Up the Golden Staircaseto Palisades Lakes

Nutella for Brekkie

Only 8 miles today so late start again, somehow not feeling great in the morning, things improve as we start moving.

The trail follows Palisade Creek up the valley, we're as clean as you can get under the circumstances, the valley is surprisingly hot and humid though and we begin to sweat and smell a bit, ala East Coast, bit of a bummer after spending all that time getting clean.

We stop for a bit of break where a bunch of creeks seem to come together, Cataract creek comes crashing down from a side valley to join Palisade Creek, and another creek comes in from the right so we got some crossing to do, it does make it easier to figure out where we are.

Lunch by the Stream, Great Spot

Further up the valley there's a great rest spot by the stream, one of the nicest on the trail, the creek comes tumbling down through a series of rocks slides and water falls from the lake above down into the valley and there's a nice flat spot just above a waterfall to stop and rest and admire the view.

We take the opportunity to wash again and dry off in the bright sunshine, the water is right there so easy to make a hot lunch, feeling great again. There are some pretty flowers by the side that have a fragrance so rub them on my skin like a deodorant to get things from getting too smelly.

The Golden Staircase is one of the highlights of the day, it's a scenic and an amazing engineering feat, the steep cliffs wrap around to almost 270 degrees and the trail switches back and forth on the way up, the rocks are slightly yellowish which at the right time of the day sparkles gold.

Drying in the Sun After Stream Wash

It's a long way up, the golden staircase ends but still more climbing to do and it starts to get tiring, luckily shorter mileage day.

The first lake campsite is already occupied by a large group of young people, we've seen them before, and just as we pass by there's a rumble of thunder, the trail seems to be going up and away from the lake and we're tired and ready to stop but the trail just goes up more and we look down on the lake, we thought we'd be camping close to the water.

The rumbles seem to get louder and closer and we move more quickly trying to find the camping area, at last there it is and there's quite a group already, it's a mad scramble to set up the tent as the weather threatens, it's not a perfect set up in the haste, we get it done just as the rain comes down, just in time.

Cheeky Marmot Checkin Us Out

One of the pegs comes loose in the wind and rain and we can see and hear ice falling, some water in the tent because it's not pegged properly, there's a bit of a break in the weather and we get out quickly to get some water for dinner and cook, and re-peg the tent, there's quite a pile of ice on one side from all the hail.

Wildflowers in the Fallen Ice

The weather clears and it's a beautiful sunset with distant cloud formations and reds and golds on the peaks, we sit on a rock to enjoy it while other campers start making dinner or gather to share stories.