Day 56: To New Heights

Date: June 4, 2017
Miles: 716.46 – 730.8 

We climbed from 7,833 feet to over 10,500 feet today, and with the heavy packs and thinner air, it was a struggle. The saving grace was that water was everywhere and I only had to carry a liter at any given time. That’s good, because water is freaking heavy. 


I took frequent breaks so I could take my pack off for a bit to keep my spine from telescoping.  I saw marmots for the first time and I really hoped that they would stand up and start screaming like this guy, but no such luck today. 

I swear this is a marmot. This is the best I could do.

We also reached snow!  Not for the first time on the trail, obviously, but for the first time in the Sierra section, which was exciting in an ‘oh my lord, I think this is the beginning of snowmageddon’ kind of way. 


The last bit of the day was spent descending down to 8,956 feet and then setting up camp by a lovely place called Death Canyon Creek.  I didn’t get a picture of it, but I promise that I t looked better than it sounds. 



Snowball fight!