>>2718110Here's where things start to get interesting. Not even five minutes away from the lean-to, I ran into a group of campers by the lake. I was having trouble finding the trail to the second lean-to, so I asked them if they knew where it was and how far it was. I think they could sense my dismay when they told me it was another mile and a half away (remember, I'm still pretty much a beginner there is snow everywhere) and offered to let me stay for a bit to catch my breath.
Coincidentally, these were the same guys that had parked right next to me when I just arrived at the trailhead. After chatting a bit and having some food together, I helped them set up the rest of their camp and get a fire going. These guys were all rolling with hammocks and they had two extra tarps to use, so they laid one down for me to use as a ground sheet and created a makeshift tarp lean-to using the other one. We stayed up late shooting the crap around the fire and when it came time for bed, I was surprised at how comfortable my sleep system was despite doing the absolutely minimum to prepare for it (I just bought a NEMO Switchback to layer under my cheap Amazon sleeping pad and Marmot sleeping bag I borrowed from my brother in law). Had it been windy though, it would have been over for me.
The next morning, I'm the second awake and one of the other guys already got the fire going. Sleep wasn't the greatest but it could have been much, much worse. We kill time waiting for the eclipse to begin by chatting, eating, chilling, packing up, and keeping the fire going all day; and when the hour drew near and the first sign of the moon passing over the sun appeared, we all waited in anticipation was we watched intently.
