Beartooths 2023 - Day 4

We slowly woke up listening to the rush of the nearby creek. Dew had settled onto the tent again, but no rain in the night. Excited for the day we quickly ate breakfast (frosted banana bread pop tart for me) and packed up our gear. 

Off we went, down the trail. It quickly changed from the forest to a burned-out section. It must have been from several years ago as we saw lots of new growth. 

After a bit, we arrived at the West Fork trailhead. We took advantage of the pit toilet and then filled up our water at the nearby stream. We were hoping there would be some trash cans to drop our trash off at, but there were not. We finished things off with some snacks before heading on. 

Up we climbed on the Camp Senia Trail through burned-out trees and eventually forest. As we continued, the trail broke out into an area with small trees and lots of light brown rocks. It reminded me a little bit of the desert. Up we continued and the trail changed yet again. This time it was a treeless rocky plateau. Sometimes the trail was lost and we could only find our way via cairns. The trail hugged the mountains as we traveled around the valleys below. We got to one spot where we saw water seeping up through some moss and forming a flowing stream. Something you hear about, but rarely see. We filled up our water and Logan insisted on sticking his mouth directly into the stream to get a gulp of mountain fresh water. We were so close to the source, that there was no way the water had anything bad in it (he insisted). 

We came to where our trail connected with the two other trails and set out on the Spread Creek Trail. The first quarter mile was not to be found save for the cairns. We seem to be hitting some trails that are not well-traveled. The trail lived up to its name and we found a spread of creeks that we had to cross. 

We eventually came to the side trail to Lake Sylvan. We set off on the trail and had a big climb up to the lake. Once we arrived the climb was worth it. The lake was beautiful and we were the only ones there. We set up our tent and then jumped into the lake. I went in fully clothed because I needed a wash and so did my clothing. It was icy cold and refreshing - just what we needed. 

We arrived at camp a little after 3, so we enjoyed the time and ate some trail mix, drank lemonade, and stared out at the lake. Before long it was time for dinner. I had a cheese pasta with salmon. And of course, I finished things off with Oreos. 

After dinner, we did some more relaxing. Stretching out our aching legs and feet while we looked at the lake and sky. It was so peaceful. 

Before long we decided to call it a day and we crawled into our tent to fall asleep. 

• Watch: 49% down to 31%, charged up to 90%
• Phone: 51% down to 29%, charged up to 88%, and went down to 85%
• GPS: 69% down to 52%, charged up to 88%, and went down to 85%