Day 50 - Wednesday, June 16

Tenting at Evolution Lake (mile 844.4).  Walked 20.9 miles today.

Got up and ready from inside my tent.  Only ventured out to take the tent down in order to avoid the mosquitoes.

Set off and caught up to Thin Mint and Frank, then Frank and I walked together through  a mix of pine and aspen forests until the bottom of the valley.  We noticed a change in the weather today: it's much more humid out.  It's nowhere close to what you'd find in VA, but the change is noticable to us.

We then began the 11-mile climb to Muir Pass.  The mosquitoes got really bad here and I stopped for a break on a large rock next to a waterfall where the bugs were a little more tolerable.

Jedi and Frank caught me here and we all climbed the next few miles together.  Scenery got incredibly beautiful but terrain got steep after a while.

We stopped for a few breaks and then again at a small lake for lunch.  We had planned to swim, but the water was just too cold.  We got in up to our ankles and washed off some of the dirt but that was as far as we dared to go.

We hiked up to Helen Lake where we met another ranger checking permits.  Then Frank put in her headphones which means she's about to move really quickly. She and I went ahead of the others and powered up Muir Pass.

I made a great video as I crested the pass including a marmot running in front of me and the reveal of the other side of the pass.  Only I didn't hit record, so unfortunately there's no video...

We hung at the top for a few minutes before blasting down the mountain, passing several great lakes and incredible valleys.

Rested right before Evolution Lake and then walked the 1.5 miles around the lake to our camp for the evening.

Frank waded in the cold water, but I went in all the way.  It was awesomely cold and refreshing.

We hoped the others would show up but no one did.  We chatted with Wow and Uncle Nutsack who are doing the Sierra High Route and we had met at Mather pass yesterday.

We ate dinner and got in our tents to avoid the mosquitoes.  This is one of the most beautiful campsites I've ever camped at.