Basin

I camped out in the Buttermilks, and got a late start. I had taken a few days off to wait out the weather and had clearly gotten soft. I paid for this with the hot first few miles up and away from the sagebrush, but soon I was in the high country, bushwhacking around Horton Lake. 

Once past the bush, I made good progress up the scree on the backside of Basin. Atop the summit, the picture of the toothlike spires from the other side slowly fell into place.  I felt like I was in some high dream like wonderland. In a place I had seen a thousand times from below, but a place that I had never been and may never return to. Tom and Humphreys both greeted me from the north and south. I sat and soaked it all in, and then slowly made my way back down to earth. The heat came back, the views were gone, and I was back to working my way through sagebrush, scraping my shins raw. I ran into a few guys hiking Tom in the last few miles, and the mercifully gave me a ride the last mile to my car.

Now, every time I drive through Bishop I gaze up at the skyline, and fondly remember this day.