A very fine day for hiking. Most of the smoke had cleared overnight, leaving the sky a sparkling blue rather than a dirty gray. The water at Poison Meadow Spring gushed pure and cold out of the mountainside, belying its ominous name. The weather appears to have turned, and I saw clouds for the first time since I started hiking. Apparently some cooler and moister air is finally beginning to displace the infernally hot and dry air mass that has been baking these mountains. There was even a bit of a thunderstorm to cool things off and settle the trail dust.
Spent an hour at Cottonwood Pass trying to get a signal, to no avail. Hiked on to Chicken Spring Lake – the first lake I have encountered – and hopped right in for a cold and refreshing bath, along with several other hikers. I was talking about my frustration at not being able to call or text Cathy on our anniversary when one of them (Trooper) piped up and offered the use of his satellite phone to send her a text. Hope she got it and I think it will be a little puzzle for her clever brain to solve figuring out how it got to her. She will enjoy that.
Camped in view of the Sierra crest