Lake Constance
Yesterday’s mishap already felt a distance memory, the mishap in which I lost my dad in the woods. As I often say when things go awry or unexpectedly, it makes for a good story. In the dramatic retelling of this tale, I would say we both thought the other had fallen off a cliff, that’s not really true, though for a moment I did entertain the idea that a mountain lion in their uncanny and terrifying stealth had stollen my dad. In hindsight my instincts told me we were simply lost from each other, and thats exactly what happened. Thankfully we were not lost from the trail, not in peril, not danger, just at two different points on a trail that concluded at a lake. Sure enough, almost instantly upon arriving at the lake my dad and I were reunited.
Now it was the next morning and it was time to make coffee, the best part of the morning, especially when camping. I recently bought a little moka pot on eBay and was very excited to make some fancy espresso for Dad and I. I had also brought two muffins at the local bakery to eat for breakfast.
There were only two campsites on this side of the lake, the side closes to the trail. We occupied one and a Swiss man occupied the other. My dad had met him last night while calling out my name. When we became separated from each other my dad assumed I had left him in the dust in an attempt to reach the lake before sunset, to take photographs. He imagined arriving at the lake and finding me sitting around camp, tent set up, maybe a little fire going, dinner cooking. He even had a greeting line prepared, something comparing my set up to the sherpa in the Himalaya who establish camp long before their patrons arrive.
Instead my dad arrived at the lake and I was no where to be found, because he had pass me on the trail and I was actually behind him. Anyways, after calling out my name a few times, he received a reply from a Swiss man, the only other person up here. He had climbed Mt.Constance earlier in the day, the route to the summit begins at the lake, and they shared a brief conversation about the climb.
After our muffins and the first round of coffee, we took a nice morning stroll around the lake. The water was crystal clear and small trout gulped at the surface, unbothered by our presence. We found a nice mossy spot to sit and watch the morning light creep across the surrounding peaks.
An Icy Plunge
I had been thinking about jumping into the lake all morning. I love a cold swim, the colder the better, it’s something you never regret and apparently a cold water plunge can stave off dementia. My mom told me that a few days ago, my parents are also very into the icy swim, perhaps its a hereditary thing.
The air was warm and the increasing sunlight were both encouraging, and eventually I found a spot where I could climb down to the lake’s edge. Typically I would strip off and dive in right away, absolutely no dipping of toes and the more time you delay the more opportunities for your mind to try and talk you out of an icy plunge, but a few little trout made me pause.They swam towards me, totally unafraid. I teased them by splashing my finger gently in the water to see if they would come closer. One by one they came to investigate, curious little things.
As I sat playing with the fish I could feel a discouraging chill radiating off the surface of the lake. I had to jump now or I would chicken out, so I rose slightly from my crouch and did a shallow dive into the lake. It was very cold, colder than I thought, but there is nothing more refreshing, no better start to a day.
The Valley
The trail that brought us up here continues on past the lake into a valley, and eventually to the peak of Mt.Constance. You can see the trail in the image above, traversing to the left, cutting through the scree field at the base of Mt.Constanace.
Hiking through the scree field was less taxing than it looked, the trail was very stable. Best of all, gaining a little extra elevation offered an epic view of Lake Constance. Unfortunately, smoke from a new fire in Napa Vallet was blowing in turning the sky white.
The trail dead ends in this valley, or you can follow a trail off to the right that will take you up Mt.Constance, a technical peak. The Swiss man who had been our only companion up here had told my dad his summit of Mt. Constance had been brutal, but my dad couldn’t read if that was due to the technicality of the climb or something else. Either way, next time we come up here I would like to try and climb Mt.Constance, just need a little more practice before that happens.
two brothers disappearing into the smoke
In the photograph above you can see our lovely camp spot, positioned above rocky cliffs, the small gap in the trees. Last night as we were sorting through food to find our dinner ingredients, my dad lost an apple. In the dark we couldn’t see the apple roll away but we could hear it as it hit several roots or fallen branches, I swear we even heard it catch air as it launched off the cliff and a moment later splash into the water below. We had plenty of apples, so it was a good laugh that one had ended up in the lake.
We bid Lake Constance farewell and as I stopped to take a few photographs my dad called out, “the apple!”. He walked out into the lake on a tree trunk, retrieve it, and ate it.
This is truly a beautiful spot and I could have spent a few days hanging around up here. The positive of this hike being quite challenging, a five mile hike to the trailhead followed by four miles of unmaintained inclined trail, is that chances are you will have it to yourself or almost to yourself. We have talked about coming back up here in the winter, to see it cloaked in pillowy white snow. By then, all the fish will be hibernating at the bottom of the lake under a thick layer of ice. We need to get some snowshoes first.
After a leisurely morning, we headed down the trail. The descent as always, was much more uncomfortably than the ascent, very hard on the knees and the additional five miles back to the car dragged on a bit. The next day I could barely walk down the three steps of my parents front porch, I have never been so sore after a hike.
