Day 2 Leman Lake Campground to Burstall Parking Lot, 12.5 km, 582 m Elevation Gain, 549 m Elevation Loss, 5 hrs 15 min.
Everyone enjoyed a solid nights sleep. We were fortunate to have the tent in the trees as the shade from the sun allowed us the opportunity to sleep in. We had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. The dogs had the same meal they would of had at home including their pills and a dose of Metacam for Links to give his shoulders a bit of a break on the downhill that would follow after the pass. We were packed up by 8:50 am and after posing for quick group photo were off. The morning was spectacular with the sun shining in a bluebird sky.
Progress was quick for the first 2 km as we stayed in the valley bottom gaining very little elevation. After 30 minutes we came across a small wetlands and the dogs enjoyed a nice drink.
Once we left the wetlands the trail quickly turned left and started heading uphill. We would gain the bulk of the day’s elevation of 400m over the next 3.2 km. Following our route from yesterday the trail cut through a densely vegetated stretch passed some small trees before opening up as we gained elevation.
We entered the alpine at 11:00 am and arrived at Burstall Pass at 11:15 am. We had been hiking for 2 hrs 20 minutes and had covered 5.3 km and had gained just under 500 m of elevation. The rest of the trip would be downhill to the car.
The trip back to the car was quite quick. We did stop to snack but we never did stop for lunch. We arrived at the glacial outflow 90 minutes after leaving the pass. The blue skies gave a better view of the Robertson Glacier and surrounding peaks.
It took just a little over an hour to make the easy walk from the outflow back to the parking lot. We arrived back at the car at 2:10 pm. It was a fun quick trip to a little campground and the views heading over Burstall Pass were spectacular. Heading out for a backpacking trip is always a good idea. While this was Volcano’s first backpacking trip it would be Links’ penultimate trip so I am doubly glad we went.
