To freshen things up a bit I started the 3-2-1 challenge on the far other end, the west trailhead of the Tumamait trail. I spend the night at Campo Alto for a bit of acclimatization. The afternoon before the hike, when I was away for a small warm up hike, a bear apparently ran through my campsite, knocking into my hammock. That would have been an interesting story… On the trail I never see bears; they will only come close to humans at campsites, where there are enticing smells.
The actual hike has a steep .5 miles drop at the very beginning (and, of course, at the very end of the day a .05 mi final climb). But most of the trail is fairly gradual, a very nice way of getting used to being above 8000 ft. I first hiked to Pinos, where it was a bit of a zoo, and then on the way back I hit Sawmill and Grouse. I checked out the Sheep Camp campgrounds out of curiosity. These are a few hike-in sites between Grouse and Sawmill, about .5 miles from the main trail. Spacious sites, but the water box was already almost empty (and the remaining stagnant water looked quite sketchy).
a total of just over 11 miles, it was a good day on the trails.