We woke up a little late this morning. But we packed up and the trail immediately went straight upwards. A 2500ft climb was it front of us to reach the top of our first pass.
The clouds had disappeared overnight so we could finally see all of the peaks above us. As we climbed, the views just kept getting better and better.
When we reached the pass, the group of 6 were already up there taking a break.
All of us descended the back side together. Lots of switchbacks and steep trail. The CDT isn't graded the same as the PCT. The PCT is graded of horses and is never really that steep. But the CDT has had a few steep sections already.
We got down to the bottom of the valley and hiked in the trees along a river. We saw a lot of bear scat. Mostly right in the middle of the trail. Some much fresher than others. With 8 of us, all armed with bear spray, I was feeling pretty safe of any bear encounters that would happen.
As we walked along a lake, we were attacked by mosquitoes. I've seen bad mosquitoes before, but these were the worst I've seen. Big swarms and they were vicious. Bug spray was put on quickly.
We ate lunch at the end of the lake. Heather and I decided to head down trail before the rest of the group. We hiked the remaining 7 miles down to Many Glacier where we went to the pizza place for a big pizza and salad. We met another CDT'er named Andy. Unlike the group of 6, he was a true south bounder who didn't flip up from Colorado.
He is going to join heather and I for the next 4-5 days until the next town. The group of six has a different set of campsites they must go to.
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