Sunday, June 21—Day 60

By 7 am, today was the worst day I’ve had out here.

Woke up to a cold, cold morning after drifting in and out of a cold, cold night. Breakfast was an experiment: couscous soaked in cold water instead of hot, to save fuel. It was edible, but the morning air turned the water residue in my pot to frost before I could clean it. I went back to my tent and tried to pull out the stakes, but two of them were frozen into the ground, and I broke one of the loops on my rain fly trying to pull one out. Frustrated, I left them in the ground and packed up without them.

Our first few miles took us to a wide stream with no easy way across. Tom and Jerry rolled up their pant legs and forded it in their socks and shoes. The thought of soaking my boots when they’d finally dried, and then squishing around in the cold was too much for me.

I found an almost complete line of rocks going from one side to the other. There was just one step missing. I pulled a rock out of the hillside and tossed it in. It splashed perfectly into place. Success! I stepped onto the first rock, the second (my addition) and then the third. “This is going to work,” I thought. It wasn’t. The third rock was coated in a sheet of ice. As I began to slip, I leapt back to the second rock. It shifted under my weight, and I lost my balance and fell in. FURIOUS, I forded the stream as Tom and Jerry had, with socks and boots on. By now, they were long gone, and I squished up the trail on frozen feet, half soaked and never angrier at the Sierras!

After I caught up with Tom and Jerry, we made our way up Muir Pass, the last of the big mountain passes. It was a long walk on ice-coated snow to the top, but we made it. There is a stone shack at the top dedicated to the memory of John Muir, whose trail we’ve been hiking for the last week or so. The inside is just a round room with a bench encircling the perimeter, and a blocked-off fireplace. We stayed long enough to eat some snacks and take a few pictures, and then headed down the other side of the pass.

The trail took us past mountain lakes and through beautiful meadows. Later in the evening, we hit the Evolution Creek Crossing. The water was flowing fast and strong, and there was no way across, except to ford. Unfortunately, the water was too deep for rolled up pant legs. There was only one option. We took off our pants and waded in bare-assed, one at a time. The water came up to our waists, and the current almost pulled me off balance. We made it across all right, although very cold.

The rest of the day was easy. We found a good campsite at an established campground and had a fire, the first one all our own. I feel good about things right now. Just one more big day, and then we go into Vermillion Valley Resort. G’night.