Danielle: This is my FAVORITE! I love how the tree branches partly conceal the slopes on the other side. And the reflection of the disappearing sun on the lake. Sigh. I wish we could have spent the night. We still have another 6 miles ahead of us.

We made great time coming back and reached our car around 9:30 at night. Our hike was about 15 miles long, because of all the backtracking. I can't believe I had hiked so far. What a great day!!! I can't wait for tomorrow.

Tad: One final view of Gillmore Lake. The Talus slope on the Northwest side comes all the way down into the lake. There were some heavily eroded gullies down the slope, where the majority of the snowmelt must runoff. I'm sure it is beautiful when the lake is frozen in the winter. I would love to watch (from a safe place) an avalanche roar down onto the lake.

What an excellent day. And this was but the first! There are still two days to go. I'm excited about climbing tomorrow. By the time we got back to the campsite, we were exhausted. We both slept like rocks.