It’s golden as far as the eyes can see and
the forest smells of autumn. Cathedral Lake Trail is calling to me and saying,
“explore me.” I haven’t hiked this trail before and a good friend of mine gets
us to the trailhead around 9A. It’s a 5.6-mile round-trip hike starting at
9,880’ elevation and ends at 11,866’.
I’m ready and wearing my hiking shoes – my new Layna Waterproof Chaco’s.
These shoes were extremely comfortable. They
have this foot bed called LUVSEAT that truly loves your foot (they sure loved
mine.) Snug, soft and lightweight, the Layna is starting to win me over. I had
worn the shoes two times prior to break them in just running around town and a
short hike up Grizzly Creek. I didn’t want to get any blisters or hot spots
during a hike to Cathedral Lake. I had
my backpack filled with snacks, water, an extra layer of clothes……and we were
off to the trailhead.
The hike starts with a pretty nice gradual
climb following Pine Creek. It’s beautiful and you can hear the leaves
crunching underfoot. My feet are enjoying the backcountry performance of my new
shoes by teeter tottering over the rocks. The Layna has a water-resistant suede
construction with a waterproof bootie to boot. Talk about feeling like you are
walking on clouds.
The hike takes the average person
approximately 4 hours to complete and we were maybe 45 minutes into the hike
when I gave in to what my body was telling me. I was dealing with some back
issues that started to slow me down. So I listened to what my body was telling
me and turned around to head back to the car. I was quite disappointed that my
back was giving me the business, but my feet were happy as could be.
I can’t wait to hike it again next summer.
