View to the west between Duck Creek and Purple Lake
Sunday, 31 July 7.0 miles,3:20
Purple Lake
The sky looked threatening as soon as I got up but I figured we had time to get at least a few miles in. We started out with a short, steep climb and then a contour before dropping down to Purple Lake. It’s too bad we couldn’t get here yesterday to camp as it is quite beautiful and the trail was not as exposed as I had thought. After a bathroom and water break we pressed on to the even more stunning Lake Virginia. This deep blue pool is set into a bog-like meadow, emerald with fresh, young growth. Ringing this basin are sharp, snow-spotted peaks. The sky was worsening and a crossing of the rain-swollen outlet of the lake had taken some time so we didn’t linger. Shortly after, we began a long, switch-backing descent of a steep slope into Tully Hole. This area was loaded with many lovely and varied wildflowers, some I’ve been seeing a lot of and some I hadn’t seen before. Although we were trying to get in as many miles as we could before the seemingly imminent storm, I paused to admire and photograph many of these flowers. A new flower for me was the Subalpine Mariposa Lily (Calochortus leichtlinii). This sweet, three-petaled beauty is creamy white with a central eye of brown and yellow. I didn’t notice any scent and it wasn’t particularly flashy or colorful but its delicate simplicity and relative uncommonness meant seeing one was a special treat. Along the way I also saw streamside gardens of Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis), Swamp Onion (Allium validum), and Great Red Paintbrush (Castelleja miniata).
A diversity of wildflowers near Tully Hole
We continued our long descent and after finally leveling out into Tully Hole, our trail came along Fish Creek where the storm finally hit. It was barely ten o’clock and it hit fast. Rain and hail poured into my tent, still wet from yesterday’s dousing, while I pitched and moved into it. The storm persisted with little thunder and lightning, but a lot of precipitation for three frigid hours before we emerged for a damp supper of cous-cous. I eyed the stream that we were camped next to. It had risen substantially during the storm and was still rising as run-off from higher ground made its way down but we still had some clearance. I wondered if we should move our tents uphill before going to bed but laziness and general disgruntlement prevailed. The tents are staying put for now. If this pattern of morning storms continues we will have a problem. Our food is running out. Between us and our next resupply is a high, exposed pass. Any other escape route is over high, exposed terrain. All we need is no storm before noon to get over this next pass. I hope it happens tomorrow.
