When the alarm went off at 5:30 we discovered the inside walls of our tent were soaked…unfortunately as it snowed overnight, the snowflakes briefly melted on the warm tent walls, then refroze into a sheet of ice, effectively killing the breathability of our single-wall tent. As we ate breakfast we set our sleeping bags out on a few boulders that didn’t have snow on them and let the tent freeze solid. After some cream of wheat and coffee, we did our best to knock and wipe the ice off of the tent (having the unexpected benefit of simultaneously cleaning all the accumulated dirt off the sides!) and off our bags, then we bundled up in all our clothes and started up into Evolution Valley. Fortunately the trail only had a trace of snow and the blue sky above meant we’d be warm soon, once above treeline and into the sun.
Evolution Lake was spectacular with the fresh coat of snow over everything, and as the sun rose we couldn’t spot a cloud in the sky, so we felt optimistic we’d made it through what would hopefully be our only storm. Once out in the sun, we shed the puffy jackets and goretex and it was back to our usual wardrobe of t-shirts, shorts, and sunscreen.
We climbed towards Muir Pass (11,955’) up into terrain that can best be described as what you might imagine outer Tibet to look like. We passed sparkling blue Wanda Lake just below the pass. Muir Pass is flanked on each side by a spectacular Lake; Wanda Lake and Helen lake, named for John Muir’s daughters. At the Pass the Sierra Club constructed a stone hut for hikers to use to get out of inclement weather while crossing the pass. The hut is just plain cute and was a welcome shelter to escape the wind. We spent about a half hour resting at the pass before beginning the looong descent into Le Conte Canyon. Along the way we stopped at an unnamed lake for lunch and to filter water. As we approached the lakeshore we saw a flurry of movement and discovered that the lake was populated by scads of frogs. We were both giddy over the discovery and renamed the place Frog Lake.
We continued our descent from rocky, arid, high-alpine terrain down into the lush, forested valley of Le Conte Canyon. It made Becky think this must be what Switzerland would be like and it seemed like the place should be dotted with cows and milk maids. We passed the Le Conte Ranger station shortly before setting up camp at the Palisades trail junction and were informed by the ranger that a bear had been sighted in the canyon that morning so to keep a close eye on our food. Had this piece of intelligence been relayed a week earlier Becky would have spent the night wide awake, poised to repel any impending bear attacks. But we were 10 day trail veterans by now and bears had become nothing more than a possible nuisance to be dealt with if the situation arose and much less of a vicious and certain threat to our lives and food supplies. We slept just fine that night.
Evolution Lake with a little fresh snow
Wanda Lake…almost at Muir Pass
if only it was warmer, I would’ve gone swimming….
The view back from where we came
Muir Hut at the pass!
Our froggy friends at the lake we had lunch
Black Giant and upper LeConte Canyon
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