We climbed up the last three miles to the top of Silver Pass. It was a beautiful climb for sure.
On the way down, there wasn't much snow, but we sure made use of the 50 feet or so...
Instead of dropping waaaaaaay down 3000 feet like usual, we spent the rest of the day climbing and dropping up and over different passes, traversing mountainsides, and having constant small ups and downs. I shouldn't say TOO small, look at these switchbacks!
Soon we came across Virginia Lake. It was so beautiful, like out of a fairy tale!
After that we climbed up and over a few small passes and then up a long ascent to a beautiful traverse on the side of a mountain. Across the valley was a range of perfectly placed snow-capped peaks. It was amazing..
We had left camp at around 9:30am, so to make up for the "late" start, we hiked hard and long into the afternoon. As the sun was setting on our last full day in trail, we came across a great milestone:
About a mile later we arrived at Deer Creek, and fittingly, saw a few deer. We cooked Pad Thai which Orion had given us for our last supper, and drank hot chocolate :) The mosquitos weren't bad, it was a good night!
Today we went 18.93 miles!! This was definitely the most taxing day on our bodies. We went up AND down over 4,000 feet today, making our total elevation change for the day about 8,300 feet! Way to go out with a bang huh? Tomorrow we do an easy, downhill 6 miles into Reds Meadows, where we'll catch a bus into Mammoth to celebrate!!
-Thanks for reading!
That Claire! Wowzah!
ReplyDeleteLove the panoramic one of Virginia Lake.
Those switchbacks look SUPER tedious...yet beautiful.
Love the shot of you looking out over the landscape.
Congratulations on 900 miles little brother. So amazing. I can't even...
Thank you :)
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