5:58 PM

We thought it’d be a short day, but it was 9 miles. Too much for this poor old lady. My engine is feeling the wear and tear. But it is such a beautiful day!

I woke early at Gem Lake, and watched the sunlight slowly approach. Last night I had a mishap with the new inflatable sleeping pad. It kept deflating. I’m sure it’s operator error, and I just need to learn how it works, but it made me crazy at 2:00 AM. Also, sometime in the night I was awakened by a scurrying and scratching sound on the side of my tent. Made me wonder if I had inadvertently pitched it on top of someone else’s home.

Last night, a critter stole the insulated lid for my cup. This is a small but very necessary item, since I have gone to reconstituting my dinners in my cup instead of in a plastic bag. Must keep it hot while it rehydrates! Luckily, I can use the lid from the cooking pot for the rest of this trip.

We are at Thousand Island Lake. it’s very beautiful and very mosquito-y. Banner Peak and Mt Ritter tower above us like a Bierstadt painting. They seem so out-of-scale.

Emily is great—easy and open. At least two of today’s miles were caused by me insisting that there was another Thousand Island trail, to access the northern part of the lake. I swear I accidentally took it while hiking the JMT with Betty, and it’s where I lost her for the bulk of a day. But we couldn’t find it. Argh! Had to double-back and walk along the lake. Lots of campsites taken on this holiday weekend, but we found a nice one for two tents, up away from the lake edge. Even on 4th of July weekend, it’s easy to spend most of every day out here without seeing other humans. I both curse and embrace the trail quota system.

I cleaned the dust and sweat of the day off in the lake, which felt fantastic. It’s cold. Or as I prefer to say, refreshing.

Mosquitos are so bad that we got in our tents at 8:00 PM. There’s a rustler’s moon tonight, a tiny golden sliver in the west. I woke a few times in the night to watch meteorites. The stars are so bright you can easily see to get around without a flashlight. I am content. I think I got my pad figured out, and am warm and comfy. I no longer feel the exhaustion of the day. Just glad to be here now.