Snow Joke

Day 101 9/21
Mileage 14
Camped near Middle Fork Kings River

I slept like a rock almost all of last night, but I woke just before my alarm to an all too familiar sound."No," I thought, "it can't be". My suspicions were confirmed when I stuck my head outside my tent and saw the driving wall of snow pounding sideways on my tent fly. It really was snowing. I huddled inside my tight for a while and finally braved the elements to get ready. Minutes later, the snow had abated and the sun was shining. Mountain weather is nuts. I looked up toward Evolution Lake and as I did so, the clouds parted to reveal a fresh dusting of snow on the highest peaks. The accent of white enhanced the mountains' ruggedness, making them appear even more otherworldly than before. It was into this ethereal moonscape that we ascended. Past Sapphire Lake, shining with a deep royal blue, up to 11,000 feet, past Wanda lake, named for one of John Muir's daughters. All around us loomed a ring of jagged peaks. We climbed up to Muir Pass, with the nicely situated Muir Hut on top, looking like a stone beehive. The weather held all morning and as we procrastinated in the hut, we were joined by a handful of other hikers. We talked for a while as snow fell gently outside and eventually filed reluctantly out into the light and descended the other side of the pass. The other side of the pass was much more rugged than the north side. Kyle's ankle is bothering him, so we called it early and had a leisurely evening in camp. We got to talk to Elaine, a single mom from China who is doing the JMT by herself. She felt often in her life that her choices were made for her, and now she finally is doing something just for herself that she really wants to do. Go, Elaine! She really was inspiring. It got me thinking about the awesome people we've met recently. Scott and Chris, a couple we've been seeing a fair amount since VVR, are finally realizing their dream of hiking the JMT after months of training and planning. They were so genuinely nice and excited to be out here, stoked to see other people following their dreams. They gave us their contact info and I hope our paths cross again. Scott and Chris, Beth and Tom, Elaine, Yannick, Kristen, Nate-the world would be a better place if they were more people like them. Yay, positive feelings towards humanity. We have a doozy of a resupply left, so Tim is out.

Sapphire Lake is okay, I guess.