Spruce Lake is a gorgeous small lake that is not visited by many people. It is very near Fern Lake and is accessed via an unimproved trail leading .8 miles away from Fern Lake.
This shot was taken in the very early morning soon after the sun came up. This photo carries many memories and stories. The day before, my brother and I got a late start leaving the trailhead. Regretably, I had forgotten the camera and had to return to the car to get it while my brother waited for me. We eventually made it to the Spruce Lake trail where it meets the Fern Lake Trail at dusk but to make matters worse, it had started to rain. We ended up using a flash light to search for the cairns that marked the unimproved trail leading to the lake. By some miracle, we eventually found our way, but not before second guessing ourselves and doubling back multiple times. Once we made it to the lake, we had to find our backcountry site we had reserved by locating the little red arrowheads on the trees pointing to the big silver arrowhead marking the site. Since the rules dictate you are only allowed to pitch your tent within 15 feet of these silver arrowheads, we had no choice but to keep searching until we found it. After what seemed like hours in the rain at night searching via flashlight, we finally found that silly arrowhead and were able to pitch our tent and cook up some food. Next time my brother and I go out backpacking, you can be sure we will get an early start and won’t forget our camera.
