2016.8.27-9/1. Road Trip in Atlantic Canada

8/26 Friday. My parent flew to Halifax during the day. I took a red eye flight. 96°F in Portland.

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Nova Scotia
8/27, Saturday. Met my parents around 1pm (4 hours ahead of west coast) at Hilton Garden Inn outside of airport (there's one hotel right at the airport), riding its shuttle bus with 3 other couples on a Caravan tour.

Our Airbnb host at Halifax had someone pick us up with a reasonable fee. A student from Saudi who studies business (his wife studies nutrition) here. Our studio for the night is at Elite Suites, next to the Citadel. Our host invited us up to his 17th floor penthouse, which he also rents out (per room) on Airbnb. It has two large balconies on two sides, one overlooking the Public Garden west and the Citadel north; the other side overlooking the harbor.

Our first stop is natually the Citadel, since it's on the way. Quite nice. The ground is free for all, great green space for locals who don't mind the sun. Inside the wall, quite a few very young park employees dressed in uniforms, talk about various aspects of the past bunker life. I like the WWI trench mockup. Saw a wedding party here, who rented one (only one?) building for the occasion.

Afterwards, we walked downhill towards the harbor. We arrived at Government House (10-4), just as it was closing. So didn't get to go in. Halifax downtown isn't pretty. A few nice buildings, but most are rectangular blocks, devoid of style and character. We had a late lunch at Two Doors Down (rated #1 on Yelp). Excellent presentation. Tasty. A bit pricy. Portion isn't generous.

The harbor sees the most tourists. We took the Alderney Ferry to Dartmouth. You can buy the ticket right at entrance. No change. $2.5/1.75 (senior). Get change from 2 change machines in the waiting area. Ask for a transfer, valid for 90 minutes. The journey is 10-12 minutes. About every 30 minutes. There's a international peace pavilion on waterfront. Many countries contributed a rock each. The return trip is about sunset. Quite nice, but wrong direction for taking photos of Halifax skyline.

8/28 Sunday. I went for a short jog before my parents got up, at Public Garden. Very organized, orderly flower arrangements, name tags, a small dahlia exposition, a couple of ponds, wooden benches every where. Not big, but very pleasant, especially at this hour: crispy air, almost no one else.

After breakfast, I walked to downtown Avis office on Grafton St. to pick up a car at 9:30. They were fully booked: turned away a group of Indian in front of me. Reservation is crucial.

Driving to the SW coast, mostly woods with skinny trees. Peggy's Cove lighthouse is the most photographed spot in Atlantic Canada. It sure is pretty. Lots of tourists. I like big slabs of rock here, and you can walk all over. Didn't see whales. Saw a seal bobbling up in the water.

Later, we stopped at Chester's ferry dock to Big Tancook Island. A picturesque seaside town. Mahone Bay (3 churches, none open. It was a Sunday), in comparison, is quite touristy, lots of flower decked shops and people window shopping.

Last, we had a late lunch in UNESCO listed Lunenburg. Colorful buildings. However, not many. Just a couple of blocks. The Savvy Sailor Cafe is ok, another Yelp find. Good view of the harbor from its deck.

Now cutting across the province to its northern shore. Checked out Kejimkujik National Park. Did a short hike to Peter's Point. We were the only people on the trail. Minor mosquitoes. These red chairs are featured in many Canadian parks we visited on this trip. These two were nailed together, so it's difficult to move.

Checked into Grand Oak B&B across Annapolis Royal, on the oldest road of Canada (leading to Port Royal (the oldest white community in Canada. The site is closed Sun/Mon).

8/29, Monday. A sumptuous breakfast, with many homemade treats: jam and muffin. The owners were minister and wife from London Ontario. Moved here Oct last year. Empty nested (5 kids all grown). 3 guest rooms all taken. Ours is a 2-room suite.

Fort Anne is the oldest military post, taken over by the British in early 1700s, who kicked out those French at Port Royal. Only 1 original French building (an ammunition stone hut, dated in 1600s) left here. There are many similar sites and sad deportation stories in this area.

