Adam, Leigh and the Trees 
Day 85 & 86 – Goodbye snow, hello wildflowers
Monday 22 July 2019
Day: 85
Location: Mile 965.3
Distance travelled: 19 miles / 31 km
We enjoyed a spectacular morning following the river down to Tuolomne Falls. The forest was pretty and the falls were spectacular.
Thanks to all of the snow melt the falls were gushing with water.
The trail climbed throughout the day, we had a few up and downs but all with spectacular Yosemite views in the distance.
We reached Miller Lake in the afternoon. Its was pretty but the mosquitos were not conducive to having a swim.
We didn’t have any passes today but we did have a big climb. The views were worth it though.
We spent the night at a picturesque little campsite on the side of a meadow by a stream. Despite the mosquitoes we had a delightful evening with a young fawn visiting us as the sun set in the sky.
Tuesday 23 July 2019
Day: 86
Location: Mile 983.1
Distance Travelled: 17.8 miles / 29 km
Today was a super pretty stretch of trail. We were out of the long stretches of pine forest of yesterday and into what felt like a magical section of the park.
We crossed beautiful lush meadows where deer grazed in the morning sun, we crossed countless streams and crystal clear waterfalls of fresh snowmelt. Everything was lush and vibrant with the backdrop of the iconic white granite of Yosemite. It was a good day hiking. It was tough hiking with a lot of ups and downs but it was beautiful.
The snow has well and truly melted in this section and spring wildflowers were beginning bloom.
We crossed two passes today, first up was Benson Pass followed later in the day by Seavey Pass. It was a dramatic change from the experience we had with some of the passes earlier in the Sierras. The two passes we hiked over today were mostly snow free which meant they were also hassle free. The climbing is still tough but actually having a trail to walk on and not having to worry about slipping on snow and falling to your death certainly makes the hiking a lot more pleasant.
We had two strange little bouts of rain today. It isn’t meant to rain at all in the sierras this time of year and we haven’t had rain in over a month. When it started sprinkling Adam and I were confused about what was happening. Sap dripping from a tree above? A bird pooping? Nope, it was definitely rain. Both times it was merely a sprinkle and it didn’t last for long.
We enjoyed a rain free evening camped on a rock edge with views over the valley below us, a beautiful end to a beautiful day in the mountains.
Adam, Leigh and the Trees 
Hi Leigh n Adam, Not falling to your death is always a good option! It’s great to see that you have well trodden paths to follow on this section of the trail. Every section seems to have its challenges though – I note the very fetching mosquito nets you are wearing! It seems to me that the seasons must be a bit out of whack! Aren’t they meant to be going in to autumn, not just starting to have flowers blooming and snow melt just finishing!! We are starting to get some warmer weather which we expect coming in to spring n summer. We went to Pa’s yesterday with Claire n Amy n families and your mum n dad n Matt n Bernadette for a “last supper”. There are no plates or glasses or anything so we took plastic plates, glasses and some extra chairs and had a pizza dinner. We feel that we have done all that is needed and we wanted to mark the finish. We are getting through the garage as well and are all looking forward to some free time very soon. Stay safe. Love Carole xx
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To Leigh, et al. Thank you for the beautiful photos; to those of us who can no longer hike due to age & arthritis, they are a godsend.
To Carole: While July is sizzling in the California deserts, in the high Sierras summer is mid July to mid August (if we’re lucky).
Stay safe & keep roaming!
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