Day 63

Our usual departure time was six o'clock in the morning, so for me, it means waking up at 5 am so that I can leisurely sip my hot coffee as well as slowly digest my breakfast while still tucked in my warm sleeping quilt.

It was a long ascent to Muir Pass. We decided that going over the pass in the afternoon would not be enjoyable. Since we do not have any passes or big water crossing, today we have a more relaxed paced and we needed it after a big day yesterday. As we came upon Bishop Pass Trail junction by the Le Conte Canyon Ranger Station, we met with a backpacker providing a little bit of trail magic. Very cool!

By noon, we were above tree line and soon found ourselves again in snow territory. The views are amazing, especially with the waterfall formed by the Middle Fork of the Kings River.

We hiked as high as we can on the snow field and found an exposed rock off trail perfect for setting up camp. It offered us a beautiful view of the valley and the mountains in the South where we hiked from, and of the unnamed frozen lake below. The sun was still up and it was so nice to end the day early.

As we ate our dinner, we had a trekking pole competition where Juniper and Indigo just turned it up. It was an epic Matrix-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon performance in the Sierra.

I love our group because we know how to find balance and have fun throughout the day. We are able to do the miles that we need to do, get to camp early, and relax. It's not all about doing big miles nor pushing to suffer, especially in the Sierra when the views are just so amazing.

Since we are wanting to do a sunrise summit to Muir Pass, cowboy camping it is. Not much space but we all managed to lay our pads on some dry dirt, bushes or rocks. Also the best thing about cowboy camping, is seeing the billions of stars above when I happen to wake up. It's so amazing.