Before going to bed last night, one of our camp mates mentioned a river ford that was in our guide. That was not something to look forward to. So when we woke up, put on our wet clothes, and started hiking, we were pleasantly surprised to find a snow bridge over the creek we were supposed to ford. In fact, the snow covered just about all the water on our way up to Mather Pass,
Mather Pass is possibly the scariest pass on the PCT. At least that’s what they say. It wasn’t much worse than any of the other passes, but the steep scary part did go on longer than normal. Either way, we made it to the top and got a view of the frozen Palisade Lakes.
The way down was steep, but traveling was easy. The route was worn in and shaded, keeping it firm throughout the day. It was nice to have miles of snow travel with an easy to follow route. It saved a TON of time.
Usually, going down a pass gradually gives way to less snow. Today was a bit more dramatic. There is a large section of switchbacks down a cliff and as soon as we got to the cliff, you could see down into the green snow free valley. The switchbacks were snow free as well, so I flew down. We had over 10 miles of downhill today and it was great. Around noon I took a nap under some huge trees while I waited for my hiking partner.
After reaching the bottom of the valley, it was time to climb again. We wanted to set up for Muir Pass in the morning, so we hiked into the evening. We stopped for dinner where someone had a campfire going and while eating, some deer just walked through the campsite. After dinner we hiked another mile and found a surprise creek crossing. At this point anything under knee deep is a breeze and we blow on through. Navigating the debris of the giant avalanche that happened earlier in the year was a little harder. Just another reminder that this won’t always be so easy.
I can’t even explain to you how nice it was to have an “easy” day. We hiked 20 miles, which is our longest day since hitting the heavy snow. It’s mentally exhausting to be route finding all day or trudging through sun cups. It was nice to daydream again.