September 6th
I knew today was going to be tough. Second days are always tough, but I could hear Dan tossing and turning all night in his tent. It may not seem like much, but between the wind, other sounds, and novelty of sleeping in a bag on a thin mattress on uneven ground is a difficult adjustment.
We cleared our first pass (Uneva, appx 12,000′) early and then dropped down into the Copper Mountain ski area. Dan had a tough time with the downhill. Individuals react differently to downhill. I kind of like it, but several hikers hate it worse than uphill. In addition to the obvious knee stress, there is potential slipping.
We grabbed a meal and I bought a new headlamp since I had manged to lose mine. Refueled, we climbed. Then we climbed some more. In fact, Copper Mountain was about 9,800 feet above sea level and we ended the day at Searles Pass around 12,500 feet.
I got a little ahead of Dan and tried to find a good campsite, but pretty much everything was exposed. It was interesting to see a herd of domestic sheep and how they behaved near the pass. There was a shepherd I could see. What a life.
I managed to build a little fire with scraps of wood. We went to bed right after eating. I hoped Dan would sleep better his second night. It was fairly windy all night, so I was often disturbed by my own tent flapping.
backpacking over the hill 