ET's Info-Stew

20:29: Well, today is our last full day. We're using up pictures like nobody's business since we still have 5 full rolls left. Last night I went to bed at 21:45, but didn't get to sleep until an hour later. I woke up several times. At 4:30, I woke up and could not get back to sleep. I lay there trying until 7:00. When I got up Dad was already up almost packed and drinking coffee. I took my rain fly off my tent and shook it out. As I did droplets of ice flew everywhere. It must have got below freezing last night. I had breakfast and packed all my stuff. I've been collecting samples of the flowers up here all morning. Now I'm waiting for Dad to come back so we can finish packing and head down the other side of the pass.

11:47: Just before we started our hike, we heard a pack of coyotes barking. We hit the trail around 9:30. We went at a nice steady pace, and ended up at Pine Lake at 11:15. Not bad for four miles. This lake is quite crowded, and the only sites are really close to the trail. We decided we would head all the way down to the car and go home today. It's a pretty lake, but like Dad said it's kind of like staying at Del Valle. It's a shame we are going to leave this beautiful country today, but I am happy to get to civilization. The long awaited trip is almost over. I've got some gear changes to make before the next one. I can't wait to see the pictures. I hope they do this place justice. This is the last log from the trail.

15:47: I feel a great sense of accomplishment. We took off at 12:00 and headed downhill. The trail was so bad for downhill; I pitied the few people we passed walking up. After 1.5 hours of steep switchbacks, the trail came into an area of brush and trees. I thought we were close, but the trail kept going and going. Finally, we got to the bottom, got a picture of the trailhead, dropped the packs at the car, and I took a sponge bath while Dad took a bath a little further down. I don't know exactly what time we finished on the trail. The picture is a couple minutes later. I guess around 14:10 seems right. We got in the car, cranked up the A/C, and headed down the road. We came into Bishop got gas and now grub at Sizzler. Now we just have to drive home. This has been a great trip. It was very tiring at times, but in hindsight, it was well worth the effort.