Wow! This was my first solo backpacking trip and it was amazing!
I did this in 3 nights. Day #1 was 10.5 miles to Lewis Meadow, day #2 was 4.5 to Elk Lake where I set up camp, then another 3 miles out to the glacier, and back again with just my day pack, day #3 was 4.5 miles back to Lewis Meadow, the day #4 was 10.5 back to my car.
If I were to do this again I’d probably give myself a whole day for the day hike out to the glacier. It’s definitely quite doable in the afternoon, but it would have been nice to take a more leisurely pace, especially since I was anxious about getting past the ladder section before I started losing light.
The ladder section was scary, but not as bad as I’d built it up to be. I’m terrified of heights so if I can do it you can too!
Of note: there was a dead mule about 15 yards off the trail about 1/4 mile before Elk Lake. Several hikers I passed said they had seen a black bear trying to scavenge meat off of it, but the bear was gone by the time I got there. Definitely still smelly and somewhat gruesome.
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