Here I am resting my tired legs. We've hiked down along Return Creek and intersected with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). After nearly 10 miles of hiking, we had not seen a soul. Now camped near the more popular PCT, a few more people eventually arrived to camp near Miller.

In the evening and morning at Miller, we were visited by deer grazing in the area. Now able to have fires, we stayed up a bit later before hitting the hay.

The next day we took off for Smedberg Lake. Dave sports his custom tumpline.

We have another grinding day ahead of us. From here, we must climb over Benson Pass before dropping down to Smedberg Lake. During our trip I noted that the word "Pass" seemed to always coincide with a great deal of uphill work. Hmmm.