When We were relaxing at VVR a weather report came in that was somewhat alarming. The Dweeb Report (yes that is what it is called) was predicting a weather freak-show starting on the sixth. Predictions were for three to six inches of snow down to seven thousand feet with substantially more on the passes. A report like this presents a difficult decision for backpackers and an especially important decision for backpackers who pack as light as Molly and I do.
We are not equipped for snow travel so in the event of snow we would likely be holed up in our tent for a couple of days until it warmed up again. Several backpackers decided to extend their stay at VVR to see how the weather played out. I spoke with a couple attempting to hike the JMT with their two young children, they had decided to end their trip at VVR. They had already 
been trapped in a hailstorm on Donahue Pass and were concerned about hypothermia in the event of a snowstorm. Us? Well, ever the skeptic i decided to ignore the weather report and continue Hiking. I had bailout points marked on the map and was ready to live with the decision.
As it turned out there was no snow, no rain, just some clouds and a ten degree drop in temperature for a day. Seldon Pass was EASY Molly and I both felt like we just flew up the pass and cruised down the other side. In retrospect I think Seldon Pass is the easiest pass of the entire trip.
8-6-2009
Last night I had dreams about being sick and that led to me feeling ill again this morning. We slept in so that I could recover and finally got up around 8:00. I felt 90% but still have a scratchy throat. Most of the day was cold and cloudy, especially the hike up to Seldon Pass. Once late afternoon came the clouds had mostly disappeared but it was about ten degrees colder than normal. The day’s hiking was easy and I kept thinking that Seldon Pass was the Yin to the Silver Pass Yang. Tonight might be our last campfire as we are mostly going to be above 10,000 feet from here on.
Matthew Parker's photography is captivated by the challenge of catching
the beauty of creation, undestroyed by humans. Whether in distant
National Parks, urban parks or in his hometown of San Diego, Matt enjoys using the camera lens to
frame the incredible beauty around him. He seeks to capture both the
easily-overlooked beauty of subtle patterns in rocks and water
reflections, as well as the magnificent grandeur of mountain peaks and
grand vistas.
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Glad you are back to this updating of your hike!