Day's end: Silver Pass Lake
Day's miles: 11.1 miles
Total trip miles: 82.1 miles
Brrr!
Overnight the water bottles we had brought inside the tent have froze, and when I poked my head out of my sleeping bag I can see frost on the outside of the tent. Crawling out of the tent, the entire meadow, along with our bear canisters, are covered in a fine layer of frost. This morning we learned to press on for higher ground even when tired and to not camp in a low part of a valley, as the cold air just settles here.
We tried to get moving quickly to help our bodies warm up, and we passed the tents of our other friends who had wisely decided to stay inside their sleeping bags for a little while longer. As we get going up our first short climb toward Purple Lake, Aaron and I discussed how it's funny we haven't seen any bears yet on this trip. Just then, Rob says a quick hello (he had camped further uphill - smart), which made us both jump because we thought he was a (talking?) bear. We visited for a little while, talked about our plans for the day, and then continued on towards Purple Lake.
Purple Lake
We came to Purple Lake just after the sun came up and while we take our mid-morning break Rob caught up to us and offered to take our picture near the lake.
The climb between Purple Lake and Virginia Lake was a little harder than our earlier climb but the view, I thought, was well worth the effort. While we take a quick break near Virginia Lake, two of the guys from the group of 6 we had first seen in Lyell Canyon make their way toward the lake. They had daypacks on, so clearly their JMT plans had changed...
"...and then there were two..."
We stopped to chat for a little while and learned that 4 of their group of 6 don't have much backpacking experience, and perhaps did not take into consideration the harshness of these miles compared to regular hiking one can find close to a city. Both Aaron and I have also learned the hard way how hard these miles are. We trained and hiked as much as we could (in all reality, I could have, and should have hiked more), but never did we think that these miles would be as hard as they are. Back in San Diego when we hike near the Laguna Mountains, or anywhere on the PCT we could pull out 15 miles easily and 20 miles if we worked a little harder - and look! Here we are pulling out 10-13 miles per day and feeling very worn out at the end of every day! These miles are hard! I can understand why someone would want to quit, especially if they haven't really backpacked a lot before, and on top of that, had a bear steal their Bourbon in the middle of the night.
Virginia Lake
The 2 guys kindly offered to take our picture at Virginia Lake.
A fun tree near the lake.
After Virginia Lake, we descended to Fish Creek and then began the climb towards Silver Pass. A few hours later on our way towards the top, we passed the 2 guys again who were making their way back to their camp spot at Duck Pass Trail where their other friends had spent the day. Silver Pass is as far as they will make it on the JMT this year, and I hope they try to finish it another year. So far the scenery has been phenomenal and we haven't even made it to the high Sierras section of the trail, which we have heard is the best part.
Heading down toward Fish Creek.
Crossing Fish Creek before beginning the climb over Silver Pass.
Some wildflowers we saw down in the Fish Creek valley.
Climbing up Silver Pass in the afternoon (and late afternoon) was difficult. It wasn't especially steep, we were just both very tired from all the hiking we had done this morning. Lesson learned: mountain passes are meant to be done in the morning, not in the afternoon when you're too tired to move. Towards the top we got to hike over a section of snow and I even stopped to make a snow angel and throw a few snowballs on the top of the pass. Rob met up with us on the top of the pass, and we all made our way about a mile more to Silver Pass Lake where we found camp spots right before the sun went down.
A nice meadow and creek before the real climbing began for Silver Pass.
Looking north about halfway up Silver Pass we can see the valley we have climbed out of.
Hiking on some snow near the pass.
We've made it to the top!
Looking south from Silver Pass. The valley to the left is where we made it to this night.
Some evening entertainment along the way...
This night's camp came with one of the prettiest evening views so far.
You can enlarge any of these pictures by clicking on them.
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