Day 51, June 7: Mile 717 to 734

• Start: Monache Meadow - Mile 716.5

• End: Mile 733.8

• Miles: 17.3

• Ascent: 4209 | Descent: 1903

I woke up cold and I was moving slow. Knowing that the day’s miles were few, I was okay with getting a late start. Finally, I got going around 7:30am and started the day with a long climb up through a pine forest. The scenery was getting more and more beautiful with every mile.

I stopped at a water source where someone had fashioned a leaf into a spout that made it very easy to collect the water. I chatted with some hikers there including Shepherd, Katie, Popeye and a Russian couple.

I kept hiking up and up, and enjoyed the view of the treeless, granite colored high Sierra in the distance. After the neverending climb, I finally made it to a small descent for the day. I took a break by myself for an hour and finished my audiobook while I sat in the shade. It was lovely.

I kept hiking on and Squirrel Daddy caught up to me and passed me. We met up again at the next water source and the group of Germans were there- Choo Choo, Christina, Osita, Teddy Bear, Luisa and Constantine. We hiked up the final climb of the day to a beautiful campsite on a ridge below some pines. I had dinner with Squirrel Daddy, Popeye, and Furry before crawling into bed.