Annapolis Tidal station (10-5) is the only operating tidal power harvesting site in North America. Bay of Fundy is famous for its tide. The current generator runs twice a day on low tide, in a similar fashion as a regular hydraulic dam, after storing water at high tide. They are testing a new turbine that would operate in water without a dam. In the last test, the previous model survived only 2 days. There's a free, very short and noisy (due to cooling fans) tour of the site. Only available when the generator is not running. It's definitely worth the time if you are interested in mechanics.

Blomidon Provincial Park has two parking area. We went to the top of the bluff. Because it's only about an hour after high tide, Minas Basin is just like any other bay. Pit toilet, camp sites, windy at picnic tables (small roofs). From the lower parking lot, you can walk to the reddish mud beach.

Grand Pre NHS, on the southern shore of Minas Basin, is another French-British confrontation site, or rather a collection of sites about the 1755 Acadian deportation, in this marshy area cultivated by building dykes and channels. This one obtained UNESCO registration in 2012. At Evangeline Beach, tide was receding. By the time we arrived at Horton Landing, the mud flat was getting substantial. The garden behind the main interpretive center has a memorial church, and statues of Longfellow and his heroine Evangeline, flowers parterre and old willows.

Fort Edward NHS, on the mouth of Avon River, 20+KM SE, has just one building, a small wooden house - the oldest military blockhouse in North America. Here's where the British troops stationed, who chased out those Acadian at Grand Pre.

Drove 3+ hours to Cape Breton for the night. Pouring rain on the way. Arrived at Dundee after 9pm, on the bank of Bra d'Or, another UNESCO registered area.

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Cape Breton Island, NS
8/30, Tuesday. Just one day at Cape Breton:(
Stopped at Baddeck, for Alexander Bell NHS (9-5). A nice place with a good view of the lake, many original artifacts of Bell's life, many telephones, a reconstructed plane with some original frames. The site, however, has nothing to do with Bell. I was told that his house is on the opposite side of this enormous lake, still privately owned by Bell's descendants. I consulted the PEI ferry schedule in the info dossier at the front desk. Because it's totally different from what I saw on the company website, I asked one park employee, who doesn't seem to know anything, not even the fact that one of the only two ferry boats is in repair for the past 2 months.

My main goal of coming to Nova Scotia is to hike in Cape Breton NP and to drive Cabot Trail. With only a few hours to spare (instead of 2.5 days - my original plan), we hiked the easiest, and probably most popular trail here: Skyline Trail. Cars overflowed on to the road. It's definitely worth the small effort. Beautiful views of the winding road and ocean from the long boardwalk, over-engineered with seating areas. Ripen huckleberry in the open area where the boardwalk is. I saw 2 bull moose on both sides of the loop. Keep left at junction for a shorter and easy in and out on road like flat trail. I walked back completing the northern part of the loop: not much view, more like a trail, a lot less people. We turned back at French Lake, nothing interesting. Maybe drove only 20% of Cabot Trail. It's quite pretty. Should be more impressive in fall.

I was aiming for the 7pm ferry to enjoy the sunset, but was running late. Now with over an hour to spare, we stopped at Arisaig PP for sunset. Couldn't find a quick viewpoint at the park itself, we watched the sunset at the lighthouse (now an ice cream shop) at the end of Arisaig Point Rd. Not bad. It's probably worthwhile to spend some more time in the park, cause this area is known for fossils. 20 minutes later, we caught some fabulous after glow of sunset right on hwy 245 (Shore Rd), opposite of Big Island.

Took the last (10pm) ferry from Caribou to Wood Island. The drive to Pictou across the bridge of Pictou Harbor is quite pretty (too late for us to appreciate). Caribou itself has no service. Only vending machine at the ferry terminal. Nothing else was open at this hour. Very weak Wifi. The ferry crossing is 75 minutes. Smooth sailing. Only half full. We arrived at hotel just past midnight.

