Day 5 Reds Meadow to Duck Pass 11.2 miles

The plan at the beginning of the day was to cut the day short and only hike about 5 miles.  I wanted to make sure I kept my feet in good shape for the rest of the hike. The hiking was easier today because the trail was nice and the climb was very gradual.

This is from the first climb out of Reds Meadow.  A fire previously burned here. Along the

trail you see two red mountains which are called the “red cones”.  Lots of people drop their packs and hike to the top but I chose to continue on.  I stopped to soak my feet in a small stream as a early afternoon stop.

I reached Deer Creek where I had planned to stop for the day at 1:30.  I just felt it was too early to stop.  Donna and I had been hiking together and she decided to stop but I went on.  The problem was I knew if I kept hiking I was going to have to go another 6 miles because water was hard to find.  I did pack extra water at this point only making my pack that much heavy but I am glad I did.  My gps showed lots of stream crossings but everything was dry.  It was a very gradual climb but it was constant.

With 3 miles left I was exhausted.  I hit the wall and didn’t want to go on.  It took me 3 hours to hike the last 3 miles.  It seemed like I was never going to find water and a spot to camp.  I finally arrived at Duck Pass and found a great camping spot by a small waterfall.  It was perfect.  I didn’t arrive until 7pm so I had to set up and eat dinner quickly before it got too dark and too cold. I know it may seem early to everyone else

but I was usually in bed by 7pm.  It actually ended up being nice to be up later and that evening was very peaceful.  What I wrote in my journal this day, “I may have had a mini meltdown on the trail but I made it and I am still enjoying this journey”.

Day 6 Duck Pass to Who really knows? 9?miles

I have lost track of time.  I didn’t want to get up this morning.  I was sooo warm and it was cold outside.  I couldn’t remember what day it was and I was just dragging.  I crossed the river and started climbing to Purple lake.  I actually climbed up just a short distance before descending into purple lake.  For some

reason the morning view and hike felt boring and not exciting.  I stopped at purple lake and met some women from Hawaii that said they had been feeling the same way that morning.  I was also having a had time eating enough calories and nothing tasted good.  Looking at this picture its hard to believe I wrote the words boring and monotonous in

my journal. Next was Lake Virginia.  I started feeling better and the views helped.

 This may be my favorite picture from the trip.  The way the sun was hitting the water.  I stopped at Lake Virginia and soaked in the beauty and rested.  It’s a good thing.  The next few miles were hard because it was all downhill.   I found going down almost harder than the climbing. It was hard but the descent included beautiful mountains all around and a roaring river down the middle.

Getting water from this river was going to be tricky so I kept hiking in hopes of making it to Squaw lake.  As usual the last mile of the day is the hardest.  I had been warned that if you don’t make it to certain lake before 4pm you may not be able to locate a camping spot.  I knew the spots were limited at Squaw lake and so I started looking for somewhere to stop.  I asked a few hiker coming from the other direction if it was crowded and they said I should stop sooner rather than later.  I found a spot that look like it could have been used before but it wasn’t great.  It is always tricky, do you keep going in hopes there is a better spot?  You never know how far away that spot might be.  I took my pack off and struggled with the decision. I said a quick prayer and decided to move on.  Not too far up the trail I crossed a river and found a secluded, perfect spot.  This was a night that I spent completely alone.  I didn’t see another person for the whole evening. My pack is heavy, my hips are raw and my feet are covered in blisters but for some reason I am starting to fall into a rhythm and feeling more comfortable.