Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers. Day 5. 9 miles. 20,686 steps.

Squaw Lake below Silver Pass.

Left Duck Lake Outlet at 7:50 am. FREEZInG!!!!!!

pole marks!

I slept in every bit of clothing I had with my rain gear on top of it all. We got into our tents at 6:30 the night before as there was rain and too cold to sit around and chat. Dinner, tea and my warm bag was quite comfy , at least to begin the long night ahead. Woke in the morning to lots of moisture and frozen tundra, but no rain. Packed up and got going in one hour.

Kathleen is quite the FINDER of lost things. To date she has the following-
Headband
1 croc
Gloves
Bball hat
Pedometer
Socks on a daily basis

We arrived into camp at 3:30ish. Storm was coming and we had tried to get as close to Silver Pass as possible. Campsites were difficult to find here as everything was quite rocky and very few trees for shelter from rain, wind, and lightening. As the storm was fast approaching we set our minds to rearranging rocks to make some sites above the lake in a bank. Feeling a good bit nervous as we are so exposed. It's pretty cold as our elevation is well, above 10,000 ft. It starts to hail with thunder and lightening. I know this is going to be a long night. Joan and I made dinner and ate in our vestibules inside our bags, trying very hard not to spill any food in or around my tent. There have been a few bear sightings by other hikers, but none for us as of now.

Today was a great walk. We left early with a bit of a climb out of Duck Lake. Walked through a beautiful Glacier Valley with the Cascade crest alongside Mt. Abel.  Tully Hole was really pretty as we walked along Fish Creek.  The bridges were quite impressive.

Joan just counted 12 sec between thunder/lightening. We are getting a better feeling about this storm as the time seems to be getting longer between cracks. We try to keep up conversations between our tents to keep our minds off the impending doom and gloom of the "what if's".

Had a great lunch spot. Walking all morning and not seeing anyone, then sat for lunch and within 20 minutes we had a lunch party of 8 hikers. Turkey boy ( came from Turkey to do JMT) Abandon UCSB girl, Australian, Davis kid, SF kid, Columbian cutie. We talked politics with Turkey boy. He had great insights from being here just a short while!


Tip of the day. Pack your hiking clothes on TOP of your pack when starting out in your thermals.