Miles hiked: 20.1.
Some rain and the flash-boom started up around 2 this morning, and of course since it woke me up I also had to get up and pee right then. It turned out OK, since the rain lasted only a few minutes (just about long enough for me to decide to use my water scoop in stead of going out and getting wet), and when I went outside the moonlight was divided through the thinning clouds, casting a soft glow through the trees.
Much of the hiking today was through closed in Lodgepole forest with occasional Red Fir copses. There were only occasional long views out toward peaks silhouetted in the low sunlight and haze of this surprisingly humid morning. My mind was left to wander, from wilderness ethics to the details of the book I'm reading to different styles of thru hiking to the antics of the hikers at Tuolumne to wondering whether any of the juncos I was hearing were actually Chipping Sparrows. After 4-5 miles the trail crossed a few meadows being overtaken by the steady march of trees, then dropped down into then climbed out of a canyon, and deposited me on the shores of Miller Lake just in time for a long lunch. I'm aiming for 20 mile days up to Echo Pass, and since I'd already done about 12 by noon, I stayed at Miller for about 2.5 hours. Where the trail passes the lakeshore, there is a thin band of straw colored coarse sand; around to the right side is a grassy shore with pretty flat bathymetry; and to the left are steep little cliffs plunging in to deeper water. I went left and found a flat rock in the shade just before it got cliffy. Stripped and jumped in and got out to warm in the sun, then settled in with snacks and the book. Meanwhile a few backpackers arrived at the beach and proceeded to have a 15 minute debate about whether or not to go swimming. I was tempted to yell across the water that it's a pretty easy decision, either get in or don't, but ended up holding my tongue.
Eventually all the shade was gone from my rock so I took that as a sign to keep walking. The trail next dropped down in to the stunning Matterhorn Canyon, which I guess drains down from Matterhorn Peak. The were tall jagged ridges and high hanging valleys to the east. The geology seemed different too: the rock seemed to have more block-like fractures here, rather than the flaming that you see around Tuolumne. The canyon also seemed cut by liquid water, rather than glaciers (but there were the hanging valleys).
The climb out of this canyon was a bit warm and steep in places. Now that we're off the JMT, the trail is a bit less well maintained and has some steeper sections; pretty fun. We climbed up a side canyon, then up and out of that canyon and over Benson Pass. Similar to Goodale, this pass was a big flat saddle with a few hardy alpine forbs clinging to the course sand. At just a bit over 10,000 feet, this pass was below treeline, and Lodgepoles grew singly or in small groups. I hung out there for a bit with Fix It and Pinenut, who used to be Air and who I met at Warner Springs (mile 106) but haven't seen since.
It was just a few more miles down to Miller Lake, through alpine meadows and down big steps of granite slabs. Set up camp along the lakeshore, prepared for rain and mosquitoes, and ate a too-spicy dinner while the thin clouds turned electric orange and pink.
Birds:
Brown Creeper
Cassin's Finch
Clark's Nutcracker
American Robin
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Mountain Chickadee
Oregon Junco
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Western Wood-pewee
Hammond's Flycatcher
Pine Siskin
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
Stellar's Jay
Northern Flicker
Brewer's Blackbird
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