The trail briefly meets the lakeshore again at about 4.5 miles, then heads back into the forest as it climbs across the low Cement Hills north of Shoshone Lake. In the distance, the hills drop down to DeLacy Creek. The DeLacy Creek trail meets the lake at the point on the extreme right side of the photo, about 1.5 miles from this point by trail. As I walked the beach along this section, I kept a sharp lookout for bear sign, but didn't see any fresh evidence of bear being in the area. This is not ordinarily a time of year when Griz frequent the region, but it's important to remember that the Great Bear doesn't necessarily set its schedule by the human calendar. On the trip back out a few days later, I'd have cause to remember that fact as I passed through the woods in this photo.

In the photo below, the Red Mountain range, including Mt. Sheridan, rise in the distance, southeast of Shoshone Lake. I'd be hiking into that region in a few days to spend some time at Heart Lake. Snow had blanketed the range, along the low ridges around Shoshone Lake, the day before I made this trip.

The Lewis Channel that links Shoshone Lake to Lewis Lake exits Shoshone Lake in the low point of the distant lakeshore, in front of the snowy Red Mountains. The Channel provides a popular route of access for the many paddlers that visit Shoshone Lake. Shoshone Lake is a paddler-only body of water that is up to 240 feet deep, and it covers over 8,000 acres in the southern portion of Yellowstone.

The Pitchstone Plateau is visible in the photo as a long dark ridge along the south shore of the Lake.