Miles: 15.4 

Total Trail Miles: 1185 

Ascent/Descent: 1626/3485 ft 

Start Time: 07:45 

End Time: 16:20 

Temperature: 29°C (84°F)

We had a relaxed start to the day, enjoying the morning views from our tentsite. It was a pretty cruisey day with only a few patches of snow and lots of walking through nice meadows and ridges of flowers. We passed the turn off for Jacksons Meadows Resevoir around 4, it was a huge lake we decided we would take a dip in and then either camp in the campsite near it if it wasn't too expensive or hike on an extra mile to find a trail campsite. You had to walk through the campground to get to the lake and the first pitch we passed we were waved over by the couple sat there, Sherri (nurse practioner) & Jeff (ex firefighter). They asked us a little about our hike and then offered to cook us dinner and breakfast and said we could pitch up on their spot so we didn't have to pay! They were soo generous and Sherri was vegetarian so said cooking for me vegan wasn't a problem and they would even make vegan pancakes in the morning with strawberries!! We were taken aback by their kindness and generosity and couldn't say no. They told us to first dump our bags and go for a swim then come back up for dinner. We found a private little bay to swim in first, it was so beautiful and no one around so I could swim topless without having to get my top out bra wet. We then spotted the pontoon and decided to walk around to the other bit of the lake to head out there too. We chilled on the pontoon for a while, with the sun low in the sky - it felt like a proper holiday. Marcus went swimming again, jumping in off the edge and I sunbathed a little. When we got back up and pitched our tent dinner was ready. I had veggie pasta with Sherri and the boys ate burgers, they also gave us wine and we spent the evening around their table chatting, it was lovely 🥰