Bushcamp to Death Canyon Creek
21.3 miles
Mile 730.7
It began snowing around 3am. I hopped out of my tent to rescue my pack from the flurry. I giggled to myself at the thought of Diva cowboy camping nearby. He had jokingly told Swift the night before that he’d be knocking on his tent if the weather turned…which is exactly what occurred.
Around 7 I gained the courage to leave the warmth of my sleeping quilt. Still snowing, I was pleased to find Swift and Diva had made a nice morning fire. I warmed myself by its heat before numbly packing up camp. I felt like absolute garbage, my stomach in nots with waves a nausea keeping me from eating.
Swift and Spikes hit the trail a bit before Diva and I. The snow was coming down hard now, and it was cold as hell.
The miles came slow as I lethargically made my way up the mountain.
Eventually the ascent came to an end as we stumbled into a snowy meadow.
Before long we reached a footbridge that lead us over the South Fork Kern River. We chilled here for a bit to munch on some snacks and refill our bottles.
Pushing on, we were pummeled by an onslaught of snow and chilling winds. It was a rough morning for sure, and we were just getting into it.
As we began to ascend again the snow pack increased until we were forced to posthole our way through it.
When I reached the top of the climb it became eerily quiet as a dense fog crept in. Alone on the snowy ridge, it was spooky as hell. It reminded me of the scenes in Game of Thrones when the White Walkers attacked.
I was relieved when I stumbled upon Swift during a set of switchbacks. Glad for the company, we set out back down the mountain together.
About an hour later we ran into Spikes, who I was also thrilled to see. We took a short break before crushing the final miles to camp.
The campsite we had chosen, Death Canyon Creek, was much nicer than its name implied. There was a fire pit and a crystal clear creek just feet away.
Our first priority was to build a fire. I had zero experience making fire in snow, but fortunately Swift did. We snapped dead twigs from the base of trees for kindling. Once we had them burning, we set larger branches nearby so they’d have time to dry before adding them to the fire.
Before long we had a roaring fire to warm our numb toes and dry our drenched shoes.
I ate dinner quick, still feeling rather ill, and retired to my tent just as the snow began to fall again.
Today was tough. This was our first taste of the Sierras. It was beautiful, but absolutely ruthless. Let’s hope the weather gets better…
Cheers!