We had considered adjusting our itinerary so that we did spend the night at Thousand Island Lake – the original destination for our first night – but the weather was holding, our energy was good, and the bears (so it seemed) were plentiful. By moving on, we would avoid the crowds, as we were now moving from an established trail to a cross country route.

We headed west to the end of the lake at the base of Banner Peak, and then turned south towards a low pass the would lead us to Garnet Lake.