Summit Meadow to Sage Flat Trailhead via a 10,000 foot and a 9,400 foot knoll
(10 miles +2,300/-5,800 feet).

We got up this morning and assessed the weather.  It was probably about 30 degrees last night and we slept with most or all of our clothes.  Tonight it is supposed to be 5 degrees cooler, but worse, the wind is supposed to really pick up with 60mph gusts tomorrow.

So we decided to do a little bit of exploring and then pack up and head back out today.  We took our time at breakfast, making another fire to ward off the morning chill.

Then we headed over to the good old PCT to hike north a bit to get a view of Olancha and the snowy Sierra.

Sobo was feeing the altitude a bit, so he decided to take a nap by the trail while Quercus and I did a quick there-and-back.  At a certain point we decided to get off the PCT and head straight for a rocky tower that stood at 10,000 feet.

In no time we made it to the top and got great views of the Sierra to the north.

Our little rock tower had a steep drop on one side and great views of Olancha Peak to the North and Monache Meadow to the West.

I found an abandoned scarf that I packed out and then we headed back down to find Sobo.

We headed back to our camp and grabbed lunch, packed, and then headed out to explore Summit Meadow.

We climbed up to a 9,400 foot hill south of the meadow and then headed back down.

Wranglers have built some infrastructure for their cows in the meadow, including retaining walls for several frozen-over cow ponds.

We eventually headed out of the meadow and back up to Olancha Pass.

It was interesting seeing different light on the trail as the sun set over the ridge behind us.

At the trailhead we found our car and then drove a couple of hours to a highly-anticipated meal at Rubio’s in Adelanto.  Yum!