The sunny morning arrives. We had camped on the west side of the trees, so our spot did not warm with the rising sun. The cooler air keeps us in our bags awhile longer. And, the cold makes it harder to open the wretched bear canisters.

Steve dismantled our camp and laid out everything in the sun to dry while I assembled breakfast. We weren’t wet from the rain, but from the condensation that had formed on the underside of the rain fly. While our gear dried, Steve took advantage of the numerous pools created by the geology and vegetation.

It didn’t take long for us to strip back down to shorts and T-shirts as we packed everything up for the day’s hike: through Whitebark Pass to Nydiver Lakes.