Silver Lake Not for the Silver Years

We hiked 5 miles round trip to Silver Lake, to high fives and congrats. Passed scores of folks, 40 dogs and no cats. Then kayaked around on the lower Silver Lake Flats. Today, we can't move every joint and muscle aches. Oh rats!

It's been fifteen years since we've done this hike, at the top of Granite Flats in American Fork Canyon. It's listed as difficult. It is, with lots of altitude gain and switchbacks. We were just going to go as far as we could stand it, but after we passed the point of no return, there was no going back.

The last half mile I walked like a drunken woman. Now, I don't know how one walks, but I felt and wobbled like one. Many people would say to us, "Wow, you guys on the hike?" I think they meant that we were old. I would reply, "Yeah, we should be in a wheel chair." They would laugh. When we saw folks our age, they would smile and say, "Hey, glad to see someone our age." We were in the affirmative.

There were plenty of people diving in the icy cold waters, fishing or wading at the top. Not us. After a thirty minute rest, it was time to head back down. It seemed much further than we remembered the ascent was. You know we are in our sixties and memory is an issue. With about a half mile to go, my legs felt like jelly. Between a drunk woman and jelly, it was a miracle we made. It is probably our last time up there.