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This panorama consists of two photos (fused by Photoshop) showing
the valley. we're looking west towards Florence Lake. The Hot
Springs can be seen to the left.
(127k)
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| Scrambled eggs,
sausages in tortillas for brekkie. Keir had made a fire because it was cold
so we alternately stood around the fire and packed up. Keir headed for the
ferry at 7:30 and we broke camp at 8:30. Nice walk through meadows and forests,
then found the junction to the JMT and started climbing from 9:30- 12:30-
2,000' up a canyon wall. I had zero energy. It seemed steep and endless.
Sheer willpower kept me putting one foot in front of another. |
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So today's hike found us toiling up
the canyon wall from the meadows below. A series of lengthy switchbacks
brought us to an absolutely gorgeous crossing at Senger Creek.
I, personally, would have done that trail twice to have reached
such a place. Green, grassy, vertical lines of the lodgepole pines,
a galaxy of wildflowers, low, flat rocks on which to sit and spread
out the salami and cheese, and then later, the map. Cool waters
undulating past. An Eden. Unfortunately, Mom wasn't feeling too
well so after we made it to Sallie Keyes Lakes we pitched the
tent and collapsed in it for a while.
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Resting in a patch of shade.
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Clowning in a patch of shade.
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The lunch spot.
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A well-deserved rest,
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At 12:30 we arrived at Senger Creek, dropped our packs,
soaked our toes and ate salami and cheese by the river. We stayed there
almost an hour, then got back on the trail. More switchbacks up, then
meadows and finally Sallie Keyes Lakes. We decided not to go for the pass.
It was beautiful and secluded there and we had the lakes to ourselves.
I lay in the tent for an hour, then washed up thoroughly near the highest
lake, then came back to camp for lasagna dinner. Sean was feeling the
effects of the altitude so he went to sleep early.
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On the trail above Senger
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A lodgepole playground.
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Where's Waldo?
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Now it's Sean's turn, stricken, it seems, by a bout of
altitude sickness. Dinner tonight was lasagna for both parties. Theirs
was better. Multiple deer sightings. We met some women on the top of Mather
Pass who said they hadn't seen a single deer since they started the JMT
in Yosemite. I just don't see how that's possible.
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These photos don't really do justice to the splendor of this
campsite.
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Will looks at dinner. Sean thinks about pain.
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