This perfect reflection off Charlotte Lake is what we awoke to. It was very cold and we broke camp quickly agreeing to eat and have hot coffee a little ways up in the sun. So we ended up breakfasting with Max and Gretchen on our way out as well!

We then left them at this intersection where this trail meets the PCT.

For those of you who aren’t sick of the scenery yet, here is my final reel of photos for you. It’s a different day and much different light and it really is just so spectacular.

The hike out from this direction is MUCH MUCH easier than coming in the way we did from the east. When you’re hiking out, you’re going up this long gradual incline, until the very final push. And again you are escorted throughout this entire valley by these alpine lakes and their falls as they each drain into the other. It’s just so isolated and untouched and I’ve run out of adjectives.

Then here is our final stop for lunch, right before we go back up that very steep approach to the pass:

And here we are again, the view from the top.

And then he leaves us. From here, Kyle goes on his own straight down the 4.5 miles at light speed, (aka normal thru-hiker pace), and got to the car a full 2 hours ahead of us! He ran into a bunch of fellow friends and hikers we ran into ourselves as they were just getting underway. It was great to see more familiar trail-family faces 🙂

Overall it was a great accomplishment for each of us for different reasons. That night we decided to not drive home and stayed in a very economical motel and ate good steaks and drank wine into the wee hours, feeling good and enjoying the time together. Kyle has decided to skip around part of the Sierra’s at this point, so if you didn’t see his post that is HERE.

We spent the next day, Monday morning, sorting through gear for him to then head north to…honestly I don’t remember where right now but he has been back on the trail. I’ll have one update on that for you soon!