I don't know how I came across this article, but I am very glad I did! I just wanted to say that it was a delight and inspiration reading about your trek. Also, if I'm not wrong, the route that you took with the lakes you mentioned passing by on your first day, probably are Gilbert Lake, Flower Lake, Heart Lake, the Big and Little Pothole Lakes, probably along with others in the area, which water is most probably snowmelt from snow in the surrounding mountain ranges, fed into the lakes by tributary streams that usually dry up when water levels run low, and so they appear to have no source at times. I'm just a student, not a professional geologist, but I have been doing some reading on my own time on the geology of the area and thought I would share it. Thank you again for sharing your story!