Day 101-July 23rd
Destination: Paradise Lake
Miles: 20
Cumulative Miles: 1375.5
We had a slow start this morning due to last nights commotion, yet we were still moving by 7:30. It's a good thing we were moving by then because the terrain slowed us, as well as our poor sleep, enough to limit us to 20 miles by sun down.
We started our day off with a rattlesnake, in the forest. We don't expect to see these in this area, and weren't looking for them, so it caught us a little off guard. We did see one a few days ago, but we were in hot rocky conditions, not a shaded forest. The snake did not rattle, but rather slid slowly off the trail and coiled into a striking pose. We gave it wide berth and continued our hike.
Shortly afterward we caught up with Weather Carrot who was chatting with friends of his who are south bounding a large section. We had coffee and talked while we filtered water, then pressed on. We walked across several crystal cool streams that cascaded over the trail and down the hill.
Late in the afternoon we reached Black Mountain, a rocky peak of marble. The white marble runs about 600 feet deep at points and is filled with cracks and fissures which make several dark caves. A few miles later we arrived at Paradise Lake. We did not have much daylight left so we opted to camp here.
We only hope that the frequent use of this sight will not put us at risk of losing our food to bears. After dinner we bagged our food and hung it from a tree, which hopefully will keep it protected. Now we just hope to have uninterrupted sleep, with our food still around in the morning.
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I would assume that since later comments made no reference to bears getting your food that you all got your wish. The rattlesnake surprises me. Didn't think you would find one there.
ReplyDeleteYour guardians are doing a good job.
Journey on with blessings of safety.