3 Sisters – Day3

Cool overnight with a temperature of 47 this morning. Once again we were all up between 5:30 and 6AM. Our hot breakfasts warmed us up and we were packed up and on the trail by 7.

The original plan was to stay on the PCT for 4 more miles NE then take the Horse Lake Trail 3 miles west to start the loop back to the car (Red line on map). That would be 7 miles for the day. But we decided to take a shortcut by Sunset Lake and shorten our loop by 4 miles (purple line on map). Since we got to the proposed campsite after only three miles, we decided to hike part of tomorrow’s mileage today. We ended up near Petes Lake where Cappuccino and I had camped last year (marker on yellow line on the far left).

So we set up camp in the same area. The unnamed lake near the trail is full of reeds and muddy shallows, so we hiked over the small ridge separating that lake from Petes Lake to get water. Petes Lake is clear with easy access to the water, so was ideal for our needs.

The afternoon was spent setting up camp and napping in a comparatively mosquito free campsite. We sat at dinner for a long time sharing old stories and, again, laughing a lot. Old friends are a joy to be with and these particular friends all have years of shared experiences making the time together that much better.

Tomorrow we have a a shorter day since we did a few of those miles today. We will still get an early start to take advantage of the cool morning hours. But we will likely get to our proposed campsite around noon. So another early day.

Until tomorrow, safe travels and happy trails…