Pushing out of Shasta early Benji and I had 15 miles to walk to reach our planned destination for an on trail zero. It turned out to be an incredibly challenging day despite the low mileage due to intense heat and Sierra level climbs. 14 miles in we left the trail to cross over toward a lake we will stay by. I particularly enjoy exploring other trails finding a heightened sense of excitement doing so. The lake turned out to be more like a pond than expected and less remote too. But the views are spectacular with a larger lake below and Mt. Shasta beyond that. We will camp the night here and decide in the morning where to spend the day.