IN THESE WOODS: DAY 73: STUBBLEFIELD CANYON WOLF PACK REUNION

miles: 21

More alpine lakes, breathtaking views, and solitude in Yosemite. We are just east of the part of Yosemite thinks of when they think of "Yosemite". It is no less gorgeous or dramatic and today we are due East of the famous Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. I couldn't resist every single photo opportunity!

Today - Benson Pass, our "last" "Sierra" ish pass... and a "small" one at that. It actually took a great deal of strength for me to get over it, for some reason, considering it's low elevation. The mosquitos were thick - thick enough to warrant a head net and impermeables. They were tolerable today though.

Met a thru-hiker on the top of Benson Pass while we were taking 2nd breakfast (at 9:00am) named Anish. She surprised us out of nowhere in her black and white floral dress and miniature ultralight backpack. Come to find out, she is attempting to break a thru-hike record and was going 42 miles that very day.

OMG. It was crazy to think that she would be passing the 1,000 mile marker by nightfall and would complete her thru-hike in a matter of a few months. She started on JUNE 8th. Yes, June 8th. And she was already almost at the 1,000 mile mark by July 1st.

uh....

We endured our first thunderstorm today after our lengthy lunch break near a rushing creek. When we got to lunch it was BAKING hot and I was washing my clothes, laying our wet sleeping bags and tent out, and otherwise enjoying a good sun tan, but after one hour, everything changed. I noticed dark, threatening thunder clouds forming to the South of us on the horizon and I became rather worried. Rocky and King Street don't fear thunderstorms like I do. "Worried" is an understatement, I was sort of panicking (inside) at this point. We had to do another exposed climb directly after lunch and I was not about to ascend into a tree-less lightning field. I urged the guys to stay put and wait it out, and that is just what we did, THANKFULLY! The thunderstorm rapidly accelerated into a raging, horizontal wind situation complete with lightning in a matter of minutes and luckily, we were able to take shelter under the stand of trees near the river. We rain-proofed our packs, insulated ourselves from the ground by sitting on our sleeping pads, and waited it out. And it wasn't even scary! Actually, it was quite hilarious.

We had a great time under those trees, and King Street even presented his harmonica we did not know he had and played us a few tunes, much to our amusement.

Just as the rain was letting up and the thunder/lightning had moved on, who comes down the trail? Smiles and Dr. Slosh! King Street played them a river crossing jig tune and we were reunited!!! We were wondering when they would catch up to us! We hadn't been sure whether or not they were in front of or behind us for 2 days now and we were starting to fret.

Here we were, partial wolf pack reunion, missing Sour Cream, Chik Chak and Starfox. But we knew we'd be reunited soon.

The rest of the day was spent battling wet mosquitos (who knew the rain didn't deter them?) and catching up with Smiles & Slosh.