The trail leveled out through Cherry Valley as it made its way toward a bench whereupon Piute Lake lie. As I was crossing a particularly open area, the rain caught up to me and did its durnedest to soak me. I finally came upon a juniper tree that provided some shelter. I put the cover on my pack and sought even better shelter under a nearby Lodgepole. It's actually raining in this picture, but you can't really tell.

If anyone goes past this Lodgepole, which is near a juniper with a large rock next to it, pick up the lens cap from my Olympus, will you? It fell off my camera at this very spot. A Lazuli Bunting came out of the bushes to dry off after the rain stopped. Soon, Cathy and Ramona arrived with their ponchos over their packs, looking like a couple of bugs, a red one and a blue one. Too bad I missed the photo opportunity, for both the Bunting and the two bugs.

A short distance after this spot, we arrived at Piute Lake. It didn't look very appetizing to drink as its water was rather tea colored, but it was a pretty lake. I took this shot, right after we chatted with a guy who was camped at the upper end. We decided to have lunch at the far end, in the grove of trees to the right of the lake in this picture.

I took a panorama of the lake when we reached the west shore.

Then, I decided to take another one that included the cliff looming over the lake and the field of flowers growing in the grassy margin.

Ramona again cooled her feet in the tranquil lake waters.

She also snapped our picture looking about as good as it gets after 6 days on the trail.

Coming out of the cirque that held Piute Lake, the trail ascended a small ridge. Looking back toward the lake, which is in the trees just beyond the opening, I snapped this photo of Cherry Creek Canyon heading off to the left.

As I crested the ridge, I paused to photograph Buck Meadow Creek canyon to the south.

The trail then began its descent abruptly into Piute Creek canyon and Piute Meadow. A view of the meadow provided a good photo opportunity before long. The meadow itself was still quite a ways down.

By the time we got to Piute Creek crossing, the clouds had gone, the sun was out and it was hot. I dumped my pack at a horse camp and looked for campsites. Finding none better, we decided to use it for our one night stay at Piute Meadows. I found myself a nice pool on the "stream" to take a dip. The stream flowed at about a quart per hour at this point. It wasn't appealing for drinking, but for a dip it was delightful.