Morning sun on Rae Lakes, headed for Glen Pass.

A beautiful day for a walk. That’s the Painted Lady, peeking up from behind the ridge.

On Bubbs Creek, .3 mi. from the trail junction of the JMT and Cedar Valley. Betty misread it as “Bubba” Creek, so that’s what it is from now on.

Farewell to Rae Lakes.

Golden grasses caught my eye on the climb to Glen Pass.

The view back down to Rae Lakes, from somewhere on the climb to the pass. I can see my campsite!

This is a lovely wooded area with small meadows. Vidette Meadow by name. Glen Pass was like most of the passes: kick-butt, but doable at a slow and steady pace. I kept looking for mountain sheep, but they eluded my eyes. I did see a number of pikas, which cheers me.

Above the tree line in pika country.

Selfie at the top of Glen Pass. Good to be headed down again.

It’s nice to walk alone, and then really a treat to hear someone call my name. It was the “Boys from Indiana,” who I hadn’t seen since Muir Trail Ranch. Yellie was with them (of course they know each other, in the way that everyone knows everyone out here). They were sitting in the shade a little ways up from the Charlotte Lakes trail junction, and it was good to visit a bit with Steve (who helped me silence my water bottle squeak), Mick, and the others. Then it was a long slog downhill to here. Only 7.5 miles or so today. Tomorrow is Forester Pass, the biggest and baddest of them all! Then in two days, Whitney, and the end of the trail.

These are some rocky, barren heights up here, but the most likely place to see mountain sheep, I’ve read. What do they eat?

A view down a side canyon. Makes me want to see what’s there. More beauty, I suppose…

Here by the stream in Vidette Meadows, there are lots of woodpeckers. The earth looks drier than farther north. Betty and I were supposed to meet at a specific campsite today, when she returned from Independence with the resupply today. She figured that she would arrive at 5:00 PM. I made camp, set up her tent, washed out my clothes and washed off the dust and sweat of the day, and walked back down the trail to meet her at the Cedar Valley trail junction. At about 5:10, she came down the trail. Pretty good guesstimate.

Twins begged to have their picture taken, while waiting for Betty at the trail junction.

Flowers floated among the grasses.

We’re camped near three guys who were wearing earbuds on the trail, so I asked what they were listening to. Christian rock, Avett Brothers, some solo piano music, and some other people I didn’t know and whose names I can’t remember.

I love the junipers!

I love walking up and down through the various biomes, in and out of the chinquapin and manzanita and juniper, down to big lodgepole pine and fir forests, up to matted snow-smashed willow stands (squats?), to the stunted and twisted lodge poles, past the trees and into the area of frosted buckwheat and little flowers I don’t have names for, and then back down through it all again.

7:30 and I’m in bed. Might sleep soon. Betty brought me an new pair of reading glasses!!! What does John Muir have to say this evening?

Vidette Peak, as viewed from our campsite. A vedette is a term for a sentry