We left the trees behind at Evolution Lake. Our landscape was high elevation granite dotted with lakes and covered in rock rubble. From back at the Evolution Creek crossing, at elevation 8,486 feet, and at 15 miles from Muir Pass, we had climbed two switchback sectionsand hiked upward continuously. From Wanda Lake, we only had 1.2 miles and a gain of 465 feet to arrive at Muir Pass elevation 11,991 feet.
What a Morning! To me the surroundings at our campsite looked like Ellesmere Island in Arctic Canada, a place I long to visit. We had been so lucky. No rain. No lightning. No snow. Here we go up granite feature with lakes, tarns and cirques as company. And water, plenty of water.
Robin told me how she her maintained a steady pace no matter what the terrain. Her pace keeps her well ahead of me. So, I tried to find the pace that can keep me going up steadily without stopping. I certainly haven’t perfected it, but I’m improving.
And it seemed in no time we reached Muir Hut. Following the obligatory poses and pictures we were ready to climb down. Looking down the hill, we faced the truth. There were many patches of tricky terrain ahead. Ankle breaking rocks large and small served as detours around unstable snow patches obscuring the trail. Robin does not like downhill, and damn if she didn’t fall. We both were feeling low. Our diets were lacking. So, we stopped and set up the stove right on the trail. We chose to make the only freeze-dried breakfast we had. It tasted like the packaging. We it to our garbage at the bottom of my bear canister.
A young male hiker stopped to talk to us. He had a hiker’s guitar and looked friendly and one with the trail. However, his girlfriend had gone ahead because he was suffering from intestinal destress brought on by his trail food. Also, he had just lost his job as a music teacher. It was an opportunity to develop his next career: freeze dried hummus. It was all about the marketing. This was hiker humus. Look for it soon.
Back on the trail we faced a snow slide straight down executed by glissading. We faced so many features with roiling, fast water lapping close to our safety. Then it seemed in a mere in a few steps we were surrounded by a bucolic forest.
The clouds started billowing up and tinging dark. We checked our raingear and concluded it was paltry. If we proceeded, we’d get soaked. It started spitting just as we came upon a camp with many possible sites. It was empty and Robin picked the perfect site under some tree branches. In short time, we were joined by six or seven or ten, who knows, PCT hikers. The rain seemed quelled.Our tent neighbor had joined his daughter for a two-week stint on her PCT journey. When I found out he was a Trust Attorney, I asked if I could ask him some questions. He pulled up a rock and said he’d give me a consultation. Then, to make sure I’d remember his words, he made a transcript on my phone. Trail magic at the end of the day.
Mountain Peace 