After leaving Davis lakes I navigated cross country to Rodgers Lakes. They were nice, but nowhere near as beautiful as where I had just come from so I continued on to Marie Lake. I worked my way up a steep ridge in the hot sun. At the top I could see a beautiful meadow land far below on the other side, dotted with many shining, shimmering ponds and a creek flowing between them all.
As I continued on I found a large rock with a shaded overhang and took a break from the hot sun in it's shadow. After the break I continued uphill and soon found the trail that led me the rest of the way to Marie Lake. After reaching the lake I made lunch, then I explored around the eastern shore.
While exploring I dropped my water bottle and when I squatted down to grab it the seat of my pants ripped from the crotch all the way to the waist band. To save weight on these trips I only bring one pair of clothes, not including cold weather gear. I also stopped carrying a sewing kit because I've never needed one. So I could neither replace nor repair my pants. Now that I had unprotected skin exposed to the sun, I went back to where my pack was and I tied a jacket around my waist to prevent the sun from burning me. I do carry sunscreen, but having clothing covering as much skin as possible works much better in my opinion.
After another hour of exploring the lower Marie Lake I was not happy with with the lack of shade and my photography options here so I decided to head back down and go to the meadow lands I had seen.
After reaching the pools and meadows of Rush Creek, I found a nice shaded spot beneath a stand of trees to set up camp. I soaked my feet in the cool water of the creek, then took a nap. When I awoke, the sun was low and I headed down to the creek to photograph sunset. I found a nice spot atop a waterfall where small fish were jumping, here I waited for the light to get good. While sitting at the spot I chose, another backpacker sat down nearby to enjoy the same view. Once I got the photos and the light faded from the landscape I asked the other backpacker if they had a sewing kit I could borrow. They said they didn't have one but asked what I was going to use it for. I told them about my ripped pants.
“I have duct tape, you can have some of that.” they offered.
“I have some too, but I don't think it will hold for a whole week.” I explained,
“This is Gorilla Duct Tape. It will hold.”
They gave me a small roll and I thanked them. We headed back to our own camps, and when I reached mine I repaired my pants. They were right, it held them together for the rest of the trip.
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