We woke up to another beautiful sunny day, with a bit of a tailwind! Joe and I went ahead quite a ways just because we were so excited to get to Kluane Lake. While we waited for the Michaels to catch up, we waited at a rest area and ate a few cookies. The view of the lake was spectacular, and the best part is that we would be riding next to it for quite a while. We had a pretty long down hill to the lake and then we turned into a headwind off the ice fields. The views all around us were just so incredible. There was the crystal clear turquoise lake with beautiful mountains to the one side and then huge snow covered mountains to another. As I was riding, I kept taking pictures in hopes that it would capture how amazing the scenery really is, but the pictures just don't compare. At one point, I saw a bald eagle in a tree pretty close to the road. I took a few pictures and was able to get off my bike to get closer to take a couple more without him flying away. He was still sitting in the tree when I left. We crossed a bridge over Slim River that feeds into the lake as we rounded around one end of the lake. Shortly after, there was a visitor information center. We stopped there in hopes of finding some information out about going on a hike in the area. The ladies inside were really nice and one of them even knew who the Ritchie family was. They told us about the trails in the area and we were excited that we would get to go on a hike today! Since it was already lunch time, we sat at the picnic tables and made some mac and cheese before getting ready for the hike. We left some of our bags right there at the visitor center because Papa Mike was going to stay there while we were hiking (we had a mile and a half ride down a very bumpy/holey gravel road to get to the start of the trail). After the not so easy ride to get to the trail, Joey hid our bikes in the woods and Michael did the same. The trail we hiked was called Sheep Creek Trail. It was mostly uphill, but was only moderate climbing. As we got higher higher the view of the mountains and thee river below got better and better. We could see the very end of a glacier off in the distance, but couldn't get a really good look of it because there was a bit of a haze in the air. We later found out from the Rangers that that haze that is all around is from a forest fire in Siberia. It sure was nice to get to work our legs in a different way for a change. Michael was really excited about the hike, but once we started it that excitement was gone. He said he had never done anything like that before and therefore didn't know how hard it was going to be. He was ready to give up and just wait for us to hike up and get him on the way back, but, he pushed through and made it to the top with us. We did a little "off trail hiking" just so we could go to the top of one of the hills before we started heading back. I'm glad that Michael was able to go the whole way with us, even if he didn't want to at first. Overall we hiked a little over 6 miles and had an elevation gain of about 1400 feet. It took us 3-4 hours, plus the ride back to the visitor information center. Papa Mike was there waiting and said he had a very relaxing rest. The three of us on the other hand were pretty tired, and hungry. We made a can of beans for dinner at the picnic tables again before heading down the road a ways to find a spot to camp. The tailwind we had was amazing and the road had flattened out nicely as it wound along the edge of the lake. A few miles down the road, we found a perfect spot that had its own little private beach and everything. We got our tents all set up and Joey and I ended up making a little oatmeal because we were still hungry. I went to wash off in the water because my legs and feet had gotten really dirty on the hike from all of the dust. I don't think I have ever seen water in a lake so clear before. It was just as clear if not more clear than tap water, but boy was it cold. I didn't stand in the water very long for fear my toes would freeze right off. The wind was still pretty strong, but the good thing about that was that it kept the bugs away. There was some kind of little building down near where we were camping that we used to hang our food (the trees are so short now that it's really hard to find a good one to use to hang the food). I sure was tired by the time we went to bed. Although I had another fantastic day, I was still sad to have missed Kevin's wedding back home. I hope his special day was as perfect as he hoped for. As awful as it is to have to miss things like this, I guess it's the things that we have to give up that make this trip all the more meaningful in the end. We rode 31.31 miles today (and hiked 6).
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