I dropped over the saddle and down large talus and granite slabs, jogging along a babbling mountain stream, brimming with scrub and overripe wildflowers, arriving at the Volcanic Lakes basin. A dozen lakes of various sizes sat in yawning bowls of polished granite, their outlets flowing along the sturdy canyons and dropping off out of site to the Middle Fork Kings.
We chatted a while longer, enjoying the rain and the thunder from the comfort of the porch. By 3:30, the rain started to let up and I decided I should turn around and head home. 26 miles was plenty of hiking for one day.
Eventually we found ourselves at Sphinx Col and for the first time in five hours were rewarded with something other than one more cirque to climb. Mt Brewer and the Great Western Divide extended southward before us.
The other group was watching me and based on their comments I must have made it look particularly difficult. I assured them that I was not a great climber and that the route probably was not as bad as I’d made it look, but they seemed unconvinced.
