Cathedral Rock, Peggy's Pond — Saturday, Jul. 18, 2020

Three day backpacking trip with some friends was a success! (Mostly). Getting to the trail-head, in-and-of itself is a task; as the dirt road is gruelingly long, with lots of sizable potholes, kicked up dust (drier months only) and a creek crossing only suitable for high-clearance vehicles. We arrived at the trail-head around 9:30 AM, with Peggy's pond as the first days destination. The trek up was a minor challenge due to the hot dry weather, but once at Squaw lake it was nice and refreshing to take a rest and a dip in the ice cold lake. The bugs were almost unbearable, and this foreshadowed what was to come. After about an hour resting up & cooling off at Squaw, we decided to take off, headed towards our destination. It was about 90 degrees in the sun and dry as a bone once at the PCT junction to Peggy's, which was very tough to get through to say the least. On the switchbacks down past the PCT junction, and across the steep exposed side of Cathedral rock, we made it across the rockfall and steep beaten path to the other-side (proper footing here is a must, and handholds on the rock may become necessary with weight on your back). We all ran out of water before the junction, so luckily we were able to fill up at the small pond/waterfall directly below the path up to Peggy's, as it was dangerously hot and dry to continue without hydration. Once at Peggy's we were greeted with a gorgeous view of Cathedral rock, and Mt. Daniels east face. We setup camp on a flat clearing right on the lake, and enjoyed the rest of the evening. The bugs were bad, but not nearly as bad as the days to come. The second day, woke up to sunshine peaking right over cathedral rock, and decided to keep camp in the spot for the duration of the trip and spend the day hiking/climbing Mt Daniels. The bugs were getting out of hand at this point, so we quickly geared up, ate a late breakfast and headed towards the Daniel's boot path. As the day progressed, going up the center of the Daniels valley, one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed happened; as two fighter jet aircraft (looked like two F-15 Eagles from the distance we were at) flew by in what seemed to be a simulated dogfight right between Daniels and Cathedral rock, one about to break the sound barrier as the condensed air pressure from the nose of the plane was expanding. A sight to see indeed! Spirits were high, and our eyes were set on the plateau just above the rock fall to lookers right. We decided to head down back to camp, and after a few Glissades down the glaciers, we left with an amazing memory of an adventure that we wont soon forget. The bugs at this point were unbearable and we were forced to hike around some primitive trails and beaten paths to avoid the wrath of the blood sucking infestation. Our last night was spent around a small campfire (made really as a natural deterrent to the mosquitoes that were feasting on us), then stargazing once the sun gently passed behind Daniels. Both nights were perfectly clear, The Milky Way shimmering above and Venus peaking over the summit of Cathedral Rock. Our last morning and hike down was a breeze and a welcome decent, to get away from the vermin that plagued the pond this time of year. All-in-all, 10/10 for the experience and views, 8/10 overall since the bugs were so incredibly annoying. I Will be back in the future to Ski Daniels!