Just as we started our hike we came across a butterfly sunning himself on the trail. Soon, we passed the crystal cascade and began the long climb up the rocky trail to the hermit lake shelter. Just before we reached the shelter we crossed over a brook and finally made it to the hut. We decided to take a break, like everyone else, before we began our climb. The hut offers a lot of information about the area and has a great view of the ravine.

The ridge above the ravine is mostly flat and is where many of the alpine plants grow. This is where we took most of our  flora pictures. Passing the Alpine Garden trail we soon reconnected with the Tuckermans Ravine trail and rested for a while before we began our hike back to the car. Again, the views looking into the ravine were awesome. We could clearly see the trail to the cabin and the ridge that leads up to the Boot Spur (soon to be Mt Reagan).

The trail down the headwall was very steep. We had to watch our footing because of the loose rocks and melting snow. In one spot we had to pass through some big snow boulders that looked liked they could slip at any moment. Eventually we made it back to the cabin where we could look back and see where we had been just a short time ago.  After another break we soon packed up and headed down the trail back to the car. By the end of the day we were both beat, but enjoyed every minute of our time above tree line.