Leg 6 - Big Meadow to Echo Lake

Learned my lesson last week - need to get an early start when the temperatures are up. I didn't get on the trail until after 9:30 last Monday, and paid for it - had to go home from work on Tuesday and stayed home Wednesday, recovering. The smoke in the air and the fact that I was a little out of shape probably didn't help.) So today I left home at 5:15, and started hiking at 6:40 (Yeah, long commutes to the South Lake sections...) Actually had to start out wearing a long sleeve shirt, but it didn't last too long.



Came to the first big lake; Round lake - tried to take a panorama sho, but it didn't seem to work, so here's part of it:



The junction with the Pacific Crest Trail , or PCT (which the TRT follows along the western shore of the lake) is in Meiss Meadows, which is where I proposed to Mich - uhh... just a little under ten years ago. We came in from Carson Pass, and it looked different from that side, so I couldn't really tell where we had been. I remember this cowboy shack that's still standing there, though:



And not long after, saw the first of many PCT trail markers (for those of you that are interested in that kind of thing...)



In some of the meadows I literally had to wade through wildflowers. Lupine, indian paintbrush, whatever those little yellow and white ones are. At times it was waist or even shoulder high on me; would have been like a tunnel for the kids!



Next big lake I came to was Showers Lake - there was a good-sized group camping there (more people in general on the trail - prime part of the season or popular spots? Both?)



And not to far from that, a breathtaking panorama opened up:



About halfway across this big bowl, I realized that I could see Lake Tahoe for the first (and only, it turned out) time. Tried to get a picture, but it didn't come out very well. Look in the upper left corner, and kinda squint..



After a REALLY steep downhill (everything was steep today, the ups and the downs) I crossed Hwy. 50 and made my way to the Echo Lake Trailhead. Mich and the kids had hiked about a half mile in to meet me; got a picture with Julien at the trailhead.



So, I was on the trail for 4:20 today, and ran for 1:25 of that. Looking forward to next week...