Ridge above Wet Meadow to Shake Camp
(12 miles, +1,000/-4,300 feet).
It stayed crystal clear last night, and my tent walls were also covered in crystals inside and out from frost and the freezing of my own breath. The thermometer inside the tent said 30 degrees, but outside it felt closer to 20.
Once again, MixMaster and I decided to hit the trail first and warm up a bit before doing our breakfast routine. There was a hard frost everywhere creating beautiful patterns on the trail, and the whitened meadows stood in stark contrast to the shadowed forests in the predawn light.
We returned to the miracle spring to fill our bottles and feast on tortillas and homemade nutella. I also introduced MixMaster to the glorious melty ice cream taste of Nido (powdered whole milk). He added it to his Via instant coffee and now I think he is hooked!
After breakfast it started to warm up and the sky became spectacular.
In what seemed like no time at all we were back at Summit Lake, where frost tinted the woods and slush still floated on the edge of the lake.
We noticed on the way out that a chip in the National Forest sign gave it a more appropriate home agency.
We got some nice views of the tail end of the Sierra on the way down.
With just 2 miles to go, we took a nice long break among the majestic Sequoias at our last watering hole, Redwood Crossing.
When we got back to the car, we discovered that someone had left us a note. Apparently the forest service had closed the road we came in on to continue their controlled burns further west. It took us a while, but we found the alternate route out. Thanks for the personalized service! 🙂
