July 21st
I was up early, showered, and packed. I couldn’t wait to get back on the trail. Eventually, we got to the trail around 8:30. I downed a liter of water. A younger couple rode up with Sam and I. I let them take the lead.
It was a fairly steady climb in open country. I like this country, but one has to be cautious about water. Eventually, the breeze kicked in. That cooled things off. At one point, I came over a hill-top and saw two elk in the distance. As I focused on them, it turned out they were both bulls. Their antlers were big, but not huge. They were grazing, facing in to the wind. I thought for sure they would see me approach and bolt. However, I kept getting closer and closer. When I was within 100 yards, one of them spotted me. They pranced around a bit and then bolted. I could not get good still photos, but I captured some nice video.
It was getting late, but I thought I still had enough energy to make my stretch goal of Morrison Lake. That would be 26 miles. I went for it. Around 8:15 I stumbled to the lake. I found a campsite far away from the water. I did not want to be near animal paths, especially bears. It was a gorgeous sunset that I almost missed. Plus, there was a full moon rising soon after sunset, but I could not figure out the adjustments to capture good photos.
I went to sleep pretty fast.
backpacking over the hill 