7.0 miles, 2600' gain, 1300' descent

I pulled into the White River parking lot at 9 AM on the dot, met up with Frank, and we hit the trail. The day was cool and cloudy. Packs were heavy. Company was great, but conversation limited by lack of spare breath as we settled into an uphill hiking groove. No allowance for warming up here - the ascent is relentless right from the start.

A few thousand feet higher, we turned onto the gentler and wider Sunrise Rim trail, passed the five way junction at Frozen Lake, descended into Berkeley Park, turned off the Wonderland onto the Northern Loop trail, descended some more, then set up camp for the night. Along the way we enjoyed seeing spectacular wildflowers, marmots, mountain goats, day hikers, and a bear.

We were woken at midnight by torrential rain, electric flashes, and booming explosions that sounded like they were rolling past us up the valley, echoing back off the cliffs to create an awesome surround sound effect. The storm lasted at least half an hour: yee haw!