Winter is quickly approaching, but is there still time to hike and see the beautiful fall leaves? Unfortunately that time has come and gone. Last weekend some friends and I made a trek up to Hanging Lake and although the lake itself was beautiful, the fall colors weren’t astonishingly pretty. There were a few trees with red and orange leaves still hanging on, but most had sadly fallen to the ground and have been trampled by the hundreds of other hikers  making their way to the top.

However, in my opinion there are still many aspects of fall hiking that are attractive. First, the sun does not beat down like it sometimes does in the summer. There were cool breezes every once and awhile to keep hikers calm and collected even though the hike was slightly strenuous. Secondly, at the top of the hike, the sun didn’t melt people as if they were popsicles like it can during summer. Even the water was bearable to look at, there were no blinding white rays of the sun being reflected on the water. Instead, the sun’s rays shone upon the pool, shining through the clear water and illuminating the mossy bottom.

This “Emerald Pool” of water was truly astonishing and I would highly recommend hiking this particular trail at some point in your life. The 3.2 mile hike is classified as “moderately difficult” but the beauty at the top is sure worth the wait. However, hiking at this time in the year in general may not be as exhilarating simply because of the absence of colorful leaves. It is up to you as an adventurer to determine whether the absence of leaves will hold you back from taking that final hike before winter sets in.