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Prince Edward Island
8/31 Wednesday. Rodd Resort by Brudenell River is quite nice. Immaculate grounds. Very green. We didn't take advantage of any of this.
Our first stop is Prince Edward Island national park Greenwich area. Over-engineered boardwalk, shower rooms, and a picnic shelter with wood burning furnace, sink, and picnic tables. The sea water is not chilled to the bone. Its western tip has sand dunes, and southern stretch is along St Peter's Bay (mussel bed).

Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada, or rather a building: Province House. In September 1864, Charlottetown Conference was held here, which voted to form the confederation of Canada. However, only in 1871, British North America Act 1867, with Queen's approval, on July 1st, Canada is formally established. In the basilica a block away, delegates to the conference are etched in a stainless window.

We had lunch downtown in another Yelp find. I didn't like it, so not recorded here. Luck has it, that it started pouring when we went to the restaurant, and stopped before we finished. On our way out of the town, stopped by the ground of Government House.

Green Gable was closed when we arrived. Walked a bit in the ground. I watched Anne of Green Gables when I was young and was fond of it. Even though it's a fiction, and I don't remember much of it, I still decided to pay a visit to the recreation, the tomb of its author L.M. Montgomery in Cavendish Cemetery, as well as a house she lived before (just a couple of blocks east), which is now a bookstore.

Cavendish Beach, in the vicinity, is quite pretty. Low red bluff, very colorful in early evening. It also has beach access with shower rooms. It's part of Cavendish Grove section of Prince Edward Island national park.

Confederation Bridge (CA$46) is the longest bridge in the world at 12.9 Km. There's a bridge park next to the bridge entrance, where an information center was closed when we arrived (7pm), and many shops. You actually don't see the bridge here. For a better view, drive further to Marine Rail Park, where the former Port Borden Pier Lighthouse was moved from its original ferry location. Time for sunset. We stayed in Moncton for the night.

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New Brunswick —> Nova Scotia
9/1 Thursday. Moncton Magnetic Hill ($6) is a quick stop, without getting out of the car. It has a short stretch of road, which you put your car in neutral and the car will roll back on the seemly rising slope. It's probably optical illusion.

Fundy national park is rather big, dad's wish. There wasn't much to see, for it was foggy and the tide was high. We did a short hike to Wolfe Point.

Hopewell Rocks park is privately owned ($10/pp). The Flower Pots area is very very small. You have to walk about 15 minutes on a trail to the viewing platform. Walk down the metal stairs to the beach to walk around these iconic rocks who have been slowing eroded by the tides. Lots of people, gigantic parking lot. On the way back, we took the little cart ($2/pp) back to the entrance.

I wanted to visit Joggings Fossil Centre, Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy, but didn't have time.

On the way to Halifax airport, we detoured to Pugwash to visit Thinker's Lodge, the origin of the Pugwash Conference. It is a non-political gathering aimed for world peace, born in the heat of cold war (1957). We arrived in pouring rain, just after 5pm, when it closes. The lady who was locking the door, saw us coming, and asked if we could stop by the next morning. After knowing that we came from west coast and were flying out tonight, she kindly let us in, and gave us a personal tour of the house. We saw Joseph Rotblat's 1995 Nobel Peace Prize medal, and Cyrus Eaton's Lenin Medal.

Our flight out of Halifax on Air Canada was delayed, reducing our connection time to about 15 minutes. My parent's first leg on Air Canada was delayed by over half an hour, reducing the connection time to mere 20 minutes, causing unnecessary anxiety. Air Canada, being almost a monopoly in Canadian air transportation, is the worse airline I've taken. I was told British Airway is worse (longer and more frequent delays without compensation), but luck so far has kept me away from British Airway. This trip we had 3 delays (50%). Not a single verbal apology ever uttered. No estimated wait announced. My last flight with Air Canada 2 years ago, caused me miss my connection (actually, I ran to the gate in time, but my checked-in bag didn't, and they wouldn't let me on the plane without my luggage, thus forcing me to wait 4 hours for the next plane). Same, no apology, no compensation.

