Log: Day 117 - Mile 808.6

August 7, 2016

My body woke me up at 5:00am and I was able to enjoy some pretty spectacular light over the barren rocky pass. The gray light, gray rocks, lack of vegetation, and dim light gave everything an extra-terrestrial look. I made my way down past more stepped lakes, passing camps still asleep.

Tents Below

The first group I encountered was a father, daughter and niece/cousin trio. I talked with them for a while before they stopped for a break at the rock monster. I still had plenty of downhill ahead of me before the climb up to Matther Pass and I pressed on, still riding the high that a naturally-woken early morning always seems to bring.

Rock Monster

I stopped for a break shortly after the trail began climbing again. We were following a creek for the moment and I had wanted to take a moment to soak my feet and enjoy the cold water before the long, dry, sun-exposed climb.

The first section of climb is known as the Golden Staircase. It is as steep as a staircase and the sun on the exposed rock certainly has a golden quality to it. I was trying to pace myself but it was very difficult to gauge and I kept rounding corners to find myself facing another quarter mile of climb. I finally reached the top of the staircase and was looking forward to a break at the pass.

Patterns in the shallows

The top of the stair was not the top of the pass. I came around a bend to find myself at the bottom of another valley. I began to understand what Matther Pass was all about and mentally prepared to face however many more false summits and valleys it had to offer. At least this one had a nice lake to look at.

The way ahead

I stopped for a late lunch at the top with what turned out to be a fairly large group of people. None of the groups seemed particularly interested in talking with anyone outside of their circle, however, so I kept to myself and enjoyed the light breeze. I took the break to examine my food standing and was a little dismayed to see that things would actually be a little bit tight. Not tight enough to be worried but tight enough I would have to ration. But hey, this was the last stretch - I could pig out when I got back into Lone Pine.

Deer in shadow

The barren rock gave way to dry sparse forest on the way down. I bottomed out soon enough and began the next climb. It had been a long day and I was not feeling an end-of-day push. I arrived at Marjorie Lake and set up camp near a British couple. I decided to jump in before the sun went down and took a few extra minutes to rinse out my clothing. I climbed out not a moment too soon as the sun dropped below the ridge on the opposite side of the lake. It was going to be a chilly night!