Friday, July 25. Marie Lake. 10,500 feet. 12.6 miles.
The setting here at Marie Lake is certainly our most spectacular campsite so far. Nestled in a broad granite basin, the lake is situated only one mile and three hundred vertical feet below Selden Pass. The peaks of the Mono Divide are visible several miles to the north. We are wrapped on the remaining three sides by nearer peaks dominated by Seven Gables topping 13,000 feet. Though peaks surround us, we are not hemmed in. This is an open expansive place.
Polished granite, wind-sculpted whitebark pines, and the lake's islands, coves and peninsulas combine in a stunning setting to sit and enjoy the heights beyond. Our constant companions, the rain clouds, have separated enough to add a spectacular sunset to this incredible show.
This morning we broke camp, our most enjoyable so far, with ambitious plans to gain back some of the miles we have lost to the weather. A bright sky lifted our spirits and the chatter flowed between us. We descended the remaining two miles to Mono Creek (7,800 feet) and climbed Bear Ridge on the other side. I have made this climb before and was dreading doing it again. It is a seemingly endless series of switchbacks through forest cover. When I last walked here, it was near the end of the day and the relentless climb was drudgery. This time, fresh and more fit, Drew and I easily reeled in the elevation.
It couldn't last and it didn't. Enshrouded in trees at the top of Bear Ridge, we hadn't noticed the gathering clouds. But on the long traverse of the ridge, the persistent rain pattern returned. Thankfully, it never rained hard. It was just a nuisance.
After descending 1,000 feet on the far side of Bear Ridge, we joined Bear Creek that we followed six more miles to our camp here. The walk along Bear Creek was truly enjoyable. Up a gentle gradient, we ascended painlessly through classic Sierra landscape - a beautiful open forest, protruding granite monoliths, all beside a rollicking creek. The only obstacle on the walk was a hairy crossing of Bear Creek through fast moving thigh-high water.
I cannot recall ever seeing such a spectacular sunset as this. Under the warm light of the setting sun, powerful clouds with a tremendous vertical reach are dancing on a persistent cold wind for an ever-changing show.
How do you tell people about such places? Words can't do it. Pictures only approximate it. What is finer than a spent body with a full stomach sitting here watching this show? There is satisfaction in knowing you have earned the right to see such a spectacle - way up here - all alone.
It is 9:00 and Drew is in tears. This is the first time that being stuck out here with Dad is reaching him. Earlier, he sat on a rock, fishing in aggravated silence. "I don't want to be here. It's nice and all, but it's a long time." I stupidly mentioned the coming start of the school year, and that sent him into a tailspin of depression. Drew faced some truly difficult times in school last year. In his mind, school is directly responsible for the pain in his life. He is worried that when school starts, he will descend into despair.
Too late. Too tired. Goodnight.
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