Day 16: Lake Virginia and the Duck Lake Trail

I thought it was going to be a warm night last night so I opted to go sans sleep sheet. Little did I know that around 1:30 am a wind with the force of an 18 wheeler rolled into our camp. The temperature dropped significantly and my once perfectly cozy sleeping bag turned into an ice box. I did snuggle up next to Replay and with our combined body heat I managed to get a couple more hours of sleep. Every 30 minutes though the howl of the wind would begin the process of snuggle, wiggle, and turn over to get warm.

Around 7:15 the sun broke through the protective layer of our tent . Sleepy doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. I actually think Replay had the same groggy feeling, which made me smile. I'm usually the slow person in the morning, but today we were both moving slower than normal.

The mornings itinerary included Silver Pass. I think Replay might have slept a bit better than me last night- how I'm not sure, but she took off like a light. Before I knew it she was out of my sight and I was left to battle the pass alone. Going at it alone was something new and challenging for me. Usually we walk the passes together due to a variety of factors including snow, loss of trail, moral support, etc, but I have to admit it wasn't that bad. The pass was only 10,900 feet which compared to the last couple was just a mole hill. When I did reach the top, or what appeared to be the top, I noticed Replay perched on a boulder overlooking the valley below. She was having "second lunch" but I wasn't ready for it yet. Plus when I looked up I noticed that the pass really wasn't over yet. I figured I had made it this far on my own so why not finish the climb? On I went zigging and zagging until the tip top.

Because I was concentrating so deeply on making it to the top I didn't notice the loud voices up ahead. To my utter surprise, a group of 15 boys watched and even cheered as I took the last couple of steps to the top. Immediately there was a barrage of questions about how long it took me to get to this spot, where was I coming from, how heavy was my pack, and if I was alone. When I answered that I had been on the trail for 16 days and my ultimate destination was Tahoe they all looked at me in amazement.

"From here to Tahoe is a 3 hour drive in a car," shouted one of the boys.
"We've only been out here 2 days and I can't wait to get home," yelled another.

Thankfully Replay wasn't too far behind so before they could continue with the interrogation we glissaded down the bumpy bumpy snow back to nature's best gift- SILENCE! The course down was a bit trying at times because of the snow covered path and runoff from the melting snow. We choose to stick together once the trail got confusing. At one point we were headed back up the pass! Hiking alone defiintley has its perks but I have to say hiking with a partner is much better espeically in these types of situations.

8 miles later we were munching on lunch at Fish Creek. Because we were ahead of "schedule" I say this with a bit of jest we thought why not take advantage of the perfect sunny weather. For the next 2 hours we soaked up all the rays we wanted and occasionally dipped our feet in the cool water of the creek. Everyone that passed us was a bit jealous of our perfect afternoon spot.

With a bit of grunting and groaning we woke up from our afternoon naps and consulted the map. It was 2.8 miles to Lake Virginia and another 1.5 to Purple Lake. We figured we'd meet at Purple Lake to swim/bathe and eat dinner. Our habit of eating and then sunset hiking was becoming more of tradition at this point. We both loved an extended dinner hour and the cooler air temperature of the later hours of the day is just ideal for hiking. I also love the fact that the night hikes are at a much slower pace. It is the cool down part of the day both physically and mentally.

Once we got to Purple Lake we jumped in the freezing water and waited for our clothes to dry. We do attempt to stay fairly "clean" and I have to admit my clothes aren't too bad. I can't say enough about my Icebreaker shirt. Wool is totally the way to go. As the sun dipped below the mountain we stayed warm with cheesy broccoli pasta and push ups.