I’m so happy that we’re not going uphill today.  We set off early, and it’s a beautiful morning in a magical area.  We pass Upper Rae Lake where there is a ranger station that is staffed during the summer.

Upper Rae Lake	Bianca hiking past Upper Rae Lake

I see the ranger in the distance coming out of the hut to fetch water.  We then pass an old twisted Juniper tree.

	An old twisted Juniper tree

Soon after, we approach Arrowhead Lake and decide to stop on a rock looking down on the lake for a while to admire it.

Bianca hiking to Arrowhead Lake	Looking down on Arrowhead Lake	Creek crossing near Arrowhead Lake

Then, we continue on to Dollar Lake, another gorgeous spot, and stop there to have breakfast.  There is a dramatic rock feature visible from here called Fin Dome.  We spend about 90 minutes at Dollar Lake eating and enjoying the place. 

	Breakfast at Dollar Lake.  Fin Dome in the distance

I’m sad to be leaving the lakes area after this as it seemed so brief.  We continue gently downhill, stopping once in a pretty meadow to have a break, before making it to the crossing of Woods Creek where we will camp tonight.  There is a swinging bridge here that can only be crossed one hiker at a time.  Also, the campsite here is right on the trail in a busy spot, and neither of us likes the look of that too much.  We decide to cross over and turn onto Woods Creek Trail and see if there is somewhere to camp there.  We find a really beautiful meadow with tall aspens and pines, which is used as a stock camp and decide to camp there.  Some time later, I am lying down in the grass and relaxing, when I see a ranger approaching.  It’s kind of a surprise since we’re well away from the trail.  Also, he actually looks like John Muir!  He is surprised to see us too.  He is friendly and introduces himself as the Rae Lakes Ranger, who lives in the cabin we passed by earlier.  He and Dean have a bonding chat (since Dean is a ranger at the Grand Canyon) and then he politely lets us know that we’re not allowed to camp in this spot.  I mentioned that the campsite near the bridge was not really to our liking and asked if he could recommend another spot.  He tells us about a hidden spot away from the trail that has a bear box we can use, so we head over there.  It’s difficult to find, but we are glad when we do as it’s nice and quiet, and convenient to have the bear box too. 

D5-9A	D5-11A
Meadow where we almost camped	Our camping spot for the night

 BACK TO DAY 4  -Ɩ-  FORWARD TO DAY 6