Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Hiking Uphill: 2,492ft
Hiking Downhill: 903ft
Distance Hiked: 12 miles
Post by Melissa:
We wake up and I check my blister on my hand and was happy to see the thread technique worked! There was just one issue...the thread was stuck in my skin. I had to pull really hard to get it out of my hand. But I was happy to see the fluid was gone and it never did return.
We are off to another late start today...this time we set off at 10:30am. Maybe instead of saying late start we just agree that our new routine is to leave mid morning. haha...we just can't seem to pack quickly despite getting up early!
Today we are approaching Muir Pass and I know we have a lot of uphill climbing in store. In this section of the Sierras we need to climb over a pass nearly everyday. It can be a bit intimidating looking out into the horizon and seeing endless mountains and knowing you have to get over them one way or another. The Sierras are taking a lot longer than expected. We had originally thought we would be doing 15 mile days consecutively but that was not the case! The Sierras seem to have a way of slowing you down.
We see a pretty lizard sunning itself in the early morning hours. You don't see many lizards in this section of the trail so it was nice to capture this one on film.
We enter another burn zone while hiking. I'm in awe at how long it takes the forest to recover...many, many, maaaannnnny years...
Around lunch time the clouds rolled in which kept the temperatures cooler and provided some nice relief from the direct sun. We had ran out of sunscreen wipes and were trying to reuse one from the day before but that wasn't working out to well. The break from the sun was nice!
More scenery pictures
We ran into some JMT'ers on the trail who said those in the back of the pack looked like they were having more fun than those speeding ahead. I'm guessing she was referring to us in her back of the pack reference and I can agree...those going slower and taking their time to enjoy the Sierras are having more fun! Plus, my feet just can't go any faster right now and there are a lot of fish to be caught. :-)
It started raining off and on so we stopped and put on our pack covers to keep our gear dry.
We saw tons of beautiful waterfalls this day...they were everywhere. It's refreshing to see so much water in the Sierras. A much needed change from the bone dry dessert :-)
These purple flowers smell amazing. Nick had picked one and gave it to me (que romantico!). I pinned it to my backpack strap so I could appreciate the smell as we hiked.
Notice the trail hugging the right side of the rock.
At lunchtime we stopped at the creek and I tried to fish but I caught my lure in a tree. After struggling to free it I decided to skip the fishing and just eat my food.
More scenery pictures
Beautiful picture taken by Nick!
We took a foot break a few miles short of Muir Pass and while we were there it started to rain. We decided to call it a day and set up our tent and get inside to stay dry and warm. While we were in our tent we saw this deer outside nibbling on the bushes. He was so close to us. It's incredible to be "this" close to nature!
Nick did make a trip out to the river to do his laundry before we settled in and called it a night. It was nice to be settled in way before the sun went down.
Hiking Uphill: 2,492ft
Hiking Downhill: 903ft
Distance Hiked: 12 miles
We wake up and I check my blister on my hand and was happy to see the thread technique worked! There was just one issue...the thread was stuck in my skin. I had to pull really hard to get it out of my hand. But I was happy to see the fluid was gone and it never did return.
We are off to another late start today...this time we set off at 10:30am. Maybe instead of saying late start we just agree that our new routine is to leave mid morning. haha...we just can't seem to pack quickly despite getting up early!
Today we are approaching Muir Pass and I know we have a lot of uphill climbing in store. In this section of the Sierras we need to climb over a pass nearly everyday. It can be a bit intimidating looking out into the horizon and seeing endless mountains and knowing you have to get over them one way or another. The Sierras are taking a lot longer than expected. We had originally thought we would be doing 15 mile days consecutively but that was not the case! The Sierras seem to have a way of slowing you down.
We see a pretty lizard sunning itself in the early morning hours. You don't see many lizards in this section of the trail so it was nice to capture this one on film.
We enter another burn zone while hiking. I'm in awe at how long it takes the forest to recover...many, many, maaaannnnny years...
Around lunch time the clouds rolled in which kept the temperatures cooler and provided some nice relief from the direct sun. We had ran out of sunscreen wipes and were trying to reuse one from the day before but that wasn't working out to well. The break from the sun was nice!
More scenery pictures
We ran into some JMT'ers on the trail who said those in the back of the pack looked like they were having more fun than those speeding ahead. I'm guessing she was referring to us in her back of the pack reference and I can agree...those going slower and taking their time to enjoy the Sierras are having more fun! Plus, my feet just can't go any faster right now and there are a lot of fish to be caught. :-)
It started raining off and on so we stopped and put on our pack covers to keep our gear dry.
We saw tons of beautiful waterfalls this day...they were everywhere. It's refreshing to see so much water in the Sierras. A much needed change from the bone dry dessert :-)
These purple flowers smell amazing. Nick had picked one and gave it to me (que romantico!). I pinned it to my backpack strap so I could appreciate the smell as we hiked.
Notice the trail hugging the right side of the rock.
At lunchtime we stopped at the creek and I tried to fish but I caught my lure in a tree. After struggling to free it I decided to skip the fishing and just eat my food.
More scenery pictures
Beautiful picture taken by Nick!
We took a foot break a few miles short of Muir Pass and while we were there it started to rain. We decided to call it a day and set up our tent and get inside to stay dry and warm. While we were in our tent we saw this deer outside nibbling on the bushes. He was so close to us. It's incredible to be "this" close to nature!
glad you continued on to see this scenery! I'm sure you'll be back to explore the area more.
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