Day 15. Saturday, July 4, 2009. Mileage: 864.2 – 881.4 (17.2 miles)

I slept like a rock last night because it was warmer. Climbing up Selden Pass and looking down at Heart Lake (I think that is what it was called) was idyllic. An easy pass! Today’s lunch was mostly bug free and next to rapids. Leaning against my pack with my feet in the sun, I was enjoying life. We had a hot, tough uphill (1.6 miles and 1,000 foot elevation gain) after lunch. Danger had to doctor my heat/sweat/pack rash again at the top of the pass, which was great fun because my bottom half was exposed on a high summit in the Sierras for five minutes.

Aspen trees are frequently popping up along the creeks and their light-heartedleaf wave looks so delicate and content juxtaposed with the dark and serious spruce and pine trees. Little leaves like bells that create the most soothing bustle in the breeze.

We soon were moving fast downhill towards our early evening ritual of swimming/bathing, often as refreshing as a shower with soap. Swimming around this rushing river, I couldn't stop singing Electric Feel (... she gonna teach me how to swim) and feeling beamingly happy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdK3YGXwDOI
(We weren't dressed like swamphipsters, but we were having about as much as these kids.)

As we dried our bodies in the sun and boiled water for an early dinner, I couldn’t stop thinking how this was the life.
After dinner, we enter my absolute favorite time of the day - the 3 mile dusk hike. I amble at a relaxed pace, blissfully shielded from the relentless sun. Like an urban after-dinner stroll, I call it the neighborhood watch since it is the best time to spot wildlife. Dangermouse followed my evening stroll pace for 2.6 uphill miles to our buggy but perfectly agreeable campsite for tonight near Mott Lake Trail.

While the snowy passes that we have summitted (particularly Whitney, Forrester, and Muir) were way, WAY more challenging than I could ever have imagined, this dream hike of mine has also been easier than I expected. On the Appalachian Trail, a hiker can walk from one 3-sided hut to the next for the entire trail, taking advantage of shelter from rain and the elements as well as the social comforts of other hikers who congregate there for a night of rest. On the Pacific Crest Trail, there are no shelters, yet surprisingly this has not been a point of major adjustment. We camp alone every night and take pride in the evening ritual of scouting out a warm, flat spot with tree coverage to prevent tent condensation that is close enough to water for access but far enough from water to avert mosquito bombardment. I have only missed the convenience of a shelter once during that brief hail storm coming off of a pass, though laughing that off with Jess worked as well as a roof.

I also thought that carrying the 2.5 lb bear canister (required in these parks) would have been more of a burden than it is. During the first few days, I cursed the extra weight as I clumsily struggled to force fit the cumbersome pony keg of food into my pack. I've since turned the packing of the pack to an art, and I love that having the bear canister perfectly rounds out our swell bear etiquette. Bears cannot track or access any of the smellables inside of the vault, which in the end essentially saves a bear's life (A fed bear is a dead bear, right?).

I’m feeling very positive. Awesome day.