ET's Info-Stew

11:20-ish - I think I got better sleep last night. I seemed to go longer stretches without waking up to move. And this morning I got to sleep in until 11, a luxury I'm sure not to get the rest of this trip.

After breakfast and chores I am free to do whatever I want. I had considered going up to the pond above Upper Cataract Lake, but looking at the terrain and the map, it would be a very steep 500 foot boulder climb. I think today is more of a "relax" day.

Perhaps I'll take another stab at the geocache. The owner hasn't responded yet, but maybe if I have appropriate amounts of sunblock and bug spray I can spend time to conduct a more thorough search.

Afternoon - My second attempt to find the cache failed, this time after a thorough search. In total I spent about 2 hours in the search area. I went ahead and recorded a DNF. There is a fresh (as in this year) fire pit right in the middle of the search area, making me thing it was either muggled or removed by authorities. When I get home I'll try to send the owner pictures that I took and maybe he can verify whether the cache is gone.

On the way back I did a small amount of exploring around the lake and now I'm resting in the bug-free haven of my tent. I figure I'll spend most of the rest of the day in here eating, reading, and relaxing.

21:30-ish - The best laid plans rarely come to fruition. With the sun beating down on camp the inside of my tent got too hot to take, so I spent the afternoon going back and forth between baking and being eaten alive. Soon it was dinner time and later fire time.

Bill built up a good-sized fire and about that time a breeze kicked up, keeping the coals hot and making the fire low maintenance. Right about hot chocolate time the breeze turned into a wind, and we were no longer in full control of the fire. We decided to put it out, which required a trip to the sloshing lake to get the extra water we needed. So no hot chocolate tonight, which just means more chocolatey goodness for the last two nights.

Tomorrow we hike to and make camp at Eaglesmere Lakes. No sleeping in tomorrow. The hike will be 6 to 8 miles, but it should not be overly difficult. I'm more concerned that we won't find such a good camp site or that we won't be able to make a fire. But that's a worry for later. Tonight I'm hoping for some good sleep through the variable gusty winds.