Day 55 - Glen Pass

(Originally written on Sunday, June 28)

I moved very slowly today. For starters, my body just needed to recover from the past two days of intense ups and downs. Since Tom, Cobie, and Spencer--the three guys I've been hiking with for the past week--were heading off the trail to Independence for a resupply, I elected to take an easy day and sleep in. So I didn't end up starting to hike until 11 this morning. I took the extra time to have a decent breakfast (instead of just a Pop Tart) and I aired out my sleeping bag, etc. It was stuff that needed to be done.

Right off the bat, however, I had a substantial climb up the side of a mountain to a trail junction. Then I began my ascent towards Glen Pass at 11,978'. I got there sometime around 2 pm I think and had lunch before descending down toward Rae Lakes. And what a sight it was! I'm not kidding when I say that Rae Lakes is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It must be. The color of the water, the grass...everything! And of course, granite cliffs surround the lakes.

So for the first half of the day, I was moving slowly because I had to. But after that I moved slowly because I wanted to, taking photos along the way. (I even got a snapshot of a 5-point buck that even seemed to pose for me.)

It would have been a nearly perfect day if the mosquitos that I ran into at a creek crossing a couple miles before camp hadn't been the most bloodthirsty beasts I've ever encountered. As it is, I'm camped at Woods Creek (elevation 8,492' and Mile 800!) and have a big day tomorrow. It's the first time I've been under 9'000' in nearly a week, but I won't be here for long. Tomorrow I'll be hitting a huge climb first thing and going up to 12,130' (Pinchot Pass) in just over 7 miles. It's gonna be a tough one. Then after that I head down almost 2,000' before heading back up to cross Mather Pass at 12,100' about 10 miles later. It's definitely gonna be a long day, but when it's done--should I be successful--then I'll have hit the last point on the PCT over 12,000'.