I got up around 7 since I had been awake part of the night and the other GDTers had already set off by the time I got to the cooking area. It was cloudy and chilly and so I kept my rain coat on as I set off. It was back to the road and then a 4 km road walk to the next trailhead.

It was a pretty road walk and at least there was a lot less traffic than yesterday. I made good time to the trailhead and set off up the trail. It was very similar to yesterday, following a creek leading up and up the valley. It ended in this massive bowl and I had no clue how on earth the trail would climb up the sides of it, but it did.

The skies had cleared a lot at this point and it was hot going. I felt like I was crawling along to keep my breathing from getting to hard. I’m not sure if it’s the altitude since I got up over 2500m today or just climbing with a heavy pack or both. Finally at the summit, it was windy and clouded over again so it was quite chilly. I put some layers on and had lunch enjoying the views.

I didn’t linger too long though and as I started down, I met a couple coming up. They pointed out a goat was following me and we turned to watch it and then 2 others come down next to the trail. They seemed quite unafraid but did run past where we stood.

Of course after the big climb, it was a lot of downhill. Some of it a bit slow going with side stepping and other parts ‘skiing’ down the scree. Then it was a long slog through an old burn area with lots of little ups and downs with the return of the blazing sun. It was amazing how you can go from being chilled to being very hot in the span of a few Kms. I took a break at a steam and then did the final climb and descent into camp at Lone lake. The tent pads are a bit away from the lake and mine had a view.

It started to rain just as I finished setting up so I did some stretching in the tent waiting for it to pass and then did my other chores before having dinner with two couples who are camped here and doing the Tamarack trail, a 2-3 night loop.