The bugs were still hanging around this morning, but thanks to our net tent we were able to eat and pack up in comfort. We bundled up in our bug gear to take down the tent and ground cloth and were on our way without getting bitten up too badly. Right away we met a group of hikers crossing the stream and one of them had the news that someone had found my glasses. I’m not sure how the rumor made its way up the trail since the hiker that has them is still a day or two behind us, but it made my morning. Now I don’t have to spend lots of money on a new pair in Mammoth.
We had a nice long downhill stretch for about half the day, sticking close to Evolution Creek and then crossing branches of the San Joaquin River – on real bridges, thankfully. Aspen trees worked their way into the piney foliage as we paralleled the river on a rocky path. The water had a beautiful blueish tinge to it as it raged over granite slabs between its banks. We passed a side trail to Florence Lake and Muir Trail Ranch but skipped a visit since they don’t have anything for resupplying or snacking. Everything they use is brought in by pack trains.
After the junction the trail started gaining elevation steeply. We wanted to stop for lunch but needed water to cook. The next creek was 2 miles away and way above us. Resigned to hard work on an empty stomach, we started up the switchbacks but hadn’t gone very far before we heard water and saw a side trail down into a gully. This unexpected boon wasn’t on our maps but we took full advantage of it. It was a very steep spur down and required some boulder-hopping to get to the stream but it turned out to be a very nice lunch spot. The bugs weren’t even that bad.
After a good lunch the rest of the climb seemed easy. We hiked up to the creek – the same one that we’d taken from below – and did our daily laundry. A group of hikers taking a break there told us that they had heard it was supposed to snow tomorrow at higher elevation. It wasn’t a complete surprise – the weather had gone from hot to hazy to overcast for the first time we could remember on this stretch. We’ll be down off Selden Pass by then but we were hoping to cross Silver Pass tomorrow. We’ll have to play it by ear and see how things look.
We continued on our ascent towards the pass. This was much less strenuous than the others had been – Selden was only 11,000 feet up instead of 12k and 13k like the passes before it. We had already done a good chunk of this on the hike to the creek and only had about 1000 feet left over a few miles. The hike up was beautiful – green grass and plants, little alpine flowers of all colors and trickling streams flowing into rocky lakes. We never reached treeline as we had on the other passes. At the top stunted pines framed our view of the sprawling, island-dotted Marie Lake. It was picturesque alpine scenery at its best. A cold wind encouraged us not to linger and we started down after a quick snack. The descent was over trail that was alternately rocky and good smooth tread, and with the end of the day less than 4 miles away we made great time.
As with yesterday we ended with a creek ford. Bear Creek was deeper than Evolution had been. We scouted upstream a little, hoping for a rock crossing to save us the unpleasantness of wet shoes tomorrow, but in the end there was nothing to be done except plunge in. The rocks were very slippery and the knee-deep current made it a little difficult to pick our way across. With our hands firmly locked on our hiking poles the waiting mosquitos were able to feast and we got pretty bitten up. Safely on the other side, we headed across the meadow in hopes of getting away from the bugs. No such luck, though, and we quickly went about setting up the net tent again. We were much more practiced at it this time and they didn’t have much of a chance to feed before we were safely inside and eliminating all trespassers.
– Posted from the PCT
Location:Pct mile 871