The day started with another attempt at our failed creek crossing. The river had gone down about 6 inches and we were ready to give it a shot. The crossing was tough but we went in pairs and made it just fine. Fine is relative. We were waist deep in snowmelt at 6:30 in the morning. Then we had two more to go…
The second creek went pretty well. There was an easy ford to an island with a log going across the other side. Walking the log over a raging river was scary, but at least my parkour classes were paying off.
The third creek was another fun one. We heard rumors of a snow bridge about a mile upstream, so we started looking. We didn’t cross on a snow bridge, but we did find a spot where the river split and the current was pretty mellow. The only real problem was that both banks of the river were snow!
After the last crossing, at leas the sun was out and the weather was warm. Our feet have been wet for 4 days and the constant snow fields were going to keep them that way. Now that we made it past the three creek crossings we had one more obstacle. Forester Pass is the highest point on the PCT at over 13,000 feet. We just had to get there.
The warm temperatures have turned the snow fields into massive fields of sun cups. It makes walking difficult no matter if the snow is hard or soft. We trudged on. Soon we realized we wouldn’t make Forester Pass in time for good firm snow, so we hiked until we got close.
Forester Pass is the one just above my head on the left (your left, my right).
We found an amazing campsite up among the rocks. People have built rock walls to shelter tents from the wind. We stopped hiking at 3 pm, making it my earliest camp of the trail.
We hung out and ate as much of our food as we could. We’re hoping to make it to town tomorrow after Forester Pass. There’s only one more creek crossing, 18 miles, and another pass to go.
After beautiful sunny skies all day, this is currently making its way over us. Oh yeah, it’s starting to rain. We’re at 12,000 feet.
This week has been tough, but amazing.