by luke » Sat Oct 09, 2010 10:08 pm
everything went great.started at twin lakes.camped nite 1 at robinson lakes.nite 2 was going to be at the lakes below(south)finger peaks.i was beat and the winds were screaming(sept 19-20)so i camped at piute creek just past slide canyon.day 3 intermittant rain and hail so i layed around instead of going up matterhorn peak.day 4 headed over burro pass....oh man....when i saw matterhorn canyon before me i sat down ,well,i had to sit down.my thinking was that if i could homestead this would be it.i camped down a bit on the pct before the climb up wilson creek.have not passed anyone since barney lake.had me 1st human contact in 4 days at smedberg lake.i was 'bout halfway the southern shore when i heard a womans voice."HI."it was a backcountry ranger on their last tour.it was as if you were suddenly awakened from a dream.she was so nice.braided pony-tails, california blonde,asking me about my trip.ever so tactful,inquiring as to my awareness of the leave-no-trace ethic.i was totally charmed.being a married man i thought of the "cold shower"and sallied forth.4th being my 5th night at benson lake.what a wonderful beach.ended UP spending two nights there sharing the entire sand with two delightful folk from the bay area.i'll call them candyce and dave.up to seavey pass next.what a great day!all those little lakes...was gonna shoot for arndt lake but headed over too early(no gps-lame topo reading ability)ended up looking into the meadow south-east of the lake.went back to the trail, headed north,passed arndt lake and found an awesome site west of the trail up about 50 yards with a firepit and granite slabs surrounding 3/4 of it.another crazy spot i could live out the summer season.next day easy hike up to peeler for final two days.got to hang out with my new friends dave and candyce again.you folks that live in a days travel to the park are so freaking fortunate.