I have to say that while I passed Wanda Lake those flies that stay along the shore and like bushes or trees were the worst I had seen on this trip! I'm sure you all know what I mean when you walk along and have to cover your mouth and nose so you don't breath them in but this was worse! As I moved along fast trying to pass through the clouds they of course followed along with me and then the way turned black with the bastards and my whole body was covered in them! I suppose it would have made a good photo.
For weeks I had debated on staying in the Muir Hut as a way to burn an extra day while on this section and I finally had made the decision to and on this very cold and very windy day it was perfect for a comfortable night but to my dismay and surprise there was no one in it and other then a couple hikers that came by I had the place to myself which was too bad for all the poor bastards that said they were headed for Wanda Lake for the night. Nearing sunset I quickly realised this was a very special place to be at this moment in time as the
beautiful landscape seemed to change instantly. One moment the clouds were gray then the next they were a solid blue! I thought to myself wouldn't it be cool if the sun dropped down below the
cloud layer and
lit up everything? And then as it went down it did just that! All my attempts to capture this special sunset was pointless because the
images aren't anything compared to being there.
I was expecting snow but it never happened and the clouds cleared up at about 4am.
Dropping off Muir Pass and into the beauty of Leconte Canyon I wanted to stop in and talk to the Rangers there since I had spoken to them last year and I was lucky enough to have them be home at the
station and they informed me of another crew camp at the Pine Creek Junction where I had planned to camp so after getting set up and fording the river I found their camp and spent some time with them once again getting fed fruit, soup and walking away with a big steak for dinner.
I never go to the crew camps expecting to get fed but at this point I hoped lol.
The hike to
Palisade Lakes was uneventful and easy other than the
Golden Stair Case in the heat of the day but as I got to the Lakes I had already calculated being short on food so this night I just caught fish to eat. Fishing in Palisade Lakes is a joke! You can catch them at any time of the day from any location on the lakes. It got to the point where I would walk along the shore looking for the big ones and when I found them I would throw right out to them and I had them.
Blah I wanted to write more and finish this up but I have to go again!
