Sierras – Mammoth – Bishop – Day 105

Day 105 Sat Oct 7th – Silver Pass
Unmarked Tent site – Red cone cut-off – Along Horseshoe2 McCloud – Tent site just short of Silver pass
1750.7- 1767.5
Approx. 3914 ft ascent 2543 ft descent
16.7 Miles + 1 mile off trail = 17.7 Miles

It was a cold night but we started the day with the hearty breakfast we had packed out from town and it went down a treat.

Getting back to the trail we passed a meadow covered in frost and I think we made the right decision camping away from the water a little higher. Although it was cold up there at least nothing was frozen.

As we start our first climb of the day the ground thuds with every click of our trekking poles and the ground feels frozen under foot.

Sarah looks like a warrior princess this morning fashioning some zinc based sunblock on her face called sunbum.

She’s been coming up in funny spots that she thinks is related to the sun.

Because we’ve been at higher elevation and it’s been colder we haven’t been re-applying sun cream and we think this may be the cause.

As we climb and leave the cold shaded valleys behind, the sun warms us.

We walk past vibrant green low lying Manzanita bushes, but they are smaller than the ones we saw in NorCal.

We watch young red squirrels playing and chasing one another around a large pine tree, oblivious to our presence.

At around 11:00 we stop for a bite to eat. We are looking forward to the weight of our food supplies going down as it has been a hard morning.

We sit with our backs against a rock basking in the sun like lizards enjoying a bagel and cheese.

Looking up at the pine trees above us we can see their branches are charred black. We assume that this must have been caused by some form of lightning strike.

We stopped by Duck Lake Outlet which is a fast flowing creek surrounded by small willows that are turning orange and brown with the change of season.

Sarah mixes up a concoction of both Frozen blue and Fruit punch Gatorade like some kind of cocktail waitress. The resultant colour isn’t exactly appealing, but it still tastes pretty good.

I think it’s fair to say we were buzzing up the hill with the amount of sugar it included.

There are a couple of punchy ups and downs before we start climbing up to Silver pass. The weight of our packs are really slowing us down so we are almost crawling up the mountain.

The pass between Purple Lake and Virginia Lake is like a corridor into another world.

The mountain to our right is jagged, angular and impressive. At its base is a jumble of huge boulders easily as big as a transit van.

It looks like someone’s put dynamite in the mountain and blown half of the side of it away. More likely it’s the result of a rock slide or the harsh winter conditions and the freeze thaw cycles over the years that has caused this mess.

Sarah commented that we wouldn’t want to be underneath when this happened.

Virginia Lake was even more picturesque than Purple lake. The light sparkled over its surface like some form of fireworks display. In the background the snow capped mountains gave the landscape even more depth and beauty.

The water was crystal clear aquamarine blue. Similar to what you might find in the Mediterranean, just a lot colder.

Sarah thought about going in for a swim, but on closer inspection she realised she would probably die if she went in.

We walked around the lake before descending all elevation before finally reaching the limb up to Silver pass.

Again there are clear signs of autumn with Aspen and Willow turning yellow and orange. We suspect it will get very cold in this valley tonight so we’re heading up to the pass.

As we hike down to the valley floor at the bottom of the ravine there are giant cedar trees with bark the colour and texture of a highland cow deep red brown twisted and aged.

Somehow the mosquito population has not been affected by the change in the season and we pick up a couple of nasty bites. We experienced more mosquitoes in this area than we have for quite a while.

Looking up I can see a spectacular angular peak gleaming magnificently back at us in the afternoon sunshine.

3.7 miles of up and the time now is 17:00. Once again it’s a green light. Go go go.

As we cross the bridge and start the climb there are clear signs of avalanche. Where trees have been pushed over or their branches and limbs have been damaged or snapped clean off.

It looks like we’re hiking towards the sun as the very top of the mountains are still lit up bright orange, with the rest of the valley cast in shade. We’re hoping we can reach the pass before the sun drops too low and the temperature plummets.

We decided to play it safe and camped 1.6 miles just short of Silver pass.

We decided to do this because there were suitable camp spots and trees which would enable us to hang our bear line and food bag.

Although there was a tentsite highlighted over the pass we weren’t sure whether this would offer us everything we had here, so we decided to stay put.

Just as it started to turn dark we watched Brook trout going into some kind of feeding frenzy in isolated pools that span off of the main lake in front of the mountain.

Again I had difficulties throwing a bear line and managed to get the line caught up in the tree although with a little brute force I managed to get it sorted. Keeping Mr Bear from getting his paws on our chocolate croissants.

Sarah went about setting up the tent and did a great job and we felt well organised this evening and things seemed to flow pretty well.

When I collected water from the outlet from the lake I looked up to see a water vole swimming between the rocks just above where I’d taken the water. Good job we’re using our water filters me thinks…

We cooked up our dehydrated food and made hot drinks as per usual with a little extra rum just to warm the cockles. Then settled in for an early night. At 21:20 we were almost ready to go asleep. Wow it’s been a while since we have gone to bed that early, although for most this is hiker midnight.