Aug 4,5 Headed for Fish Lake

We left Callahan's late afternoon and as we traveled to the trailhead a young man , Jamin, stopped and gave us a ride. He hiked the section we were about to hike a week ago and said the first water source was dry so he even let us fill our water bottles at his house which was on the way.




Thanks Jamin
We hiked 5 miles to pilot rock and camped nearby.




Pilot Rock is very steep so we decided to save our knees and just be satisfied with a picture rather than climb it.
We entered Soda Mountain Wilderness




surrounded by volcanic rock in a Douglas fir forest with wild flowers everywhere.












There was a threat of rain but we lucked out with just a few raindrops. We were pleasantly surprised to find no Mosquitos.
We camped at a saddle and made our favorite dinner of quesadillas over an open fire and had instant pudding for desert.
Aug 5 was overcast most of the day. We hiked from mile 1732-1757-a total of 25miles. We
stopped to filter water and take a break and heard something among the pines then spotted a small bear eating the foliage. Another hiker came along and spooked him before we could get a picture.
While we were soaking our feet in Keene Creek we met Tony from Belgium. Gone Fishing hiked with him 1000 miles ago just past Kennedy Meadows. Neither recognized one-another at first. Both now have beards and are thinner. After hearing my name Tony realized he had found my umbrella on the trail several miles back. He sent me an email trying to return it but we were unable to make a connection so I told him to keep it. It came in handy and he decided to keep it. I am glad it is getting used and have since replaced it.




Tony
We stopped for the night at Kuma Campground. A great place to camp and fish. Gone Fishing plans to go fishing in the morning. With his new fly fishing rod.




Heart