As we were packing up in the morning, we were visited by our neighborhood doe. She showed no fear as she spent the early hours picking at grass anywhere and everywhere around our campsite.
Once we were hiking, it was only a couple of minutes before we were crossing Matterhorn Creek.
This was a nice, easy crossing with a wide ford, and it wasn't long before we were on our way. That meant winding our way down the valley for a little while alongside the creek. There was a lot of evidence of higher flow in the weeks ahead, including flooded areas along the trail. I even saw a fish in a puddle persisting right in the middle of the trail at least a hundred yards from the creek! I'm glad we missed the high point for the creeks.
Then it was up, up, up the side of the canyon. This was a tough hike in the late morning because it was an east-facing slope and not heavily forested. It was the only place we heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher, though, singing its "Quick, Three Beers!" song. Tell me about it. At one point we left the trail at the corner of a switchback to view the dramatic cascades formed by Miller Creek as it hurried precipitously down to Matterhorn Canyon.
At the top of the slope, we crossed the creek, and then headed upstream in a more gentle climb. Interestingly, the trail here didn't match the map, re-crossing the creek under snow sooner than indicated. We decided to find our own way, walking in fairly easy meadows and forest until we came to a giant snow-bridge that took us across easily and safely. At one point, as we were paralleling the visible trail on the far side of the creek, a young buck trotted along it. You have to love the abundant wildlife of Yosemite!
We took lunch in the meadow where the trail took off for Benson Pass after re-crossing the creek yet again! Each of these wet-feet crossings took us a good half-hour as we took time to dry our feet and put on our shoes. Then it was up to Benson Pass, which turned out to be covered in snow.
We took lunch in the meadow where the trail took off for Benson Pass after re-crossing the creek yet again! Each of these wet-feet crossings took us a good half-hour as we took time to dry our feet and put on our shoes. Then it was up to Benson Pass, which turned out to be covered in snow.
Libby was not having a good time at this point, but you can tell she's an absolute trooper. I was having personally very excited about all the snow, but it would wear off for me, too, later.
On the other side of the pass, we had a great view of Volunteer Peak. Cool dome!
Volunteer Peak is just above Smedberg Lake. Smedberg is a really pretty lake, but we opted to avoid it to avoid the crowds of the PCT. Instead, we headed off-trail to Sister Lake above it.
That turns out to be pretty easy, actually, but once we got past a picturesque tarn that serves as a good landmark for the cross-country route, we hit thick sun-cupped snow that just didn't let up. While I think the normal approach would be easy meadow, we were toiling on this difficult snow for a long time, discovering in the process that the lake was still frozen! So much for fishing that night!
Eventually, we called a halt and Dad and I went ahead to scout out a campsite. We were fortunate enough to find a suitable spot not far from the point we stopped, and everyone was happy to remove their wet boots at the end of the day. While we were piling into the camp, we were blessed to see a beautiful Golden Eagle soaring overhead!
The dry area of our camp was pretty small, but the snow was just beautiful. Here's that night's sunset:
More pictures are in the normal place.
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