The 20+ miles we did today were tough miles, but we managed to land up in the end at Tuolumne Meadows! We were up ‘n at em at 5:00am, knowing we had 2 snowy passes to cross. First was Island Pass, with its gorgeous views of Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake. The snow was definitely a factor, but not too bad compared to what we have been through. On the way up to Donohue Pass, though, there is a section with lots of creeks. Bill missed a turn of the PCT, and we ended up “lost” for about 40 minutes before Bill said, “forget finding the trail— we go straight up.”

Fortunately, we did find the trail again, eventually. There was quite a bit of snow on the Pass, but we made the top and down to the Tuolumne River on the other side. But we were worried about the Post Office closing before we could get there, so after the last “big ford” of the Tuolumne, Bill took off. I followed as fast as I could, but didn’t reach the PO/store until 6:15pm, totally wasted. Once I recovered a bit, I sorted all the food and now we are cowboy camped in the backpacker campground with the JMT people and the mosquitoes.

Walk to Rauros: Leave the border of Lothlórien and are given gifts from Galadriel