The wind was supposed to stop at midnight. It did not. It continued all night long. Occasional large gusts battered the tent throughout the night. I got no sleep. I do not think Journey slept much either as I could hear her tossing and turning all night long.
It was still windy in the morning. I expected there to be mosquitoes and I bought a new device which supposedly would keep them away but I did not get to test it out because there were none, thanks to the wind. I had to make our breakfast in the tent vestibule again. Journey enjoyed her special breakfast but I could not eat much. We packed up and left early, at 7:30AM.
The photo is Lake Lois Falls. You can tell it is a pretty big cascade but there is still snow covering some of it. If I had waited to come later when the snow was all gone, by then the waterfall would be much reduced in flow. Maybe if I had come a couple weeks later it would be better but I doubt I will ever come back here again even though it is a beautiful place.
Both Journey and I were very tired on the hike back. Due to lack of sleep? Due to the hike being so hard? Due to me still recovering from sickness? Due to all of the above?
There were no mosquitoes so I was very happy about that. The snow was hard and icy on the climb up to the pass. Spikes would have been proper but I did not have mine. Journey was running on ahead in the snow and had no issues. From below it looked pretty treacherous but it really was not because there were footprints I could walk in and dig my feet into the snow.
It was all downhill from the top of the pass but I was just so tired. We stopped at Maud Lake for water and rest. A good decision because there were no mosquitoes there (I figured there would be some at the Silver Creek crossing where we stopped on the way up). Shortly after Maud Lake I stopped for lunch. It was very early for lunch but as I said I was tired. And hungry. After this rest I seemed to gain some energy and was ok for the rest of the hike. Journey, however, was not. She was tired and lagging. Whenever we stopped for a rest, even a short one, she plopped down on the ground. We took quite a few rest breaks and eventually we made it back to the car. It was 2PM. Journey needed the rest of the day and the next one as well to recover completely. I bought her a hamburger on the way home. She deserved it. It was a marvelous overnight trip in the Desolation Wilderness.
