This was a hike perhaps I should have saved for a later day. Despite being terribly sick a few days prior and still in the stages of recovering, I convinced myself to go outside for a hike—and a longer one too. My companion was not in any better shape as they had also contracted a similar lung infection. The steep beginning of the hike felt as though it set the note for the rest of the hike. Weaving up the mountain we passed by a pair of hikers making their way up for an overnight trip. We parted ways early on and continued into the woods. Time and distance almost felt warped on this trail, we would pass kilometer markings hours apart and I felt discouraged that I would not reach even the lower lake at this point.
One of the reviews I read up on said they had borrowed a canoe from a local house along the lake. The further we trekked into the woods the more I doubted the credibility of the review I had joked about earlier in the week. This path is well maintained, but something tells me that the kilometer markings along it are off.
Eventually we reached lower Pierce lake, but did not break here so we could preserve light. At this point we encountered a group warning us of a wasps nest nearby—believe me this wasp nest was real, it had fallen from a nearby tree and onto the trail making it a possible hazard to a non-observant wanderer. In fact, on our return trip we encountered the same hive but slightly damaged.
Avoiding the wasps nest involved a mild amount of bushwhacking to return to the trail (and yanking ourselves from thorns). From here the next point that really stands out is the final stretch to upper Pierce lake. An ominous rock scramble leads the way to the lake, however, thankfully the trail snakes around this rock scramble and only demands some mild struggling with dragging oneself up rocks. There are ropes in the steeper section to assist with the ascent.
At the end of it all there was only silence. No wind, and no ripples on the glass surface of the lake. If no one spoke then there was no sound. It was also absurdly cold, and persistent snow clung to rocks. But it was peaceful (more or less).