Day 50
It was a big ascent that day and my hips were definitely feeling the heavy pack. It was good to be back surrounded by tall trees. The sight of marmots was a sign that I was definitely in an alpine environment. Streams starts to appear everywhere from springs as well as snow melt. The water tasted very good, and there was no need to filter it. Therefore I just needed to find a good, flowing water source so that I don't have to stop and filter fresh, mountain water.
I took a lunch break early and enjoyed the wonderful scenery. Upon reaching the top, I caught up with the group where they had their siesta. We took advantage of the snow above as Blis showed us techniques in traversing on snow, self-arresting if we fall, as well as how to use our ice axe for slowing down our descent from glissading.
A short descent to the meadow ended our day, where also mosquitos tend to hover around. We normally cowboy camp, but we all set up our tents for peace of mind while we sleep.
