Day 143: Ansel Adams Wilderness

Lucky for us, it did not snow in the night, and the forecast looks clear for the remainder of our hike. Still, it was cold in the night. The condensation from our breath froze against the tent walls. With snow still on the ground, we climbed over Donohue Pass (11,073) and then Island Pass (10,226). The going was slow as the ground was icy, snowy, and/or slushy. As the day warmed and we started to drop in elevation, the trail turned to mud and the snow fell from the tree branches high above us. We had some dramatic scenery today, perhaps made moreso with the light dusting of snow. We are camped at a drive up campground tonight after 23 miles, but the campground is closed so we are the only ones here. The nights are cold and it’s getting dark early, so we have been camping at lower elevations and having fires at night. Tomorrow we enter Devil’s Postpile National Monument.