Day 6: San Joaquin Ridge hike.

This was the longest hike of them all—a consistently uphill trail from the Minaret Summit trailhead over a broad, gravelly rise.



I was clearly prepared and well-seasoned by this time.



Exciting chair-like tree formation.



Farmhand.



The mountain lupine carpeted the ridge and met the sky over every hill.



Tiny flowers peppered the pumice-dirt; everything was smaller and more exposed at this elevation.



The trail ended at Deadman Pass, 10,242 feet above sea level.



We stopped for lunch and shade. Mark explored the snowbank that Daniel and I are looking at in the picture above this one.



We rested.



And then we geared up for the pleasantly downhill walk back.



Butterflies were everywhere, including in this picture.



The rounded vistas were striking, and the distance we covered almost daunting because we could see so much of it at one time.



We happened off the trail at one point to discover this igneous outcropping.



So much volcanic rock!



And so much snow—in July.



Snowball fight.





Daniel plucked some flowers for me and I stuck them in my hair<3



After we returned, Daniel and I decided to frolic in the meadow behind the cabin like we'd planned on doing all week.



The meadow became golden in the rays of sunset that peeked over the mountain range.









And later on, Daniel caught me doing laundry. I can't tell you how great it was to have a washer and dryer.