Arrived at YVR (no rental car booth opens after 1am) at 1am. Total driven ~1400 miles in 5 days.

2016.8.20-21 PCT Day + Vista Ridge to Barrett Spur + Elk Cove

3 consecutive days of 100°F weather is driving me out of home.

8/20, Saturday. Busy at the rental car office. Only got my car at 9:30am. When I headed out, the car registered 80°F. Drove towards Cascade Lock. The stretch west of the hill on hwy-26 registered 86°F. Arrived at Thunder Island 10:45, about 85°F. PCT Day event is not on the island proper, unlike last time I was there. Lots of tents all over the island, again, unlike last time, not a lot of people camped here 3 years ago. Maybe more marketing, and more and more PCT hikers. I did see a few in dirty clothes and backpacks. Quite a few have name tags with their trail names. But most participants are like me, freshly emerged from their air-conditioned car. Similar amount of booths. No talks/seminars. A proper stage with a lot of speakers. A few games. Overall, not a whole lot to do. I chatted with 2 forest rangers, inquiring the road conditions to a few hiking choices at Hood. That's very useful. There's a raffle at noon. I got a small LED lighter. There are, of course, lots of schwag.

I didn't want to camp here due to the heat. At 1pm, I drove away. My car, parked in the sun, registered 105°F. Once in the shade, it dropped to 95°F. It's about 1.5 hour drive to Vista Ridge trailhead. However, Google Map doesn't even have the road where the TH is, causing me to take a wrong branch at the last mile. There's about 8 miles bad road, but not too bad. The small TH had ~a dozen cars. It smells of dog poop, maybe my tires went over some. Saw quite a few. I waited for a car to leave and took that spot. 88°F @3:40, 4500'.

Vista Ridge is an easy hike. Very dusty. Almost flat. But my sweat was still dripping. I took my umbrella, and a can of beer. In about 10-15 minutes, you get to wilderness boundary, where I filled a backcountry permit. There, the burnt area starts. Dead trees with white barks, fireweed and beargrass. In 2 miles, you see live trees, but not long, you are emerging out of the tree line. Timberline trail is 2.5 miles from the sign. I pitched my tent (no rainfly) at Wy'east Basin (5800'), the first meadow with healthy streams, minutes from the trail junction. It was just past 5pm, but I called it a day. A very easy day in the hear. Good view here. Can see Adams, Rainier, and St Helens, the latter two were very faint. Good breeze. Quite some little flies. I washed a bit my T-shirt in the creek and wore the wet shirt. Felt good. Ate my sandwich sitting in the shade, typing this blog. Soon, I was actually feeling cold.

At 8pm, I decided to go up the basin wall for a sunset photo of Hood. Unbeknownst to me, the wall keeps rising, and I lost the view of Hood entirely. By the time Hood reappeared, it was devoid of color. 8:30, headed back down the dusty scree.

Since I didn't put up the rainfly, I could see the stars lying on my mattress. The sky wasn't too dark at 9pm, but the 3/4 moon would rise at 9:30. You could also see the light pollution from Hood River.

8/21, Sunday. Headed back up the same trail at 6am, hoping for some sunrise photo. Again, too late. Barrett Spur loop. Looks like I was going up further along the same Vista Ridge, but not on the ridge proper, as too many short gnarled trees. Walking up in scree next to the ridge. Therefore view of Hood is blocked, so is the wind. The slope is not steep. Probably better if were in snow. Surprising number of flowers, at least 2 weeks too late. Once you plateau out, wind gets stronger. There are more low lying plants here, like dwarf lupine. Hood looms closer and closer, until you reach the end, marked by big boulders, nails, and a can of chilly! View of Hood is superb. So close, you can see and hear the falling water, the cracks. Too windy to breathe comfortably. Elevation 7850'.

