Happy Heart - Vesper Peak

My heart could not have been more happy this past weekend.

Aaron and I were supposed to hike Mount Saint Helens. However after reading reviews of recent trip reports we decided we'd wait until winter to hike the mountain.

 Plus I've been wanting to hike Vesper Peak for some time now, so it seemed like a perfect weekend to cross that off our list.

 Vesper Peak is about 4100 feet elevation gain and 9 miles. There's a completely-clear lake on your way, and amazing views at the summit.

 We chose to backpack the mountain so that we could overnight it and breathe some mountain air.

 And friends - it was amazing.
Breathtaking.
Gorgeous.
Perfect.

 If these photos don't make you totally swoon over the mountains then we can't be friends :-)

 Jk jk I love you all.

We started off at about noon on Friday since yours truly took some time off work.
A Friday start was perfect - we were one of four groups on the trail so we practically had it entirely to ourselves.

Why is that perfect?
…because you get the pick of the litter when it comes to campsites.

I had a hard week since my car decided to blow a head gasket costing me $2800.

My little heart was broken for my little car.
… and my wallet.
Actually, my heart was entirely broken for my wallet.
#firstworldproblems


So this trip was exactly what the doctor ordered.

On our way down Aaron noticed the aquamarine colored water and had to stop.  The river was gorgeous!  If that's all we did the entire trip I still would have been a happy camper.

This was our original camping spot.  

Then Aaron told me you're not allowed to camp within 100 feet of a water source.

So I panicked thinking the cops were going to get us.

#naive

Summit shot!!

Summit proof!

GOOD MORNING!!

Do the views get any better than this?

Nope.

The answer is nope.

Home means Nevada