A 3 day, 2 night October backpacking trip to Upper Lena Lake. We spent the first night at Upper Lena Lake and had intended to cross over St. Peter's Gate, spend the second night at Lake of the Angels and complete the loop back to our car via the Putvin tail. However, a closeup inspection of St. Peter's Gate and its north-facing snowfield ( actually, ice at this point!) convinced us that we hadn't brought the gear to climb it, so we turned around, spent the second night at Deerheart Lake, and hiked out the next morning by the same trail we had come in on.

The fall colors were at their peak, the huckleberries were ripe and plentiful, and the weather kept us guessing with it's mixture of clouds, sun and shadow, snow and freezing temperatures.

An invigorating trip, indeed!