2 hills today. 2 big hills. We originally had planned on going through to Fern Burn Hut, but decided after yesterday that a short day would be nice. We could do Fern Burn and the campground the next day and have plenty of time. So off we went.

The day started with a really huge climb. Many false summits. But the views were spectactular.

After the huge hill there was a nearly equally huge descent. At one point I crossed a stream that was barely more than a trickle and stopped to fill up my water bottles. I could hear what I thought was a larger stream but wasn’t sure if it was water or just the wind, and I had a huge climb ahead of me. About 10 minutes later I found the stream. It was quite lovely. Good spot to take a break and eat some lunch.

One of the neat things about going down and then straight back up is you get to see most of the trail ahead of you for hours before you get there. Including people coming down who you’ll meet a bit later. Kinda fun.

Finally I started the second big climb for the day and it seemed to go a lot faster than the first. There was a less pronounced “summit” as we had to sidle from one hill around to the saddle which signaled the start of the descent. I still took a selfie though.

The descent from here was mostly pretty nice. Lots of sidling so it wasn’t super steep. There were some places it got super steep but those places were pretty well stepped so it actually went pretty quickly.

And if only to prove that your day isn’t done until you’re standing in the doorway of the hut, the hut was past a little valley and up a pretty steep climb to the hut.

Finally, one last really nasty climb.

And the hut appears! Unlike last night, there’s only one other person here when I arrive, Marius. We’re expecting 3 others northbound, but it’s a good sign that we’re so far the only ones here. And hooooooo boy, the view is really amazing.

Now it’s time for dinner and probably an early night. We have a big day ahead tomorrow, so probably going to get up early and hit the trail.

I’ve heard it should rain tomorrow, so getting going early will mean we can get into the campground early and try to dry off before hopping in our tents for the night.