Return towards Dollar Lake. You can see the routes from this photo looking down. This loop is better done in reverse. You can almost always see Hood along this trail. Flowers are also better. You can look down Elk Cove to the right below you, which I'd go next. Dollar Lake itself is just a small pond. The water isn't even clear. Much better looking when it was snowed over last time I was here. I saw two tents. Pretty soon after Dollar Lake, you hit Timberline Trail. Follow it to the right (east) to Elk Cove itself. Narrow and deep. It's very green, braids of creeks, pretty. Quite a lot of people camp here. I walked around the cove for some time, ate my 2nd sandwich. Again, too late for flowers.

Retrace my steps on Timberline Trail to my tent, packed up, reached trailhead around 1pm, 68°F. ~20 cars parked here. I don't know how most of them can turn around. One car waited for me to leave. Drove down to Zigzag road and out to hwy-26. Have good views of Hood in many places. It's a long drive for Hood. Took me over 2.5 hours. My phone registered 24k steps. 8-9 miles.

Overall, about 12 miles (8-9 miles Vista Ridge TH to Elk Cove RT, and 3 miles Barrett Spur add-on), about 4000' gain, but seems less. Easy for overnight, very very dusty.

2016.8.13-14. Goat Lake loop + Elk Pass

My 5th trip to Goat Rocks wilderness, covered the most territory.

8/12, Friday. Picked up a rental car around 5:20, but didn't leave until well past 6pm, hoping to avoid traffic. My car showed 98°F when I filled up gas ~6:30pm. Smooth on Hwy-26, but slow north of Portland going across Columbia River. Google said 6+ minutes. I stopped at the rest area around I-5 exit 55, and Cowlitz ranger station at Randle for restroom, because I was drinking constantly. The latter only has a pit toilet outside of the main building. It was stuffy hot when I opened the door ~9pm. Didn't go in. 10 minutes later on Hwy-12 is a proper rest area (clear sign, north of the road), with running water, seat cover, soap, and descent toilet paper. I overshot the turn by 1 minute, because it was already dark, I couldn't make out the sign. Having the route on my phone is always a good idea. Driving at night has its advantages: you can easily see the on coming traffic, and very little traffic. I was driving in the middle of the wide gravel road. Only 2 cars headed out. When I got to Chamber Lake campground, I circled the place twice looking for a site. Seemed all taken. Lots of people. 59°F @10pm. 3/4 moon was high. Some stars. Not good enough to see Perseid Shower, which was in peak yesterday and today.

Woke up around 3:30 to use the toilet. Walked to the lake. The sky wasn't dark. Could still see milky way, but not shiny. Only a handful stars in the lake. Counted 5 shooting stars, and returned to my sleeping bag. A warm night.

8/13, Saturday. Alarm at 5:30. At 6am, the parking lot at Snowgrass trailhead was full. 57°F. I parked at Berry Patch TH. An outhouse and a garbage can. You can walk here from the campground. I forgot to bring my pass. So, wrote a note, put on dashboard. I left the car unlocked, and windows slightly down. Hazy and cloudy today. It explains why last night the sky wasn't dark. In 2 hours, the junction to Bypass trail. I took Snowgrass trail. Lots of people camped at the junction of Lily Basin trail. Lots of side trails that end at a site. At 9am, I was looking for a tent site. Checked out a few. Opted for a more exposed spot for better view, and close to a small flowering creek.

Packed a small nylon bag, headed north on PCT. Ate an early lunch at one camp site (for better shade). Took my shoes off and rest, facing Snowgrass Flat and Mt Adams. Flowers were past their prime.

Continued up north, passing a few more tent sites. At the junction to Old Snowy, most people turned there. I continued. More snow than 2 years ago when I came here with my nephew. A couple of snowy slopes to negotiate. Then on to the so-called Knife's Edge. It's a wonderful ridge walk. Not too narrow, but I still am glad that I didn't encounter horses. Saw goats twice. A family of 6 in a lupine field just below Packwood Glacier, and another group of 3 on snow a bit north. There're also a couple of tent sites. No water though. Said hello to a group of 3 PCT through hikers. They started in April. 20 minutes later, another through hiker, who's quite unusual. He's very chatty, inquired about alternative routes. He said he re-supplies himself by buying food at towns rather than shipping prepackaged boxes to town. They were all hoping to get to Packwood tonight, which is 17-18 miles away + hitch hike. Not very likely.

