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We woke up at 7am, as did most of the hut. The group of 6 prepped and
left to do a day hike to Barn Bluff before hiking to the next hut.
We were going to take it easy today, though. Perhaps too easy.
We left around 8:35am. As we followed the trail along the edge of Waterfall
Valley, we had views of Barn Bluff to our right, as we would for much of the day.
After a slight bit of uphill, the trail descends on planks down to an intersection.
Here, some people drop their packs and do a side trip to Lake Will on the right.
We decided that since it was such a short side trip (and relatively flat), we'd just
take our packs with us.
Waterfall Valley in the morning
Waterfall Valley in the morning
Waterfall Valley Hut
Pond at Waterfall Valley
Barn Bluff
Edge of Waterfall Valley
Edge of Waterfall Valley
Barn Bluff
Double planking
Flowering scoparia
Flowering scoparia
Skink
Lake Holmes (near the intersection)
The hike to Lake Will is mostly on narrow wooden platforms. Along the way are some nice
views of Barn Bluff above the lake. It only took us about a half hour to reach the lake.
The trail spills out onto a little beach. Mostly people probably stop here, take some
pictures, and turn around. We explored the trail a little further up (it continues to
the left, following the lake shore). We only went a short distance before finding access
to a shaded spot next to the lake, then settled down for a snack break. Sadly, there were
no rocks here for skipping. It's just as well, as the water was choppy from the chill wind.
Lake Will and Barn Bluff
Lake Will
Ponds near Lake Will
Lake Will and Barn Bluff
Lake Will and Barn Bluff
Lake Will and Barn Bluff
Lake Will
Lake Will and Barn Bluff
We returned to the intersection, then continued on the main trail toward Windermere.
At one point along this stretch of trail, we could see not only Barn Bluff, but Cradle
Mountain to the north. The trail climbs a bit, and we passed a large group at the top.
We'd find out they were part of a group that paid handsomely to hike the trail to private
huts with catered meals. They had small packs and boxed lunches of fresh food.
Barn Bluff and Cradle Mountain
More double planking
The trail then descends into a forest. There are still occasional views of lots of little
lakes below. Soon enough we reached Lake Windermere at the bottom. We didn't stop here,
though. The trail then heads
uphill for a quarter mile to the hut. We decided to stay in our tent tonight, so we picked
out a tent platform with a great view. It felt weird to be ending our day's hike so soon
since it was only about 12:40pm, but the next hut is much further. In retrospect we could
easily have done a day hike up to Barn Bluff beforehand (about a 3 hour round trip), but
that's ok.
Lake Windermere
Lake Windermere
When I visited the toilet next to the hut, I ran into a woman who struck up a brief
conversation. Somehow, the subject of the JMT came up. She and her husband had done
the JMT last year, and she said her husband had done about 1000 miles of the PCT. For
some strange reason she said her husband said we looked like we'd done the JMT (which we
had, 3 years ago). We wouldn't see them again, as they were continuing onto Frog Flats
today, though I could see their progress in the hut logs each day.
The tent platforms have chains on them for attaching tents. After setting up, I went over
to the hut to get and filter water, as well as sign the log book. While there I talked
to a few of the people staying
at the hut that night. After the water was filtered, we went down the visit
Lake Windermere for a bit. Some of the hut folks went for a swim.
Barn Bluff over Lake Windermere
Lake Windermere
There were only a couple groups camped within sight of us tonight, though I'm guessing
there were about 7 tents set up in total (not counting the group site). The hut itself
is fairly small, though it did have separate sleeping and eating areas (unlike the
Waterfall Valley Hut, which doesn't really separate the two). The group of 6 was perhaps
the last to arrive, and took the last spots in the hut. An Australian couple (Therese and Gerard)
who we'd met at Waterfall Valley hut was staying in the hut
tonight, though they did stop by our tent to chat. While there, they pointed to a wallaby
not too far from our tent. I took some pictures as best I could.
Tent with a view of Barn Bluff and Lake Windermere
Wallaby
Wallaby
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