Morainne Lake and Lake Minniwanka

Morian Lake and Lake Minniwanker were great places to visit for a day out and a half-day hike. I saw one of my first squirrels, very unafraid of people and curious for food. Laura and I spent most of the day amazed that the Morian Lake hiking trail only opened up days beforehand (it was mid June).

Even considering this, I ended up thigh-deep in snow in my shorts on the hiking trail. Amazing. It was warm enough to be wearing a T shirt and there was snow more than 2 foot deep in the side of the mountain.

Lake Minniwanker was fun. We encountered a British couple declaring it was their honeymoon by assembling 20 ft high driftwood log letters on the lakeshore and helped them take photos. I continued to be impressed by the magnificence of the pine trees and Laura kept a full pocket of trail snacks to keep me chasing her up the mountain. Canine comparisons aside, it was a good ploy to teach me to keep up and to pause rather than stop to take photos.

On the lakeshore, Laura taught me to skip stones on the water, which I'd always envied but never learned how to do. I can do it now, but need more practice.

Morian Lake was more beautiful than Minniwanker. The rock composition and formations were beautiful, wild and strange and the lake had that glacier green than is so well loved here. We hiked through the snow trails for about 2.5 kms up a steepish incline before being so logged in with snow that without hiking poles, the rest of the way was too difficult. Reluctantly we turned back.

My heroine moment had arrived.

As we trudged back down the trail, Laura slipped and started sliding off the side of the mountain down towards the river. She held onto the edge determinedly with both hands as I caught up.

"Give me your hand"
"No, I'm alright"
"Give me your hand, I've gotcha"
"No"
"Give me your hand, you stubborn arse"
"I can get up it"

She wouldn't let me help her. So, whilst she was still hanging on I said,

"Look, in the movies there is a moment when the sidekick gets to save the hero and have their big moment. This is my moment. Give me your hand".

So, she let me help her up. I didn't have the heart to tell her that being naturally curly-haired, the better hiker and a world travelled geologist did not make me her sidekick.

She learned that a woman is not an island. I learned that a small fib can save a person from a muddy, watery afternoon.

I stuck close to her all the way down the mountain. After all, she might have been carrying beef jerky (which attracts bears), but she was wearing a bear bell attached to her pack (the jingling which encourages them to stay away).