I turned around at Elk Pass, about 10 miles from TH. I could see where I walked last weekend. Anticlimactic. It's lower, and lost view of Rainier. Coyote Trail branches off to the left (W). Met a boy heading that way.

At the north trail junction Old Snowy, I decided to avoid the sketchy few steps to get on a boot path over a snowy slope. It was only 4pm, so slowly, I walked up to Old Snowy, since it's a short and straight forward jaunt. I was pretty tired by then. At one of many resting stops I made, I noticed a group of ~20 goats in McCaw basin. The top of Old Snowy offers a closeup view of other Goat Rocks peaks: Ives, Gilbert. On descent, met the first Singapore PCT through hiker, Raccoon. He got disoriented by the sign. Even though he was maybe only 10 minutes shy of summit, he turned back towards PCT. He said that he was tired. He came here only to hike PCT, raising money for cancer research. We walked a bit together until a temporary small creek formed by melting snow, where I decided to wash and fill water. I took 2 photos of him, so he can update his Facebook page later for his followers. He said his parents is worried because he's doing this epic hike alone. He's 26. Later, just above the Flat, I met an elderly through-hiker, whose wife is from Philippines. His pack is considerably larger than others. He was hoping to camp by Elk Pass.

I got back to my tent around 7pm. After dinner, walked about for sunset photos. All day haze and clouds provided beautiful color by the setting sun.

My phone registered 44k steps. So probably 16 miles + some walkabouts.

8/14, Sunday. Night sky was darker, but I didn't wait for shooting stars. A warm night. The first time I use this new bag. 45F MH phantom.

I started hiking out at 6am. Blue sky. Headed to Goat Lake. Pleasant temperature. Met 4-5 hikers on the way, but saw many tents. Lots of flower on this trail, easy walking. Arrived at Goat Lake at 9, took off my boots and ate my last sandwich, facing the blue-green lake. Some ice still floating on it. Windy. I put on my rain jacket. So many tents here. People are packing up.

From here to the junction of Goat Ridge trail, flowers were at their peak. Their fragrance filled the air. View of the Goat Lake basin, the Goat Rock peaks and Mt. Adams is unbeatable. This stretch is my favorite of the day. I took too many photos.

At the trail junction of Lily Basin Trail and Goat Ridge Trail, I left my pack behind a tree, and headed north (right) to continue on Lily Basin trail. I was hoping to see Heart Lake and Lily Basin. However, I soon turned back by this snow patch after passing the junction to Hawkeye Point. A bit too much scree, even though I met a group of 4 backpackers who came this way. The junction itself is worthwhile. Mt Rainier looms behind Johnson Peak.

Walked up to Hawkeye Point, at the middle of this photo. Along the way saw people camping, using snow melt. There's a geological marker up there, and remnants of some structure, a lookout? Lots of rusty nails. I cannot resist placing this rusty bowl for a photo. The 360° view here is splendid. It's interesting to survey the landscape that I walked yesterday.

Back at the trail junction to pick up my pack. Finished the weekend by hiking down Jordan Basin along Goat Ridge trail. Jordan Basin is quite pretty. Plenty of flowers. I got distracted by side trails to campsites, and lost the trail while shooting photos of the creek and flowers. Had to scramble to back up. I rather like this Goat Ridge trail. Not too many people. The trail eventually connects to Snowgrass trail, and back to Berry Patch TH. Washed up a bit using the water I took in a milk jar.

My phone registered about 32k steps. Roughly 12 miles. Later, I had to walk home from the car rental office, which added additional 3 miles to the long and beautiful weekend.

