Date: September 18, 2017
Miles: 942.5 – 962.8
“I can say for sure that this is the first time I’ve eaten dinner in a ditch.” ~ Fluffy
It was really cold in the Tuolumne Meadows backpacker’s camp this morning and everyone there got up a little later than usual. I don’t typically heat up water for my breakfast, but I did this morning mainly so I could warm my fingers next to my stove. We packed up and waited for the grill to open so we could get some coffee, and then we headed to the meadow across the street to warm our limbs in the sun, which had finally climbed out of the low-lying clouds. Heading back out on the trail, we stopped to see Soda Springs (where cold, carbonated water bubbles up out of the ground) and admire the views of Unicorn and Cathedral Peaks, then we followed the Tuolumne River until it spilled into Tuolumne Falls a few miles later.
The rest of the hike meandered through forested areas with creaking trees that released showers of needles, cascading creeks and bare expanses of rock smoothed over by ancient roaming glaciers.
We passed through Cold Canyon, over Return Creek and next to Miller Lake before we camped next to Matterhorn Creek and ate our dinner in a dry streambed which was deep enough to protect us from the wind whipping through the canyon.
