Slow start to the day as we all slept in. It was a good sleeping temp last night, not too cold, and we were all probably sleeping off the town food coma. I had a close call with my down pants however. I had laid them right next to me, thinking that I’d put them on if I got cold enough. Well, the wind kicked up quite strong and I luckily woke up as they were flying away. I’ll have to remember to set a rock on them in the future.
The day started with a climb up Glen Pass. I don’t mind stating the day with a climb as I feel like I am less prone to injuring myself on the uphill. Sometimes my hip flexor is a bit sticky on uphills and I can feel it clicking more in the am, but I have learned to adjust my walking posture so that has become less frequent.
We were passing by a lot of small ponds today and this was Qball’s first chance to try his fishing rig. I have to admit that I wish I had bought a similar rig, as he has hauling them in. The catch/cast ratio was close to 50%….pretty unreal. He was catching both brook and rainbow trout. None were terribly big, but he was catching some close to 10 inches, which is good size for these types of mtn lakes. We joked that a person could just come up with a big pack of tortillas and some seasoning and live off fish tacos without too much effort.
The middle part of the day was a long uphill to Pinchot Pass. Felt good to just push on the uphill for several miles. I admit that I enjoy the physical strain of hiking. Measuring my heart rate, I was at 110-120 beats/minute and feel like I can keep that for quite a while while carrying a fast pace uphill….it seems especially easy to get in the zone in the afternoons when my muscles are fully warm.
At the top of the pass we saw our first thru hikers for the day…by then it was 6pm…probably the longest that we have gone without Peeing other thru hikers in a day. I expect that one we get out of the Sierras, the spread will become larger and it will be more common.
Tonight we are camped by a fairly loud stream. Desert Fox, another AT alum from 09 is here as well. Hoping to get an early start and try to do around 24 tomorrow if possible.
In the photos that I expect tooad with this post, the animal in the trail is a marmot. There is also a photo of JJ holding his bear canister.
Daily Distance: 22
Trip Distance: 750.4
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