July 7th 2009 - Glen Aulin to Benson Lake

We survived the night without seeing a single bear. Phew! Surprisingly I actually slept well. Guess that happens when you're totally worn out.

The trail started out mellow and we were thinking "thank goodness we are done with the tough High Sierra climbs." Of course, just as we were thinking that we got a kick in our butts with some steep climbs. Nothing steep or snowy, but lots of ups and downs requiring lots of leg power to go up/down large rock steps.

Exhausted, we rolled into our camp for the night. Benson Lake. Although beautiful with a sandy shore, Benson Lake has swarms of mosquitoes. We had to use "project no mosquito" when setting up the tend and getting everything into the tent. Basicly me crawling into the tent quickly and Tom one by one passing our sleeping pads, bags and packs through the door.

Although mostly effective, one or two mosquitoes still passed through. Nothing a swat couldn't fix though. We fell asleep to the hum of mosquitoes outside the tent.

~Tori