Today was mentally and physically exhausting. We woke up at 4 am so we could get over Forester Pass while the snow was firm. It was totally worth it.
Forester Pass is mostly known for being the highest part of the trail. One of its other famous characteristics is the snow chute you need to cross. It’s a steep slope and a slide would send you into a lot of rocks.
But, the path across the chute is wide, and we had ice axes to prevent a fall. Everything went well except that I left my seat pad on top.
Forester Pass also serves as the entrance to King’s Canyon National Park, the second national park of the trail. The descent into the canyon went well. There was an obvious path through the snowfields and travel was relatively good.
Then we got into the woods. We would spend hours rock, log, and snow hopping just to find a way down the canyon. All that snow means one more thing. When that snow melts, it has to go somewhere. We had another big creek crossing.
Luckily, there was a log across the hard part of the crossing. That didn’t stop one of our group from falling in. Thankfully he was okay and managed a second try on the log, sitting down for take two.
After descending into the canyon, we had to climb back out to Kearsarge Pass so that we could resupply and rest. By the time we got there, the snow was soft and hard to climb in. Footprints melted out fast and it was hard to follow the trail. Eventually, we made it up and over the pass and down to the trailhead.
That’s not all folks. The road to the trail was partially washed out! There were still a few cars in the parking lot, despite the closure, and one of them eventually gave us a ride to Independence.
From Independence, we caught a ride to Bishop, where we splurged for two nights at the Morel 6. Then we did what every hiker does in town. We ate. One huge Chinese restaurant meal and a pint of ice cream later and it’s time for bed. No hiking tomorrow.