June 9, 2007

I woke up at Woods Creek (8,492 feet above sea level) at 6:00 a.m. which was a little late.  We had planned to begin our hike by 6:30 a.m. and I was going to be late breaking camp.  Lucky for me, I'm hiking with two very kind gentlemen.  30-30 and Fireball waited patiently as I moved through my morning routine.  It was cold so I wasn't moving too fast either.  We began our eight mile ascent over Pinchot Pass (an elevation of 12,130 feet) by 7:30 a.m.

The beauty of the mountains, lakes, trees, and waterfall overshadowed my painfully slow climb at elevation.  Today's weather was perfect.  We took a couple of snack breaks before reaching the pass.  I am now fueling my body with jellybeans, Snickers, and Reeses.  The sugar high keeps me moving, albeit at a slow and breathless pace.  Fireball was a little sluggish today, himself (a rarity) so I had some periodic company.  We also saw Peach and Mr. Pink, two young, friendly, and capable hikers.  I descended Pinchot Pass with gusto.  I am always excited to be going down in elevation.  The descent was at times tedious because my legs are short and the steps are not.

I took many photos of Lake Marjorie against the mountain backdrop. Words cannot express the content that I feel in the mountains.  We all forded South Fork Kings River before settling on a campsite about one mile north.  My day ended early today (at 5:00p.m.) so I ate a huge dinner and tried to catch up with my journal entries.  I am camping with 30-30 and Fireball around 11,000 feet.  I was finally able to get all of my food into my Ursack (with 30-30's help) so we hung our food with confidence tonight.  Note: I used my Freshette tonight for the first time.  Ladies...it's a Godsend on a cold night.  I directed my urine into a Platypus bag with ease.  Total miles to date: 816.4