Mildred Lakes

Mil•der•a•ble
Miserable + Mildred = Milderable
[mil-dra-buh l, mil-durr-a-buh l]

adjective

1. wretchedly rocky trail, uneasy, or uncomfortable footing:
After the hike, the boyscouts conceded that the trail was in Milderable condition and vowed never to set foot on it again.

2. wretchedly poor tread; in need of repair.
The trail was in Milderable condition.

3. of wretched hiking quality; contemptible:
The group set out on a trail guaranteed to set new standard for Milderable conditions.

This was my first taste of the Mildred Lakes Trail, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. The first half wasn't too bad but the second half was a rooty, rocky, overgrown mess. To add insult to injury, it rained off and on most of the day. One minute the sun would be shining, the next, a nice hard rain. It would rain just long enough to get the brush all wet before the sun would come back out, evaporating what rain wasn't being absorbed into my clothing as I pushed my way through the overhanging vegetation, and causing the air to be heavy and sticky. You would think the roots that roughly 25% of the trail is comprised of would be a slippery problem. The real problem however is the odd sandstone type of rock in the area is super slick. I took a good spill on some of it just before getting to the lower lake.

Overlooking all the difficulties of this trail, there are also some real pretty sights to be seen. Due to some of the low clouds on my visit, I didn't get to see everything I wanted to see, particularly the Sawtooth Ridge and surrounding mountains. I didn't get to see the upper lake either, but not for lack of trying as the trail was very overgrown.

With all things being equal, I can't wait until my next visit to Mildred Lakes. It should be Milderable.