Day 13 - Zero Day

Thursday, July 29, 2010 -Day 13
Stats for the day: Stayed Put at Brown Bear Lake (11,010'). Total ascent 0'. Total Descent 0'. Total Distance 0.0 miles. 0 hrs 0 mins walking. Hours spent fishing: 1 hr. # of fish caught: 5 (3 for dinner with mashed potatoes)

Total laziness. I stayed in bed until 9, the sun mercifully hiding behind the clouds and a strong cool breeze adding to my comfort. We are way above tree line, so the shade we enjoy comes only from the Fair Weather Cumulus clouds drifting northward overhead. I stared at the clouds while I was lying in my sleeping bag, seeing elephants, witches. whales and steaming teapots floating past. It has been a long, long time since I took such liberties. This is our rest day, the first in 8 days, and it felt great to lay in my bag going in and out of consciousness. I could feel the fatigue each time I considered getting up. To date we have done 99 miles, 47 of it cross-country, and have ascended 33,625 feet crossing over 16 passes. I trained for this trip and it really has made a difference, but when you know you have a zero day your body just says, "It's okay to let down today, so you bet I'm going to!"

So I got up about 9, gathered my smelly clothes, socks, shirt, pants and underwear and carried them to a small tarn, first stripped nude and washed my body, then washed my clothes. I had to sew the seam in the butt of my pants. Two weeks of sitting on abrasive granite wore the stitching thru and the seam separated. The closest color thread to the grey pants was lime green. Won't win any fashion shows, but functional.

The weather was puffy cumulus clouds blocking the sun about half the time during the day. I wore my big brimmed hat and did not want to put sun block on my clean body; consequently I sun burned my nose.

I fished off and on during the day, caught and released two, then later in the day caught three for dinner.

Much of the day I laid on my thermarest pad with my bear can and sleeping bag as a pillow and finished reading "Battlefield Earth" on my iPhone. I monitored my solar collector and managed to charge my phone above 90% for the first time in a week.

Andy and I played a game of Scrabble after dinner. He kicked my butt, 339 to 209.

We had visitors today. A group of three, two men about our age and one's son are camped about 50 yards down the lake shore. They are out for 7 days. A group of 4 day hikers from a nearby lake came to fish Teddy Bear Lake, right next to Brown Bear Lake where we are.

I am back in bed; it is 7:50. The sun is lighting the tips of the mountains across the lake. I'm outside the tent, enjoying the view, the air movement, and in an hour the constellations and planets. Andy and Gary are inside to avoid the very few bugs (I have yet to experience one tonight-too cold).

Tomorrow we are at it again, To Italy Lake, then up over Gabbot Pass (12,400') and down into the "Second Recess", a glacial valley that empties into Mono Creek. We hope to stay at a lake in the recess.

Hard to believe the adventure is nearly half over already. Tomorrow is day 14. The trip is exceeding all expectations, which is saying a lot because I had really, really high expectations. Good company, fantastic route, great weather (including the lightning storm at Muir Pass!), excellent fishing, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, good food, great exercise. Looking forward to the next 16 days!