Day 10: Tennessee Pass to Mount Massive Ridge

Two squirrels chattered angrily in the tree above our tent. A lone bird warbled a morning song. Traffic whizzing over nearby Tennessee Pass contributed a dull roar to the cacophony of morning sound.

Mosquitoes soon added their own, unique buzz to he mor ing sounds. Although they did not bother us while hiking, they swarmed whenever we stopped. We tried to ignore them as we hiked, thinking about how the 10th Mountain Division used to train in the forest we were now hiking through.

After wandering through the forest, we entered Holy Cross Wilderness and climbed above treeline into grassy alpine meadows. We passed Porcupine Lakes, really a beautiful lily pad covered swamp with beautiful lily-pad covered swamp with the mountains reflected in its placid waters, with the actual lake nestled in the trees behind.

We stopped briefly at the creek separating sections 9 and 10, cooling off in the flowing water. Little did I know that the afternoon thunder storms would start before I fully dried. We pulled on raingear, but soon found ourselves sweating underneath the long, waterproof layer.

Eventually the rain stopped and we were able to take off our hot, stifling layers. We found a nice camp on the ridge below Mount Massive, perfectly poised to attempt to climb it in the morning.