Billings Lake
Our four-day weekend was flying by, and Sunday came all too soon. We were having fun finding new trails and we liked what we had found. Billings Lake was to be the first trail we ran that weekend north of highway 50, and it turned out to be different than the trails south of highway 50. The mountains around the Billings Lake trail were more rugged. The trail, however, proved to be easy all the way to the North Fork Reservoir Camp Ground.
We made good time, only meeting light traffic. We were soon at an area on the trail where it appeared there was a ravine or gorge beside the trail. Mike stopped and walked over to explore. The gorge was about 60 to 80 feet deep with cliffs straight down to the water on either side. A waterfall fed into this gorge and it was a tranquil spot. We all walked around getting pictures but soon the lure of the trail called us back to our Jeeps.
After a quick run up the trail we were at the lake and the tunnel. The views were fantastic, and the tunnel was intriguing with its elaborate stonework and carved capstone. We spent some time there and had the place to ourselves. After a while though, it was time to go again.
We headed down the trail until we got back to the waterfall and stopped there for lunch. Walt declared that it was his second favorite lunch spot out of all of the lunch spots he's seen on the trails. That's saying a lot, as he has completed over 200 trails now! After lunch, we headed down the trail to find Taylor Mountain, our last trail of the weekend.
