Do you remember back to the first of July when I posted about a hike I did for work down to a place called Pate Valley? Do you remember how I talked about it being really hot, really exposed, and there being a lot of rattlesnakes? Do you also remember I said I would never do that hike again? Well... I did.
My last hike of the season was back to Pate Valley. It didn't seem so bad this time. The weather was quite a bit cooler. In fact, the temperature was 27* when Martina and I started our hike early the first morning. We didn't see a single rattlesnake the entire trip. We took our equipment down and camped in the valley for the night. The river was quite a bit lower than our first visit. Martina and I packed smarter this time, sharing a bear canister and tent, so our packs were lighter. We'd had a whole season of hiking behind us and we were able to hike out two hours faster (two hours!!) than our first trip down to Pate. Oh, and did I mention fall colors were starting to show? Pate Valley is still one of my least favorite hikes, but at least I feel I'm leaving the park on better terms with that trail than I would have had I only hike it that one time.
Looking at the eastern end of Hetch Hetchy, looking very low.
Some fall colors!
The week before my trip to Pate, I had my last trip up to Merced Lake to take down equipment. Once I get up past Bunnell Cascade, the trail is one of my favorites in the park. There were also some beautiful fall colors along the way.
Not the best picture, but some lovely colors starting to show on the opposite shore of Merced Lake.
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