Horton River Valley We woke up in another beautiful campsite with more fantastic weather. It was warm before we started on the river. Breakfast of assorted cold cereals and bacon. I found a grizzly footprint in camp, but it was a few days old. Two picas watched as we finished breakfast, but then became more interested in each other.

Great scenery along the river--trees, hills, golden cliffs with large eagle nests. I took photos as the other boats passed by the cliffs. For much of the morning, the current was very slow, and we had a slight headwind. We had lunch opposite a cliff with an eagle’s nest.

During the afternoon, we had an unsuccessful search for tent rings following sketchy directions. Anyway, it was a nice break from paddling. Marilyn jumped in the river for a quick swim, wearing all her clothes.

The hills are lower, and the river opened up around the area where the Whaleman River came in. We are camped about 4K below the Whaleman. A nice camp with a view of the river and hills beyond. Most of us went for a swim/wash.

Robin whipped up a delicious curry dinner, and then we had belated 4th of July brownies with red, white, and blue sprinkles. We sat around and talked safety and strategy for running the rapids. Giggles from the girls’ tent as I write.

Another great day!