We got a bit of a late start on our first day, due to a last-minute food reassessment that was forced by bear canister capacity constraints. But we hit the trail around 9 and waded through crowds en route to Kearsarge Pass.

The view of University Peak across Gilbert Lake.

Looking down on Heart Lake from the trail high above.

Big Pothole Lake from just below the pass.

Looking west over Kearsarge Lakes and Bullfrog Lake from Kearsarge Pass. Mount Brewer and friends loom in the background.

Despite the crowds and the man flying his drone atop Kearsarge Pass, the hike was quite lovely. Kearsarge is one of my favorite east-side access points to the SEKI backcountry because it’s both short and scenic.

We debating going for Mount Rixford and/or Mount Gould en route to Glen Pass, but hadn’t had the foresight to fill up on water on our way up Kearsarge Pass. We only had a liter or so between us and it was warm, so we weren’t too excited about the idea. We opted to follow the trail around instead.

Shannon following the cutoff trail to meet up with the JMT with an awesome view of Mount Brewer’s northeast face.

Overlooking Bullfrog Lake.

Feelin’ good.

After this we pushed on for a little while until we finally found a water source at the lower tarn below Glen Pass. We had to ration water for an hour or so beforehand. Rookie mistake!

Looking south from Glen Pass.

The view north.

Shannon hiking around the north shore of the southernmost Rae Lake.

That classic view of the southernmost Rae Lake.

We rolled into the basically-a-campground campsite on the peninsula of the middle Rae Lake, got set up, and enjoyed a couple hours of fishing, book reading, and doing nothing. It was crowded, as usual, but the scenery more than made up for it.

The last alpenglow of the day on Mount Rixford.