Wednesday, August 5, 2026
16.78 miles, 5249′ gain/6224′ loss
We has a low of 47 overnight. I was up at 6am, and on trail by 6:45am. We had anticipated that today would be difficult but it ended feeling longer and harder than I had expected. Smoke was affecting visibility for some of the day, with the smoke clearing in the afternoon and evening.
The trail started by descending 1300′ to Winthrop Creek, then ascending 1600′ past Mystic Lake, then descending 3000′ to the Carbon River suspension bridge, then 3100′ ascending all the way to the edge of a glacier, then descending 1500′ to get to camp, all crammed into ~16 miles.
On one of my long ascents, I stopped for water at a creek and chatted with Chris and Courtney who are doing the WT as their first thruhike. Courtney’s Sawyer Squeeze water filter wasn’t working well, leaking everywhere. I asked to take a look and found that the washer was broken. I dug through my repair kit and gave her one of my 3 extras, and recommended she grab a few plumbing washers at the hardware store as backups since they’re substantially better.
The climbing and descending were both steep and exhausting, shredding my quads. As the day progressed, the temperatures heated up to 76 with the sun making it feel 85+, making my final long ascent above treeline in scree quite difficult.
As I descending through Spray Park, into the meadows, headed towards Eagle’s Roost campsite, I encountered 4 black bears. The first sighting was of a mother bear and her two cubs in a meadow across a stream from the trail. It felt very comfortable. The second was a bit more exciting. On trail, in a meadow, was a blonde-tipped black bear munching on flowers. It didn’t care one bit about my presence or any noise I made. It did not change its behavior, continuing to munch as it pleased, including walking towards me. I was able to go around, but it was closer than I was comfortable, even if the bear didn’t care.
After a side detour for Spray Falls, I headed to our campsite at Eagle’s Roost, stopping for water 0.1 miles before the dry campsite. I arrived at 4pm and had my pick of the 7 campsites. I debated each and chose site 6. I was alone until 5:45pm when another party arrived. Emily and Jacob arrived around 6:45pm. There were 3 open campsites, and two of our neighbors will be at Golden Lakes tomorrow evening as well.
