Mather was another tough one; chiseled out of the mountainside, it was steep and rough, and my highest yet at 12,100'. I ate lukewarm oatmeal at the top as a celebratory breakfast, then headed on down. Easy-peasy switchbacks on the far side, I felt like a character in a video game: go left, turn; go right, turn; left, right, left, and so on for almost an hour.
Eventually I hit the treeline, then three hours later I was climbing again out of the valley and towards Pinchot Pass.
At certain elevations clouds become a living thing; they are constantly moving, changing shape, changing color. One must always keep an eye on them so they don't turn on you. This is what a Ranger reminded me of while I was dragging my sorry self up to Pass #2 - Pinchot. We were having a nice conversation about his job, how I'll see his mule resupply on the trail tomorrow, and how the weather is supposed to improve over the next 2 days, with him then pointing to the dark clouds gathering on Pinchot. Drat! One should be up & over tall passes before late day 'cause of the afternoon storms. Get a move on!
I made it up by 3:30pm (notice the grin/grimace), but I had the following chasing me all the way to my campsite. My body was not impressed, to say the least, of the speed I asked of it but never a drop did fall on me!
Today's Miles: 15.8
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