Aug 13: A cold in summer? -- Seldon Pass -- Into Kings Canyon

I wake up with a cold. It’s a big surprise, as I’ve been in the greatest health for months. Not really any choice but to keep on going. I don’t have any cold medicine but at least I have a hankerchief.

On this first half of the trip I was eating granola bars for breakfast -- certainly fast but not particularly satisfying. I brought up the rear as we check out of the meadow at about 9 AM.

We quickly start gaining elevation and enter a more alpine environment. Before long we hit Marie Lake, and see Seldon Pass just beyond. I rock hop to an island on the lake for this panorama while David passes me by. This area is clearly a better campsite than Rosemarie Meadow was.

A few minutes later we are reach Seldon Pass. I clamber to the east side of the pass and shoot a few shots. It’s a welcome rest stop and I snack a bit on raisins. We notice a lot of other hikers resting here as well.

From Seldon Pass you can see Marie Lake, Heart Lake, the Mono Divide, Ward Mountain, and Mt. Senger.

We head onwards and reach Heart Lake, a delightful rest stop. Worthy of a panorama.

D&S take off, and I’m only slightly behind. Then I see a great vista open up over Sallie Keys Lakes. The best view is off the trail in a giant boulder field. I do some maintenance on my pack and continue downhill.

I catch up to D&S at Sallie Keyes Lake, where they are resting on the water’s edge. We all pick up and continue for the long downhill to the San Joaquin River. Towards the bottom of the hill we pass some guys singing old marine drill songs.

As we pass Tule Lake, I get the feeling that there’s going to be a lot of people at our campsite tonight so I speed up some. About 5PM I pull in to our camp on the shores of the Piute Creek-San Joaquin river intersection. Sure enough, some women have staked out the best spot, and even decorated nearby campsites with their underwear, in a thinly vieled attempt to keep everyone else far away.

The grandeur of these steep rock canyon walls inspired my curiosity. With more time I would have liked to explored up Piute Canyon, and revisit Humphreys Basin.

D&S pull in and I’m drafted for the obligatory bridge shot. We have a sandy campsite with lots of ants. I made many treks down to the Puite Creek for water. Right about sunset a white-haired guy comes into camp and sets up his tent practically on the bridge. I don’t put up my tent and sleep OK except for the occasional big Sierra ant crawling across my face.

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