The hike is flat for the first mile or two. But that changes in a hurry when you turn off toward the lake. Almost as soon as you turn, you find yourself on a granite-studded slope, climbing up a steep trail alongside a rushing mountain stream. The climb is tiring, but the scenery helps take your mind off the effort. Huge boulders divert the flow every fifty feet or so.
Flowers bloom in the middle of the current.
If you stop for a breath and turn to face downstream, you can sometimes see across to the mountains west of Santa Fe. A couple of meadows split the climb into manageable segments. Oh, wait, that's not very picturesque. Pictures, I took a few pictures. I need to go back and take more.