2016.8.6-7 White Pass to Shoe Lake and beyond

8/6, Saturday. I don't have to get up at ungodly hour to make the 8am meetup at Sunset TC, a nice change. 3 hour drive. Met with two other cars and 3 other hikers at the White Pass PCT southbound trailhead (~4200'). It's a small parking area for maybe 8 cars. Some of us have to park at the campground north of Hwy-12. A couple at the parking lot came to see one particular PCT through hiker, who's trying to set a record.

The trail to Shoe Lake is straightforward, steadily but slowly gaining elevation. 5 of us started at ~11:30am. 2 hours in the woods, passing 2 grassy ponds: Ginnet Lake after ~1 hour, the 2nd pond 20 minutes later. Ignore all branches, one of them goes down to the Ski area. Still in the woods, no view. About a mile later, you get a glimpse of Mt Rainier above the ski lift. Yet another mile later, you finally get out of the trees. View here is very nice, and you can see the little Miriam Lake, and the big pool of blue Rimrock reservoir far to the west. The view gets better and better until you are just above Shoe Lake, at this point, you can see the peaks of the Goat Rocks. Camping is now forbidden in the lake basin. The closet camping is Hidden Spring, about a mile further on a side trail. Again, all in the woods.

I continued on south along PCT. Passed two sizable ponds, one of which is named Lutz Lake. Both grass rimmed, and have camp sites. From the trail, the water doesn't look very clear. But I could be wrong: I didn't get to the edge of the water to check that. There're also a number of tiny streams, which I don't like as my water source. There're a couple of more camp sites by the trail, which I don't see obvious water source. I pushed on, totally disappointed. Finally, after 2.5 hours, maybe 6 miles, ~half a mile south of the trail junction to McCaw Basin, I emerged from the trees. I was now walking south on a slope with the view across McCaw Basin on my left (east) and a sun basked slope dotted with flowers to my right (west). Soon, you crest the ridge, and go down west to a beautiful flowering basin, with melting snow running in force. A nice small camp site, just being claimed by a couple. Further down, closer to the running creek is a large campsite, already had 5 tents. Passing the creek (easy), going up above a flowering plateau. Another nice campsite, already claimed. Somewhat windy here. I was by then exhausted. Found a clump of trees and pitched my tent in front, facing the mountains, on grass (very bad, I know). Relieved to have the pack off my shoulders. It was 7pm already. Put on my fleece and I continued up towards Elk Pass with my water bottle. I found a couple of more camp sites, and saw one more person. I was walking into clouds that was getting darker and thicker. So, I turned back after maybe 3/4 mile from my tent, and maybe still 1/2 mile short of Elk Pass. All along, very pretty and open country. Cooked dinner ~8:30pm, it was quite cold. No bugs.

My phone registered 46k steps. I estimated ~15 miles from camp to trailhead. Extra 2 mile for going up the butte above Shoe Lake, and from camp to Elk Pass.

Encountered at least 7 PCT through hikers today. They are fast.

8/7, Sunday. Woke up ~1:30am by my bladder. Pleasantly surprised to find out that the sky was clear. Beautiful stars, no moon. I set my alarm at 5am, because I promised to meet my group at 9am. Packed up and started heading down without cooking breakfast. It was around 5:50, and the sun was just rising, casting a yellow glow all around. After 30-40 minutes in the beautiful alpine scenery, back to the dreary woods. I got to the campsites of my group by 9am, and they were packing up. I checked out the area. A small meadow 5 minutes walk further (so is the spring, which I didn't see). Another 5 minutes, there's a better camp site on a ridge with nice views of distant hills.

Headed out, we took the trail to Shoe Lake. Unbeknownst to me (should have checked my map), you can continue and it connects back to PCT. I left my pack at the trail junction, so had to come back. The lake is nice, but not as pretty as when you look at it from above. My group was flying. I wasn't able to catch up with them. Arrived at the car 5-10 minutes late. Drove back by 1pm.

My phone registered 43k steps today. My longest hike to date this year.