I set off from Sunshine village all togged up in my rain gear but the rain soon stopped and with the climbing it got too hot, even though it was a chilly day. I stripped it off and continued on up through meadows strewn with wildflowers until I reached Healy Pass.

There were a few day hikers at the pass and on my way down I met my first backpackers coming up. I made it to Egypt lake campsite and it started to rain as I had lunch there. So with my rain gear back on I set off up my next pass, Whistling pass. This climb was steeper and I took my rain gear off again as I was too hot and it was just a drizzle.  I passed an area where I could hear this repeated  sharp cry. I figured it was a large bird of prey, but never saw it. The view from the top was impressive and the rain gear came back on as it was exposed and raining harder.

The way down was rocky at first and quite steep but soon flattened out.  Arriving at Haiduke lake was a bit boggy but the waterfalls cascading down towards the lake were lovely.

After the lake it was quite flat and nondescript for a while before the trail finally descended to Ball Pass Junction campsite, my home for the night. The rain had set in so I got the tent up as quickly as I could, had a snack and then got dry and cozy inside.

I eventually got up for dinner, which was had sheltering under a large pine. My fellow campsite mates were a family from Minnesota and we’re fun to talk to about our various going experiences. Then it was back to the tent for the night.