Bushcamp to Muir Shelter
19.2 miles
Mile 838.6
I woke up comfy as hell in my fantastic tent. It had been another warm night, which I was thankful for. I quickly packed up before setting out into the dark around 4.
It was a rough morning for me. I slipped multiple times on ice and frozen rocks I didn’t see, tearing up my Smartwool tights, shredding my knees in the process.
Just as the sun was coming up I turned a corner to find myself eye to eye with a fox. He stared at me for a moment warily, before bouncing up the mountain.
We only walked on snow for an hour or so, before descending low enough to enjoy a dirt trail. This helped us make great time as we sped towards Muir Pass nearly 20 miles off.
We’d need to make good time in order to safely cross the pass before the sun did it’s work on the snow. Just our luck, we didn’t hit a river crossing or snow drift until we were within 4 miles of the pass.
I was ahead of Spikes, so waited for her at the base before beginning the final ascent. When she arrived she mentioned that she wasn’t feeling great, but with limited camping options as high as we were, we decided to push up towards the summit.
The ascent up the snowy Pass was gradual and the snow was just right to allow for an easy climb. We passed a few frozen lakes before reaching the top, where we found the Muir Shelter.
Erected by the Sierra Club in honor of John Muir, it’s meant to shelter those in need during storms. Tonight however, it’ll be sheltering us.
We let ourselves in and made ourselves at home in the musky rock structure. While picking at my dinner a sudden shriek from spikes grabbed my attention. From behind the dedication plaque she saw a mousey face. Upon further inspection I found this little guy.
No idea what it was, but it was cute as hell. I was a bit concerned that I’d wake up with him gnawing through my food bag, but thankfully he left us alone.
We were cozy in our mountain top room, waiting out the snow that had just began to fall. Glad for the shelter, we plan for an early wake up tomorrow for a big mileage day.
Cheers!