A night of such good sleep that I left at 08:30 - the latest yet not counting VVR.

The bitter wind was still present but the weather was otherwise nice. This side of the pass is a little steeper, and I tried to glissade. I did not succeed because of the deep suncups and had to walk down following the footprints. It was not long before I was in patch snow admiring the majestic views.

Saw a few more thruhikers heading to the pass. I have to remember to get a few more PCT thruhiker photos.

Yesterday I spent hiking up Evolution Valley. Today I spent much time hiking down LeConte Canyon. Four thousand vertical feet lower than the pass, I found my turnoff at Palisade Creek where I lay down for a rest and ended up napping in the sun. My long break meant that I would not go any further than Deer Meadow, but that is okay.

I'm tenting at a nice spot at the far end of Deer Meadow which is not really a meadow at all but a forest. I had a small fire and now am listening to the rapids as I write this.

Oh, I hiked through a burn area not far from here. The trail was sometimes hard to follow. In some cases it was not a trail at all - just bent grass where others had walked.

Only about 76 miles remain on this trip.

Good night.