Miles: 809.9 to 831.2

Mileage: 21.3

Day: 51

It snowed overnight. While it’s annoying to think about getting up and moving in the snow, I was so glad to have a tent to hunker down in. Some hikers carry tarps or camp without a shelter. To me, the extra weight is so worth having a portable refuge. 

Plus, in a tent, the snow made things warmer by blocking the wind and keeping in the CO2 we were exhaling.

We got a late start. Duh. The snow was beautiful and the sun was powerful. I got hot just packing my pack.

 

 
The first two miles were downhill. We started climbing through forest, then it opened up to meadow.

The approach to Mather Pass was very well built and had very little snow. But I moved so slowly. Even with a lighter pack, I couldn’t get up the hills with any momentum. Richard suggested my iron might be low, which would make producing red blood cells a slower process for my body. I did just finish my period and the vitamins I brought were buried in my bear canister. We hadn’t been eating them for days.

The downhill was nicer for me. Although some of it was steep, but the snow was solid. 

 

 
We went downhill all afternoon but by 6 p.m. the uphill started again. We walked another four miles before we found a nice spot by a quiet section of a creek.

We made dinner and watched the deer unabashedly walk through our campsite and investigate all the smells we were producing.