Enjoyed a cup of coffee to one of the more gorgeous sunrises I’ve had on-trail. Once it rose above the horizon, the intense sun was proper motivation to pack up camp and be on my way. Deer Lake had several campsites; one large one was occupied by a sheep herder.

The views were the highlight of the day—and they were endless. With numerous ponds and lakes along the way, water was plentiful. I’m very thankful to have had great weather yesterday and today. On one occasion, sheep dogs at a distant camp barked at my, but never got closer than more than 100 yards as I hiked by.

Toward the end of the day, the route I plotted turns onto the Lost Solar Trail. There’s a sign where the trail turns, but no visible sign of an actual trail and very little indication of where it leads. Trusting my maps and my sense of direction, I navigated toward where I expected the trail should be, and about a half mile later, a path—looking more like a game trail—appeared, eventually followed by a more established trail. Staying right of the creek is a GOOD idea. It did look like a similar trail had formed on the left side further downstream.

The intersection where the NOCO route turns onto the Nicolas Creek Trail can be slightly confusing. On the map, the trail appears to take a left turn, but it’s more of a straight-downhill move across the creek. Once across, stay on the left side of the creek heading downhill. There is another trail going left uphill—that’s the other route down the Lost Solar Trail on the left side of the creek. Both work.

I hiked a few more miles before finding a suitable camping location—a mostly level but lumpy site capable of holding a few tents.