SHR DAY 8 -

Headed over Puppet Pass and down to the French Valley, then up past Merriam Lake on my way to Feather Pass. There was no surprise when before I reached this second pass of the day I was hit with an even harsher storm than on previous days and had to stop early.

Mesa Lake early in the morning

Another pic of Mesa Lake on the way to Puppet Pass.

The view from Puppet Pass. The long lake on the right is Puppet Lake where I had hoped to camp last night but I’m still behind schedule.

Coming down Puppet Pass

About 1/4 of the way down Puppet Pass I stopped to rest, turned to my right, and there beside me was an iPhone just sitting on a rock ledge. Somebody had most likely forgotten it there days ago as the battery was drained and it was a little wet from the previous days rains. I figured nobody would be coming for it at this point so I put it in my pack, hoping to mail it back to the owner when I was able.

You can see the storm clouds building and they unleashed on me about an hour later. The storm hit hard with driving rain, hail, gusting winds and lightning that was waaaay to close for comfort. It was very dramatic. Like an idiot I actually tried to wait it out in my rain coat and pants but after 30 minutes I thought “THIS IS CRAZY!” and rushed around looking for a flat spot. However, all the flat spots had 2-3 inch sheets of rushing water that was running off from higher ground. The angled rocky slab below was the only spot I could find that didn’t have a river running through it.

As I hurried to set up the tent with the wind whipping it around, a guy walked up seemingly out of nowhere. He had a cowboy hat, shorts and a coat and was carrying 6 fish that he had just caught. The thought of this person nonchalantly fishing in a fierce storm in shorts instantly relaxed me. If he felt comfortable fishing in this weather then why was I feeling stressed and panicky setting up my tent.

In the pouring rain and wind this fellow seemed concerned and asked if I wanted help setting up the tent. I guess my attempts so far hadn’t instilled him with confidence. I had developed a strong attitude of self reliance on this trip so I declined. He told me that his group were camped over the next ridge and that if I needed help to come on over. Still looking worried for me he asked again if I wanted some help but I cheerily said no thanks and he headed back to his camp. With some difficulty I did figure it out as evidenced above.