Robin and I are awake and have been for about ½ hour or so. We're gonna have breakfast and then start breaking down the camp. The plan is to be out of here by 6:00.

06:45 - Deer Spring

We were out of camp just a few minutes after 6. Sue and Tom were ready to go before us. I have the disadvantange in that I must break down the tent and pack that first before I can put anything else into the backpack. The tent that Sue and Tom are using just attachs to the back of the backpack. It helps. When I go solo I use a smaller tent that fits into the bottom compartment of the backpack and thats a lot easier to pack as well. This dome tent is nice but it takes about twice as much room in the pack.

So far so good as far as the uphill climbs go and Sue and Tom are never far behind. I'm sure their legs are starting to get used to this stuff by now. We are right on schedule for what I have been hoping for. If this keeps we will be on the Esplanade by early afternoon.

09:40 - Thunder River trail, Redwall

We are making good time. The climb from Deer Spring into lower Surprise Valley took another 45 minutes. The climbing continued after that but then started to gradually decease as we got higher and higher up. The last mile or so was realatively flat except for one big drainage (Bonita Creek?) we had to cross. We're gonna take a little rest here before we start up to the Esplanade. It looks pretty good though and we should be up there by noon. Robin, Sue and Tom are all doing pretty well with the hike out so far.

12:05 - Thunder River Trail, Esplanade

Well, were on the Esplanade rim. We still have a little more climbing to do from here to really be on top but its close enough. It's flat, there are nice rocks and a nice tree and this is where we are stopping for lunch. We're still doing good time wise are probaly only have about am hour to go to get to our water cache and camp for the night from here.

We were lucky in that some clouds came in and blocked out the sun for most of the time while we were doing that last climb. There is also a stiff breeze blowing and it was actually quite chilly when the sun was hidden if you didnt keep moving. Im gonna have to break the sweatshirt out soon I think.

15:00 - Esplanade camp II

We started hiking again just after 1:00 and arrived back at our water cache just after 2:00. All of our water was still there! Good campsites on the other hand were few and far between. Sue and Tom took the one that I used last time I was here and Robin and I found one that will do up on a little hill. Its not perfectly flat and its a tight fit for the tent but it will do. There is lots of that crypto-biotic soil in the area and there is no way to walk anywhere in a straight line because of having to detour around it. Anyone watching me walk around would probably think I was drunk or something.

There have been some storms blowing around on the north rim and for a while one of them fell off of the rim and into the Esplanade and looked like it was heading right for it. I found some overhangs in the slick rock I was ready to gather the group under to wait for it to pass and then all of a sudden the wind took it off in another direction. Shortly after that we actually saw a few snow flakes. It's weird because it is not THAT cold and that was not a single cloud overhead. The flakes must have just blown down from the rim.

16:40 - Esplanade camp II

I went out and wandered around on top of the slick rock for a while and took some photos. I found an awesome campsite only about 80 feet or so from where we camped. It is nestled between a Pinyon pine and Utah juniper and has a nice bed of pine needles. Its obviously been used before but maybe not in a long while. It is very hard to spot from the trail because of lots of brush in front of it and you really have to go up the drainage a little to see it and get into it. I will need to remember it for future visits to the area.

It's time to start dinner, our last freeze dried meal. We are all dreaming about cheeseburgers for lunch up at Jacob Lake tomorrow. LOL! The simple things in life.

20:00 - Esplanade camp II

I went out for a while after dinner to watch the sunset from the Esplanade. It was absolutely gorgeous with all of the different colors on the clouds and the cliffs and the slick rock. I think it's going to be a cold night though. It is very chilly out right now but luckily the wind we had earlier in the day has died down. Still I know the temperature is going to continue to drop and we are just going to have to hunker down in the sleeping bags.

The plan for tomorrow is to be on the trail at 6 again. Sue and Tom are doing were well on the uphill portions and I expect to be back on the rim by noon or maybe a little later. Cheeseburger, fries and Diet Coke for lunch! Woo Hoo!