As you get above tree line, the views to your rear (East) are great. You can easily see across the basin. As you go up, each lake you passed earlier that day comes into view. Water so clear and clean you can see the bottom, even at this distance.
I was expecting to see fishermen fishing at each lake along the way. It surprised me to find only a few at each lake. Most of the fishermen stayed at the lowest of lakes. There was a lot of activity around Blue, Red and Middle Lake when we started out.
We actually had the trail, to the summit all to ourselves. The only exception was a single kid on his bike that was trying to make it to Upper Frog Lake ahead of us. He only got to Cooney before running out of traction and headed back.
Once we got over the pass we ran into our first group of fisher people. It was a group of young kids that hiked to Summit Lake to fish for the day. Between the 6 of them, they only caught 1 fish. Some were having a heck of a time getting over the summit.
|  Looking East Almost at Tree Line |
 Looking East at the Trail Below
Funny thing, you can see it looking back
You can’t see it walking up to it |  Toby & I Going Over the Pass
He’s Walking Between My Legs |
 Bob Working His Way Down the Pass |
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 Panorama Shot just over the Summit
Hover Lakes are below the ridge on the right
Summit Lake is on the left |
 Taking a Rest at the Bottom of the Pass
| Once you get over the pass you are in for a great view of Summit Lake, shown at the left of the picture, and the mountains above Hover Lakes. You start walking down a series of fairly steep switchbacks, then the trail tapers off once you get back to tree line.
We found a nice spot to take a rest along the side of a stream under a group of trees. Finally not a sound in the world. Only the noise of the stream that was flowing out of one of the snow packs near the pass we just went over.
So far the sky was clear to the west with some dark clouds coming at us from the north east. The weather report called for a chance of light rain, but nothing that would hang around. At this point we thought the shower would go around us to the east.
After a short rest we headed down the mountain. Once we reached the junction of Summit and Hover Lakes, we decided to head down to Hover Lakes. We found a nice place to setup a base camp about 1/2 mile from the Summit Lake junction and Upper Hover Lake.
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 We’re Still Resting - Toby’s Ready to Go |
 A Great Camp Site |
It was actually a perfect location. Water near by and we could setup our tents just off the main trail making it easy to go in either direction to fish. The ground was fairly flat with a nice layer of grass that would make sleeping cozy.
Checking for Rain
After setting up camp, and a quick lunch, we set off for Gilman Lake. We stopped at both Hover Lakes along the way to fish.
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 Walking Along Upper Hover Lake
Looking for a Place to Fish |
We got as far as Lower Hover Lake and on our way to Gilman Lake when it started to rain. It was a light rain, but we both left our tents open. We didn't want to sleep in a water bed, so we headed back to camp. By the time we reached camp, it had stopped raining. Close enough to dinner time so we decided to eat an early meal, just in case it started raining again.
Well the rain stayed away. Just looked like it was going to pour any time. The wind was kicking up and getting cooler. Time to break out the jackets and a good book to kick back and enjoy the evening. After a while we got a nice fire going which warmed us up nicely.
There was almost a full moon out, but because of the cloud cover it was playing hide-n-seak. Bob did try and take a picture of it, however it was getting so cold he shook too much for him to get a good picture.
About the time we were ready to hit the sack, it started raining. And I mean RAINING. The wind kicked up again along with the temperature dropping. We were hoping to awake in the morning and spending the day fishing along the way to Green Lake, or as far as we could get and back before dark.
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It couldn’t have been worse. About a mile into the start of the hike, I started feeling real bad and by the time we had made camp, I was feeling worse then ever. At the time I could not figure out what was making me feel this way. It also hit me on the Grand Canyon trip, but not this bad. Robin actually figured out what was happening when we got back home. The High Protein Bars I took along on both trips had Soy Lecithin, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Sacralose, and 3 different Soy Protein Isolates, which all combined makes for a great natural laxative. That was my main source of food at the start and along the trail. I also had one bar the night before, just to make sure they tasted good, which they did.....BUT. By the time we reached camp I had already eaten 3 and had another for dinner. Now with the rain, I was really in trouble and in for a very long night.
Bob hollered over to me about 6am. It pored down rain all night and our camp site was getting very soggy. We decided we should head back, there was no since hanging around in such bad weather. So we made plans to break camp at 8am unless the rain stopped sooner. About an hour later Bob asked “I wonder if there’s any snow on the pass.” Oh SHIT, it did get cold enough during the night, and the rain never let up. That was a real possibility I had not thought of. Well we could not wait till 8am. We needed to hit the trail ASAP. We both had been getting our packs ready while inside our tents, so it didn't take long to get out into the rain and breakdown our tents. By the time we hoisted our packs, we were soaked. As we started up the switchbacks, the rain turned into hail. The wind was blowing the hail almost horizontal. Not bad when the hail was hitting your back. Toby was not enjoying the walk over the pass at all. He didn’t even stop to smell the bushes.
About the time we reached to summit, it stopped hailing. Wind was still blowing and we were glad that the hail was not sticking to the ground. When we got about over the pass is started sprinkling. which actually was a nice change from the hail.
Even though we were soaked, we still could enjoy the views along the way. Below you can see some of the sites we saw. The Old Miners Cabin is even listed on the map as such.
A rather uneventful hike back to the trailhead. We did miss the junction to the trailhead and ended up in Trumbull Campground. To avoid this, we should have taken a left turn down the unmarked trail junction at Blue Lake. Added about a half mile to our return trip and we were a bit surprised to walk into a campground. Instead of pulling out the map or GPS, which were both in the bottom of my pack, we asked directions.
When we reached the car, it didn't take long to get everything loaded up. We then headed to Bridgeport for breakfast. Even Toby hopped in the car without any problems. He was ready to get home. He slept under the packs most of the way.
|  Heading Out
Looking Back Through the Rain |
 Water Break Near the Top |
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As you can see from the photos, you should be able to locate the pass or trail to the pass way before you get to it. This is a really hard one to figure out your first time on the trail. As shown in the picture, the pass is just to the right of the notch. You can’t see the trail going along the right (south) side of the mountain until you get on it. It just blends in. Once you get passed Upper Frog Lake you are into the shale all along the (south) edge of the mountain as you head west. You don’t get out of it until the trail heads south. At this point the trail to the summit becomes visible for the first time.
