Phelps Lake

On Friday, we took our recreational day with a hike back at the Rockefeller Preserve (where we had perused the visitor center on Wednesday) around Phelps Lake. The day began with a 7:30 breakfast, a relative treat in the midst of a week of 5:00 alarms and dining before dawn. We then headed out for the preserve, where we hiked, greeted midway by a refreshing mid-morning drizzle, until the lake moved into our fields of vision. Phelps Lake was unlike anything I had ever seen before - the antithesis to the familiar Los Angeles River, the water seemed to be perfectly clear, reflecting the turquoise sky without a single imperfection. The day had cleared up at this point, and the waters off in the distance seemed to sparkle when hit by the sunlight.

A view of rock bottom

 We then proceeded to circle the entire lake, taking in different angles of it and hearing tantalizing stories of a nearby bear from the people who crossed our path. Although we never did encounter the elusive bear, we spent time simply appreciating the sights, from a small collection of rocks to sit on near the water's edge where we sketched and journaled to the jumping rock that allowed us to overlook the entirety of the area surrounding the lake. 

The cast of Rocky

We retreated back to Kelly Campus after looping around the area for seven miles; there we were treated to a hailstorm that, while stunning, drew our day to an early close.

- Suna