Day 2: Nigel Pass-Jonas Pass-Poligne Creek

Not the best night's sleep as I woke up cold a few times, and not having eaten the night before probably didn't help. I was camped in a beautiful area and it was lovely to get up and see the mountains and hear the creek running nearby. I love being in a tent. When I lived in Nepal, I worked as a trekking guide so would spend the season taking hiking groups into the different regions of the Himalaya, camping in a tent for up to 3 weeks at a time, and from there I moved to a beach in Southern Thailand where home was yet another tent ... good days.

After getting up, I boiled some water and had my oatmeal and coffee and slowly packed up. After bidding my campspot goodbye, I headed off towards Boulder Creek.

I bumped into a couple at Boulder Creek Campground who were surprised to see me out running, especially as it was only 7 o'clock in the morning! After Four Point Campground, the trail takes you into a forested area and you gain a lot of elevation. Coming out into the open meadows of Jonas Pass is very sweet as it is long and very beautiful.
After enjoying the meadows, it was time to start climbing again, this time up to Jonas Shoulder. The one side of the shoulder was free of snow but the other side still had quite a bit on it so getting over to the next valley was a bit nerve wracking as it meant traversing a fairly steep, snowy slope. I took my time working out the best route to take and weighed up the risks and then moved as quickly as possible. I had realized when I was out on my own the weekend before that it wouldn't be an animal that would give me a problem, it would the natural environment. So, I made sure I was as careful as possible, knowing in the back of my head that something as simple as a twisted ankle would be a big problem out here.After getting over the shoulder, it was time for some more sweet meadow running before hitting the forest trails that would take me to my second campsite at Avalanche.