Last Saturday, we drove to Snoqualmie Pass, parked at the Alpental ski area and hiked up to Snow Lake. The Snow Lake trail is a modest 6-mile round trip trek with an elevation gain of roughly 1800 feet. At the peak (4400 feet), you are rewarded with an incredible view of the lake, ice-covered in the winter, glacier-blue in the summer. On this mid-May Saturday morning, as we hiked over streams bursting with winter snow run-off and looked up at the gushing waterfalls that surrounded us on both sides, I told my hiking partner the story of my first time to Snow Lake when I was 18.

My high school girlfriend and I had decided to hike the trail and spend the night above the lake and under the stars. I think we thought this made us sound outdoorsy, independent, and brave. And with our 18-year-old intellectual prowess flowing, we had that light bulb moment of great inspiration: “why not diet while we hike?!” Thus, our only provisions were bottled water and one hard-boiled egg each.

Memories are funny. They make you laugh. They make you cranky. They evolve into stories years later that in this case made us laugh deep down at the silly decisions we make.

On this trip, I split a beer at the crest, divided a turkey sandwich with Maggie May, our always hungry 3-year-old dog, and scarfed down a handful of nuts with chocolate chips.

It was a good day for new memories that also included these beauties: