August 11

End: Paynes Lake
Daily: 26.3
Total: 1600.6

Chilidog admiring the Russian Wilderness

Getting water at a spring (Chilidog and Yankee)

Gorgeous! The sunrise this morning started the day off right - bright orange over the peaks and meadows we could see from our tent.

The rest of the day was full of green, lush meadows and granite peaks and cliffs. There was water everywhere! Springs every couple of miles or so. It's so nice.

There were a few hard climbs today - the last one left us really drained. So by the time we made it here, to Paynes Lake we were really ready to stop. This lake is huge and surrounded by cliffs and it drains off a cliff.

We thought we were finally going to camp alone so we could wake up whenever we wanted but then Bubs and Boots and Sym showed up. Holden had left a notesaying he and Happy Meal might camp here, but they didn't. But Bubs can't miss a chance hang out so they pushed here. One day, we will not be surrounded by people 24/7.

Oh, there's some crazy huge salamanders in this lake. I've never seen one before. They're kind of adorable.