Woke up to frost on tent - brr!

Hiked until we found sun to stop and sit in for breakfast. Hiked through towering pine trees and giant pinecones strewn about.

Little lean-to made in a tree with dead wood.

Little bridge at Creek - first water source of the day.

Rolling upward on trail to a beautiful view of Big Bear Lake and towering snow capped San Bernardino Mountains. Crazy to think we were just down there a few days ago!

More New faces on trail.

Bench of a downed tree trunk and the cushion of pine needles makes a great seat for lunch!

A large mining operation is visible - a huge chunk of a mountain is missing. Carved out for who knows what resources - sad.

Trail weaves and winds in and out and down the mountains. Many downed trees and many overgrown bushes - making for slow and exhausting miles.

Pushing to water at nearby Creek - feels like we should have arrived much earlier than we did. Beautiful sandy shore and clean clear flowing water. Filtered and snacked and continued on - few more miles to camping…

More downed trees - under (tree crawl) and over (pony ride) many more - terrain is changing again. Big boulders and sandy soil with pink flowering manzanita bushes. Trees along the trail are all budding with new growth and tiny New leaves.

Made it to camp - sandy, large boulders and epic view. Ate dinner and watched sunset from a giant boulder. Chatted with two other hikers (Maui & unknown) and watched the sunset. 😍

Finished camp set up in the dark - worth it!

Hopefully it will be warmer tonight as we’re at a lower elevation 🤞.

@ 6,185 ft. elevation