Our reason behind hiking Taylor Lake was simple. There was a connection. You see, Dave’s Mom’s maiden name was Taylor. The name alone rekindled wonderful memories for him—even before our hike began.

That Sunday almost felt like summer. There was a chance of rain, but nothing compared to the week before. So, with that in mind, we crossed our fingers and headed towards Taylor Lake for an early afternoon hike.

Just past Banff, we hit a thunderstorm. That was not about to deter us. A light shower greeted us at the trailhead, but the skies looked promising. Carry on.

We have hiked this trail through snow and ice, as well as on beautiful summer days. It’s about a 9-mile trek out and back, with a steady elevation gain of around 1,500 feet. There was no snow to tackle this time, just a whole lot of MUD.

Along the way we crossed bridges as well as a maze of wooden structures built over marshy areas.

The sun showed itself briefly as we worked our way up. There were a few less muddy areas, but for the most part we found it really, really messy. After making it to the backcountry campground. our next task was to make our way through the marshy shoreline to the lake itself.

Success! Sandwiches all around (well, only for Dave and I). Within minutes, the clouds gathered and skies darkened.

Not long after we heard thunder. Then the rain began—a nice, cold pelting rain.

We opted to head back before becoming thoroughly soaked. Our hands were cold and wet, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. Thankfully, the sun reappeared an hour or so into our slippery, downhill slide. By the time we made it back to the Jeep, our boots were waterlogged and caked with mud.

I know, weather in the mountains can be reliably unreliable. That afternoon did not go exactly as planned, but we enjoyed it despite it’s shortcomings. It reminded Dave of all the time he spent growing up in the great outdoors—in rain and shine. Thanks Mom.