Great hiking day for me because the snow difficulties never materialized around the junction to Duck Lake. In fact I made it all the way to Squaw Lake at 10,000 feet with hardly any snow travel. Above me however is Silver Pass and it is all snow. Fortunately it is only about a mile and a half away and 580 vertical feet above me. I plan to start hiking very early so all the snow will be very hard and frozen. I don't think it will be steep, but I will use my ax anyway.

I broke camp a little after 06:00 without breakfast. I was worried that the long, high traverse to Lake Virginia would still have snow drifted across the trail. I never encountered any until reaching Lake Virginia though.

Instead I had a nice wooded forest hike with some wonderful lake views. So I continued past my planned camp another 5+ miles and 1,300 vertical.

Today's sights included Purple Lake, Lake Virginia, Tully Hole (a small meadow with Fish Creek snaking through it), Cascade Valley, and now Squaw Lake.

It sure is nice being called Hardcore again. I met 2 more groups of PCT thruhikers and got to talking trail. Feels good to be part of that community again. Amazing how good a girl with real hairy legs can look too. No sign of Garett and crew since seeing them at Reds Meadow taking the bus to town. One of their number was leaving the trail. Maybe I'll see them at Vermilion Valley Resort. Sounds like there will be lots of PCTers there.

19:13 and time to turn in for tomorrow's alpine start!

p.s. I am now in the John Muir Wilderness.