Woke up around 6:00 and it seemed we were the first group up and going. We slept really well last night. When Beardoh woke to pee in the middle of the night, the stars were really bright and he could see the Milky Way. Beardoh’s butt was pretty much on the ground last night as we both had one end of our hammocks to the same tree. The tree was pretty small, so with both of us pulling in the same direction he sank pretty low.
We left by 7:30 and most folks were still in their tents. The morning walk was up and down with some nice lake views at Purple Lake as we walked by. There were a lot of great views with craggy peaks and valleys. In late morning, we had a very long series of switchbacks downhill. It was hard to enjoy the downhill knowing that we were going to have to go up to a big pass and we were losing so much elevation.
Once we were down in a valley, we had lunch and then headed back up to cross over Silver Pass. Soon the rain started and we waited under some trees until the rain let up and then we continued over the pass. It was quite cold on the way up with strong winds and sideways mist. Beardoh even lent Sweetpea his cuben mitts to keep her hands warm. We all agreed that we much preferred the cold and rainy weather for the climb instead of the strong sun and heat that we have been experiencing.
We went a few miles past the pass and got to camp before 4:00. We had a relaxing afternoon listening to a bit of music, washing clothes and eating. Beardoh even sewed up his shorts which had gotten a hole in the butt. Abe and Bruce, two other JMT hikers, are also camped near us tonight. The rain has started back up again and sounds nice on our tarps.
Daily Miles: 14
Total Miles: 88.4
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