u/Adventurous-Cap-6674

Definitely a mix of genuinely incredible games and some healthy nostalgia, but I’ll always happily go back to these 25 games.

I made a post before this trip asking for advice on how to handle the weather. It couldn’t have ended up any better! Huge thanks to everyone who replied and gave me the confidence to lead planning this trip.

We did 3 days, 2 nights, and roughly 22 miles.

Day 1:
We started around 10 AM since I heard Alice lake fills up pretty quickly. We ended up hiking the 6 miles faster than we expected and got to camp at 1. We had a relaxing evening of hacky sacking, swimming, and exploring the area. The lake barely filled up and I wanna say there were no more than 4-5 other groups camping there (it was a Monday night so that probably helped).

Day 2:
We go heading to Farley lake around 9 AM. I don’t think any of us expected this day to be as brutal as it was haha. The first incline was incredible - probably the highlight of the trip for me. The view of the mountains and the twin lakes was breathtaking. Our bodies were hurting when we started but we quickly got used to it and made some really good time with minimal pain. Had a quick snack break at Toxaway which was much more impressive than I expected! Then we started the real challenge. Roughly 1000 feet of elevation gain, I wanna say we made it to the top in roughly an hour and a half, though my memory could be wrong. Brutal switchbacks and no clouds so the sun was cooking us. I can’t complain too much, though, as the view just seemed to get better and better. We eventually made it to Edith lake for lunch and then finished the day off with a should couple miles to Farley lake. This lake had almost nobody else camping. We heard some pretty faint music a little later but nothing too bothersome!

Day 3:
Got moving pretty early as I had an afternoon flight to catch in SLC. As I have said before, the trail was again absolutely beautiful. I didn’t expect to be impressed on these last 5 miles but the Sawtooths did not disappoint. Made it back to our car in time to get a Costco hotdog and made it to my gate right before boarding!

Overall, the trip was absolutely perfect. Thanks again to everyone who had given me advice on bear storage and weather.