LaCrosse Basin,  Olympic National Park,  Aug 12, 2002 - Aug 16, 2002     page 5 / 19

Tom and I reached Marmot Lake around 3:30PM. The hike up the hill was quite warm, estimated around 90F. We found a shady spot near the lake, had a drink, some food and relaxed in the light breeze. Some of the other backpackers were swimming in the lake. We considered doing so, too, but wanted to continue up the hill another mile and a half to Lake LaCrosse. We reached our destination around 5PM. I was beat. The heat, the long day, the 3200 feet of elevation gained that day all contributed to my generally lousy, exhausted feeling. I tried to drink lots of water to rehydrate. I had some soup and a small dinner. Tom seemed less affected. At 14 years old, he seemed never to slow down much during the trip. Perhaps he should have been carrying a greater portion of our load!