Day 10: Colby Meadow to Marjorie Lake-19 Miles

Today started wit ha long slow climb out of Deer Valley up what hikers call the "Golden Staircase". The trail was poorly maintained and overgrown in many sections with steep uphill and shale in most parts. We fought mosquitos all morning until we got up out of the valley. We summited Mather Pass at 1 pm, so we managed 2 mi/hr uphill which was better than I expected.

Hiked down to South Fork Kings River with no problems, the trail was much better after getting over the pass. We hiked up to Bench Lake, which was beautiful, and then up to lake Marjorie.

Bench lake skyline

Set up camp and looked at the maps. If we can get around 20 miles tomorrow we can finish a day early. That would mean summiting both Pinchot and Glen Pass tomorrow, which would suck, but getting hot showers and real food a day sooner will probably be a good enough motivator. Going to wake up early to try and get a start on what will be a long day.