Day 59 - Long Miles & Bugs

Mile 854.5 to 878.7 - 24.2 miles

A long day in the saddle - and a strange one. I saw no other PCT hikers all day!! Not even at my final campsite at Mono Creek. I guess I'm just caught in a void between groups of hikers. The only folk I saw were southbound JMT hikers including a couple of Aussies. All were keen to find out about pass conditions and depth of fords.
The day started at 6.00 am with a 3000 foot climb ahead of me to reach Selden Pass at 10910 feet. It was one of those mornings when I felt in the groove and was surprised to top the pass after 11 miles at 10.45 am. The actual pass did not come into view until the last minute

And from the top the view from where I had been

and where I was heading - including truckloads of snow to plough through....yay

A few miles later I tackled the famed Bear Creek  - not wide but fast flowing and managed to get only wet up to my crotch with my gear nice & dry.
Later in the day the killer blow was an unwelcome 1000 foot climb to cross from the Bear Creek Valley to Mono Creek Valley. The long switchback down the other side would've been lethal for southbounders but the trees were impressive

I am hopeless with tree identification but best guess includes Ponderosa Pine, Cedar, Ash, Sugar Pine, Douglas Fir etc. Also impressive were these spores??

They would randomly grow amongst the ground litter.
The one constant today has been bugs. Every time I stopped to hydrate/rest I was immediately besieged by all the bugs in humanity - mosquitos, midges & gnats as an aerial attack & ants being the ground force - particularly the big black swine that are aggressive as hell. The campsite was worse with these microscopic lice type things over everything. I lost my rag on a few occasions (an under-estimate).
I should get close to Red Meadows tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a breather at Mammoth where I have a number of gear issues to sort & repair...Weta