peaks. There were a few other people there. Most of them were fishing. It was a beautiful day for a hike, and I could not have asked for better picture taking scenery.
I had a lot of fun getting to know my co-workers a little better, and was surprised I was able to climb this trail while talking the whole way without passing out. :)

 

 

 

On Sunday, I spent a lot of the day visiting with my friend from PT school who, as I mentioned in a previous post, I saw on the way into Billings. He and his family live about and hour and a half east of Billings on an Indian reservation. It was awesome getting to hang out with them again. It hardly feels like 2 years has gone by since I saw them last. We had a nice dinner together and some amazing home made cherry turnovers! But the best part was when I got to practice shooting one of his handmade bow and arrows. My friend literally made the whole thing! He took a tree branch and carved out a bow, heated the wood to bend it into a bow shape, made the arrow heads, and the tree sap/charcoal mixture that glued the arrow head to the arrow. He even shot the birds to get the feathers for the end of the arrow. Anyway, long story short, I was shooting arrows at a target and actually made a bulls-eye! I was so proud. :) Beginners luck I'm sure, but don't tell anyone I said that. Next time, its tomahawk throwing lessons. Better watch out. I'm gonna be dangerous.