After climbing Mt Daniel I drop down and camp by beautiful Venus Lake. In the morning I pack up and head for the saddle to the west of the lake. Today's objectives are Mt Hinman and scenic LaBohn Gap. From the saddle I drop 3 or 4 hundred feet and work my way on a rising traverse toward the Daniel-Hinman saddle. Above me as I glance up to my right are the grotesque shapes of the towers and buttresses of Daniel's southwest slopes. Would hate to have to climb up through those scary pillars.
Time really starts to drag as I approach the saddle. Maybe I should have just dropped way down on a more direct route toward Hinman instead of trying to conserve as much elevation as possible. This is the endless game of mountaineers... which route will get me to my destination with the least expenditure of energy and in the shortest possible time. I feel like I really blew it this time but I finally round the bulge of Hinman's southeast slopes and see the summit ridge above me - still quite a ways to go.
More later.
