Our path continued through forest and along ridges, but would occasionally come out to an open area like the ones below.
There’s still a bit of snow on the tops of the mountains but nothing where we were.
After several fairly long stretches without water, we finally came to miles of trail filled with lakes. We went swimming in the first one we saw.
The water was warm and clear and felt like silk over my body. I was able to get the dust and bug spray off me for a few minutes and it felt like heaven.
We dried quickly in the sun as we ate lunch but soon clouds started to roll in and we heard the crackling of thunder.
Even with the long swim break, we hiked nearly 33 miles that day. The sky rumbled all afternoon but only a few rain drops fell and we passed a dry night at a beautiful campsite next to Charlton lake.