[Written July 30, 8 PM]

The sun has set but the glow reflected from the clouds in the east provides a temporary second twilight.  I feel fed, showered, and exhaustedly mellow - the perfect mood for planning another section tomorrow.  A fitting end to another successful day.

Our day was relatively uneventful if you don’t count the constant awe-inspiring panoramas.  A short climb brought us from Mud Lake to a long east-west ridge, with a few slightly higher bumps someone thought worthy of independent names - Rose Knob, Rose Knob Peak, Rifle Peak, Mount Baldy.  The ridge falls off precipitously to the south, dropping 3000 feet to the shores of the Lake.  We traversed this on trails carefully carved ino the scree slope.  The panoramic view is continuous for miles.

Occasionally a spur of volcanic aggregate thrusts out of the hillside, perfect spots for a photo-shoot, a rock-climb with ample handholds, or a lunch break.  Despite these distractions, we made great time compared with yesterday’s painfully slow pace.  We plan to reach Martis Peak Lookout by 2PM for pickup by my sister-in-law.

During a break, we sometimes stray from the path, releasing pungent aromas from the wildflowers, a combination of mint and eucalyptus.  It reminds me of the scents we’ve imbibed throughout the high country, from the warm, vanilla-maple of jeffery pines to the dusty smell of sagebrush and dried pine needles.  I am even becoming attuned enough to the scents that I can distinguish the smells of shade and sun.  The scent of the trail is a constant backdrop for the whole expedition.

The trail descends through a series of switchbacks, to Martis Peak Lookout.  The girls sang and made up rhymes for the last two miles.  I leave them there (with my brother) and proceed solo, and packless, the last 4.4 miles to Brockway Summit to claim this section as complete.  Without pack and with another 1000 foot elevation loss, I fly along and cover this stretch in about an hour and a half.

Deanna is waiting to pick me up and we join the others at Tahoe Meadows campground for the night.  Tomorrow Deanna and I venture forth again, to conquer section 3 - Tahoe Meadows to Spooner Summit.  Laine will stay with Oma, and is looking forward to lots of biking.  She probably did two miles around the campground tonight - I guess the hike wasn’t too long after all!

[Mileage: 10.9 | 55.9]