Last night was the coldest night yet. It was miserable. Though we were at 8750 feet, the lowest elevation of the trip aside from the trailhead, the air felt freezing because of all the moisture created from the creeks. There was frost on the ground and hot oatmeal never tasted so good!!!
We were very anxious to get going and get to the car. We left camp again around 7:00 and started heading up to our last big saddle at 9890 feet. The uphill felt good in that it warmed us fairly quickly. As we gained the highpoint we went through dozens of aspen groves that were unbelievably gorgeous in the morning light. Coming down from the saddle was rough because the trail was so steep. I think we were all glad when we got to the final 2 miles of the trail, not just because the car was not too far away, but because we got to go up a bit and work different muscles! Ironically, my brother has the same bad knees I do (go figure!) so steep downhill is rough.
Well, we made it back to the parking lot at about 1:00 and were very grateful for the change of clean clothes we left in the car. Adam and I both nodded off on the drive home. We all raced for the showers back at the house and thoroughly enjoyed a hot meal, warm beds, and running water!
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