The next morning started out promising, with light clouds. After breakfast and breaking camp, we were soon on the trail, lighter due to having consumed food, but heavier due to damp gear. The climb up Bear Ridge was pleasant due to the well-engineered switchbacks, and soon we reached the last switchback, just as the sky darkened and we heard the first claps of thunder. We paused briefly to decide what to do--it seemed too early to hunker down, the thunder wasn't too close, and the rain was light: we pushed on after putting on our rain gear.
Around this time C--one of the two young hikers I'd passed between Purple and Virginia Lakes--caught up with us. Now hiking alone, she asked if she could hike with us, which we agreed to. She was soon sporting her "Lady Gaga" rain gear--a while plastic garbage bag for a jacket, and a black one for a skirt.
The view up Bear Creek showed that the rain clouds were low, but occasionally we could see a hint of light, if not blue, over Selden Pass.
Even with the rain, Bear Creek was a delight as it cascaded over gentle granite slabs. Some may complain that the experience hiking up Bear Creek is more "Mid Sierra" than High Sierra, but such granite is the signature trademark of the Sierra, and it seems fitting that the JMT follows such a lovely creek.
We resisted the urge to take a detour to "Lake Fugly" at rain-swollen Hilgard Branch.
For some reason I hadn't expected our first--and only--wet creek crossing until Evolution Creek, but we got wet (or, rather, wetter) crossing Bear Creek. Eventually we reached a spot where we could see Seven Gables; past it was the promise of blue sky.
Rosemarie Meadow welcomed us back to the High Sierra proper.
In 2008 A and I had had to pitch our shelter and wait out a short thunderstorm at Marie Lake; the clouds regrouped and we had to do the same thing this time. Someday I'll have to visit this place when there's not a storm!
Fortunately, the rain lasted only a short while, so after some tea, we were lured back onto the trail by blue skies over Selden Pass.
While C had kept up with our group to Marie Lake, our pace was a bit fast for her, so she decided to camp at Marie Lake, despite some trepidation about the thunder. We needed to push on, so we said goodbye and were soon climbing above the lake. The blue skies that had coaxed us out from our shelter were nowhere to be found to the north, although Mts. Hilgard, Gabb, and Abbot were. Fortunately, blue skies were still visible across Selden Pass.
After a brief photo stop at the pass, we were soon dropping to Heart Lake.
After Heart, we descended to Sallie Keyes Lake.
While heeding to the call of nature, I noticed that the trail used to go through a nice meadow just south of Sallie Keyes Lakes instead of the comparatively view-less forest it now stays in.
The H party had decided to camp the night at the hot springs near MTR, but the rest of us stopped at a nice campsite with views overlooking Blayney Meadows that JKW had camped at in 2010.
As we set up camp and cooked dinner, the clouds continued to lift. The last forecast we had received was that the monsoonal thunderstorms would end on Sunday--today. Given what we had experienced the past few days, there were no guarantees, but we definitely would have welcomed a change in the weather. We still had many long days ahead of us without much ability to make up for time "lost" waiting out a storm.
