No
smoke at all today! We followed two of the amphibian researchers
over Glacier Pass as they were headed out that way too. We have
one more day though, so we connected with the Sawtooth Pass trail and
headed to Monarch Lakes for the night. A mama deer and her fawn
were hanging out near our campsite, they didn't seem to concerned with
us although the fawn was a bit skittish.
Journal Entry: Woke
to clouds and no smoke! Good use trail from Spring Lake to
Glacier Pass. Class 3 section really short and right near the
top, no problem! Arrived at the pass around 10:30, stayed till
noon. Short downhill from there to Monarch Lake, lost the trail a
couple of times. Got here around 1:30, still no smoke! No
shade here either but passing clouds provide some from time to
time. Tomorrow we head down 3 miles, 2500 ft. to the trailhead!
Spring Lake in clear morning |
slope to Glacier Pass |
Spring Lake from above |
Glacier Pass, north side |
Glacier Pass, north side route goes up diagonally from the left to the right |
starting the last section on the left side of the pass |
short class 3 section |
view to the east from the pass, Kaweah range peeking over |
shortcut slope back to Mineral King from Glacier Pass | Empire Mountain west of pass |
view toward Mineral King | Mineral Peak over Monarch Lakes |
Lower Monarch Lake | fawn near our campsite |