It was very nice to wake up to a clear sky and no snow on the ground!

We didn’t have a pass to hike over today, so we took our time and enjoyed hiking in (relatively) lower elevations and warmer weather. It’s amazing what a couple thousand foot elevation change can do!

I took some time to fish along the way landing some very nice looking golden trout. They weren’t the biggest, but I love the colors on these small stream trout.

We stopped for lunch near a larger stream in the afternoon. Amy built a fire, and I caught some trout to cook.

After lunch we hiked on through a really nice section of pine trees.

Suddenly the valley opened up and we found ourselves in a meadow with a meandering stream surrounded by mountain peaks.

We came across several deer throughout the afternoon as we worked our way down trail.

The views and scenery somehow got even better as the day wore on!

Eventually, we started gaining elevation as we approached Muir Pass. We planned to camp a few miles from the top so we could traverse it on solid snow in the morning. As we climbed we found ourselves back in the snow.

We settled into camp just as the sun was setting and a bright full moon was rising.