The skies cleared over night but left a heavy dew. The inside of the tent was covered with a layer of ice and there was frost on the food bags left outside. Our drinking tubes froze shut and socks which were wet become stiff. It was cold, such is July in Colorado camped at 12,000 feet.
The morning walk was a cold bath, walking through willows wet from the heavy dew. The water ladens branches and leaves were just waiting for a passing hiker to wash. Turn your head, don’t forget to get behind the ears. Completely wet from waist down.
The morning found us walking right on the divide, along a wooded ridge with lots of short ups and downs. Eventually as the ridge got higher we broke out above the trees with views all around.
As the divide turned north it dropped into the first of two “Knife Edges”. The first was really more of a “butter knife”, slighty rounded on top. At the end of this ridge the trail took to a contour on the east side of the divide, going in and out of several high basins. Occasional elk and mule deer were in the basin grazing on the lush green grass and having wildflowers for dessert.