7.2 miles, 3200' gain, 2000' descent

We awoke to blue skies and glorious sunshine, perfect for this incredible section of trail. Downhill at first, over the Carbon River on our second suspension bridge, and then a Big Up climbing steeply alongside and with glorious views over the Carbon Glacier. Views continued as we entered Moraine Park, where Mike peeled off to climb up Curtis Ridge, and then we arrived at Mystic Lake which is one of my most favoritest specialest places ever.

The campsite is a short distance past the lake, so we set up our tents, hung damp clothing (from yesterday) to dry, then headed back up to the lake for a swim, dinner, and to watch the sunset. Don't miss the side trail to the patrol cabin, which is situated up a hillside behind the lake.

We found another group of hikers squatting without permit in our group campsite after finding themselves unable to keep up with their scheduled itinerary. This felt uncomfortable at first (hey, we have a permit for this site!) but they were unobtrusive and everyone fit ok. It's a tough trail, this one. The next day we encountered multiple other people in the same situation.

Near bear encounter #3: just a few minutes after our visit to the patrol cabin, down that same trail came a park employee who'd met a bear that immediately climbed a tree upon seeing him. Mike was delayed in reaching camp after his scramble because a bear was blocking the trail just before the lake, so he waited a half hour for it to move. I'm pretty sure I heard a bear snuffling through camp and around the pole during the night, and the other group who were sharing our site thought the same thing.