Day 57: Silver Pass

Miles hiked: 22.3

Mile marker: 904.1

It’s 5:30 AM when we get moving. We have another long day ahead of us, and it’s quite cold.

Darn it. I should have pulled out my new gloves for this day.

The group passes another stream that rushes over flat rock and resembles a waterslide. Our scene turns into a meadow with a candy shop of flowers: nerd clusters of purple, lavender flowers with honey drops in the middle, orange marmalade explosions, powder sugar cauliflower, and cherry red paintbrushes.

We carefully walk across a river that is rushing white. Rocks are piled on either side. It looks like a waterfall designed for a fancy Japanese restaurant.

It’s not even 6:30 when we begin a climb that exposes giant puffy white clouds over a baby blue canvas. The skinny green trees are clustered over the gray rock as I look out over the mountains. The walls of the mountains are scratched and scarred over its bare face.

As we climb upward, breaths heavy in our chests, a cascade of big gray and tan rocks present themselves with gentle stream of water flowing downward. A waterfall.

Where am I again? Have I stepped into an oasis where only rich people are allowed?

A rocky staircase sits in front of me. We’ve done a few of these now. It’s actually easier to walk on a hill, but the staircase is beautiful. I feel as if I’m back in South Korea, walking up a rock staircase amongst the stunning greenery of the terrain.

The mountain walls around me are now groomed as if snow fell and was petrified.

We reach a green meadow with a creek that meanders through the grass. The water flows gently, sharing a peaceful and calming sound. Birds tweet in the early morning. The sun pokes through the clouds and now a little spot of sky is glowing.

I wish my mom were here to see this. She would love this moment. Around her work and home, she often plays relaxing scenes such as this one, and they always include a calming music soundtrack.

I continue walking, regretting that I didn’t grab a video for my mom. Oh well, there will be plenty of other beautiful spots.

Although, I’m not so sure another spot will resonate with me like this one.

We wander through the woods along a creek for a while. The ground opens up and we’re walking on a slab of rock.

A creek runs through rocks and woods as we walk. As we continue on, the mountain next to us is missing its top by a thick layer of clouds. The mountain is a pale gray cracked canvas painted with bits of squishy grass spots and small rocks.

We’re almost to our next destination. The clouds are bright white on one end and fades to gray on the other.

We reach the top of Silver Pass! We stand atop white rock and look at blue skies with a sea of fluffy clouds in the distance. Green and blue lakes are spread out through the scene around us.

This is one of my favorite passes so far.

A marmot is in the corner licking the salt where Luxy used the restroom. It buries its face into the ground then looks up, smacking its lips from the tasty sodium.

Urine. Yum.

We all giggle as we watch the marmot and his beaver-like face.

Of course Savannah gives the marmot a second helping of salt right where Luxy went.

We descend into a rocky valley. We’re completely encapsulated by a giant mountain wall. The deep blue lake sits next to me, looking like it belongs in a utopia.

We keep moving. Soon we reach a wooden bridge with metal railings. It oversees a river that crashes white down giant rocks and fallen trees.

We walk through meadows and soon decide it’s time for lunch. It’s so windy that we’re looking for a space that won’t freeze us. We come to a beautiful blue lake for lunch. Unfortunately, we can’t sit on the grass by the water because it’s so windy! We sit up in the trees and have lunch there.

I have to dry out my sleeping bag and tent since it was so wet from last night.

Soon Luxy, Savannah, Rafiki, and myself are all squeezed under my sleeping bag. It’s just a cold day.

We pass by stunning mountains and lakes. It’s been an absolutely beautiful day.

Big accomplishment: we reach 900 miles! Another big number!

I call my dad on the way to the tent site. It sounds like we’re going to hike separately for a bit. I’ve been nervous about this since he went solo the other day.

I’m worried that we’ll need to hike separately for the rest of the trip. This is a sad realization for me. Dad likes hiking alone. I like hiking with people.

We were going to camp here, but the group decides to camp further up because this one looks like a bad spot due to being swarmed by mosquitoes.

I’m not apart of this decision as I’m still on the phone with Dad. He booked a room for me at Motel 6, but I’m going to Red’s Meadow Resort!

Aw man, I feel so bad. I wish we had been able to better communicate on my SOS communication device.

Garmin inReaches don’t make for good conversation portals.

Rafiki says, “Here?” and indicates to a field of fallen trees. It’s very cold by this point. We set up between giant mulchy logs with cold fingers.

We have dinner together, very briefly, and soon we’re off to bed!