We enjoyed camping three nights at Thousand Island Lake to allow us two days for day hikes - it is always nice to not have to break camp each morning, we could hike without our packs, and also explore some areas off the beaten path (we did see a few other people when we hiked North Glacier Pass/Lake Catherine the prior day and did not see anyone else at Marie Lakes - I think most people hiking the JMT are trying to make miles and aren’t making any extraneous side trips). Our destination for today was Marie Lakes, around twelve miles round trip and 2600 feet elevation gain from Thousand Island Lake. We hiked from our campsite back to the junction with the JMT and turned north to head to Island Pass (~1.7 miles) and the turn off to Marie Lakes (~2.2 miles). From the turnoff we had around two miles and 900 feet to climb. After an initial ascent we entered a pretty basin with a lot of streams and green. We took a moment to appreciate the views and continued on the trail that switchbacked up the granite ridge. The views just got better and better and finally we were at an overlook of Marie Lakes with awesome views of the Ritter and Cathedral ranges. Steve went down to the lake and he looked so tiny on the rocks. We had a long break here to soak in the views then retraced our steps back to the JMT and Thousand Island Lake. Marie Lakes was a terrific day hike!