A little background information is called for to put this post in perspective. In a few short weeks, I will be 59-years old. I have been moderately active as a hiker throughout my life. Living along the Wasatch Front in northern Utah has given me immediate access to trails that lead through meadow and valley, up steep mountains and through various desert environments. In winter, I even take to snowshoeing on occasion. I moved to Utah in 1976 in my late teen years and immediately fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. My constant companion on my many hikes was a trusty Olympus OM-1. It was compact and lightweight. I remember throwing it into my knapsack with several lenses, an apple, a bottle of water, and several other miscellaneous objects, sling it over my back and set off on the trail. Back then my back was strong and I was carefree. Now, many years later, I’ve moved onto more complex camera equipment, and with that comes greater bulk and weight. Sadly, I don’t have an 18-year old back any longer. Though I love my Nikon D700 SLR and a great set of lenses (14-24, 24-70, 70-200), the weight is killing me. Later this fall I hope to purchase my first mirrorless camera system. Depending on the week I lean towards one manufacturer or another. Several weeks ago, I seriously considered a return to Olympus, but I hate to lose the full frame sensor I’ve grown accustomed to. Last week I was swayed back to the Sony a7II. I won’t make my final decision for several more months. In the meantime, my only option for photography is lugging my current system up mountain and down, and hoping my back and knees will make it one more week at a time. This last week Virginia and I decided to hike to Silver Lake, in the Lone Peak Wilderness in Utah County. It was a tough hike. I hoped to continue to Silver Glance Lake, a mile above Silver Lake. Silver Lake is a favorite hike for many in this area and gets a fair amount of traffic. On Friday afternoon, there were even several Boy Scout Troops packing in for an overnight stay. Silver Glance Lake, on the other hand is seldom visited, at least for now. There are no signs marking the way, though it can be found on topo maps. In and of itself, Silver Glance is not a spectacular lake, barely more than a puddle. But boy, what a setting! It would be hard to dream up a more spectacular background than mighty Mount Timpanogos. The trail to Silver Glance Lake is steep, and when combined with the altitude, makes for a bit more strenuous climb. Silver Lake sits at almost 9,000 feet, while Silver Glance Lake lies in a basin 1,000 feet higher. We made fairly good time to Silver Lake and rested for a bit, pumped water from the lake to fill our water bottles, and ate a few snacks. There were a dozen people already at the lake, but I knew the Boy Scouts were not far behind us. I scurried up the mountain another mile and found I had Silver Glance Lake all to myself. It was wonderful. The trail climbed through a valley filled with wildflowers at the peak of their bloom. Once at the lake, I climbed the talus slope on the far side to capture this image with Mt. Timpanogos in the background. I wish I could see it at sunset, but it would be a difficult hike down in the dark. Camping overnight is out because I can barely get up the mountain with my camera gear. There is no way I would make it with all the camping gear too. Maybe I need to find a horse to carry my load…, or a good Sherpa. After making a fine set of images, I set off on a rapid descent to catch up with Virginia and return to our car before dark. While the climb up to the lake was physically draining, the pounding of my knees and back going down hurt far worse. By the time I reached the car at Silver Lake Flat I knew I was done for the day.