The normal plan for this backpacking trip is to get to Tommy Lake rather Bald Mountain Basin for the third night and then have a full day on Day 4 and second night there to rest up.  The delay over the passenger who got altitude sickness resulted in some ground to make up in the morning and a half day, rather than a full one, at the lake. But at least by Day 4 we had caught up to where we were supposed to be.

Early morning turned out to be beautiful and clear, with no indication of the previous night’s thunderstorms and later rain showers, except for somewhat wet ground. The day’s trek was a relatively short one of only around six miles, much of which was through evergreen forest.  The biggest adventure was the only significant ford of a river on the trip, most stream crossings being possible by rock hopping, a couple of the bigger ones crossed by wooden bridges or a bridge of a single log with a railing built on. I brought the water shoes I got a few years back to walk up a waterfall in Jamaica in anticipation of the fords. I noticed other people strapping their sandals to the outside of their backpacks and thought, “hey, that’s a good idea”. When the time came that I could use them, I noticed they were gone. I unintentionally contributed to the little problem in the wilderness somewhere along the way. Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do! The barefoot crossing of river really wasn’t that bad despite its pebbly bottom. I guess the water was cold enough to numb my feet to it.

The latter half of the day’s walk was mostly uphill but rather gradual, passing some of the lakes in the scenic Cook Lakes complex.  Then suddenly out of the woods, the rocky meadow leading down to Tommy Lake appeared, backed by an impressive wall of rocky peaks, the highest of which is Mount Lester at 12,251 feet. Some interest had been expressed early on in the trip by my fellow hikers about climbing Mount Lester on our expected day off.  Probably only two miles away and about 1,400 feet elevation gain above the lake, it would certainly have been possible to do in a few hours in the afternoon despite our midday arrival, but alas there were no takers. All napped in their tents, or sat and read a book on top of a rock with a great view, or lizarded themselves in the sun on a flat rock in the lake. The last of those was me. I certainly was not going to carry the extra weight of even a small paperback to read in my backpack, but two of the other guys each brought a quite thick tome. The setting was idyllic and view often reflected mirrorlike in the lake’s still water, a view that varied through the afternoon and evening in the changing light.