Bushcamp to Bushcamp
12 miles (7 off trail)
Mile 793.5
I woke up cold in my tent around 5. The wind had been relentless all night, but seemed to be dying as I began packing up. Spikes had a thirty minute head start on me as I got moving just before 6. Every other switchback I was treated to an awesome sunrise as I made my way up towards Kearsarge Pass.
I got a bit lost at one point. In an attempt to relocate the trail I tried walking straight up a snow packed ridge before slipping and sliding a good 50 feet down. Knuckles bloodied, I pushed on until I was back on trail.
I caught up to Spikes just as I reached the top of the Pass. We only stopped briefly before beginning our descent back into the valley we’d escaped just a few days prior.
We were surprised by how much snow had melted during our absence. The switchbacks down the pass were easier for it
Back in the basin of the valley, I accidentally took us to the wrong side of Bullfrog Lake, as a result we were forced into three river crossings that we otherwise would have missed…whoops!
Shortly after rejoining the trail we arrived at the junction that put us back on the PCT. Finally we could start doing miles that counted!
From the junction we began to ascend towards Glen Pass, passing Rae Lake along the way.
We continued our ascent until we reach the set of switchbacks that would lead us to the top.
Snow covered most the trail, until the very end when we scrambled up a rock slide. Then it was over, we’d reached the top where we enjoyed a well deserved snack break.
The descent wasn’t too bad. There was a nice set of large boot prints to follow on our way down.
We reached the bottom of the pass as we hit the tree line hiking down into the snowy valley.
As the afternoon carried on, the snow became increasingly hard to walk in. Every step resulted in my foot crashing down a few feet into the snow.
Check out all these trout chilling at a river crossing!
We cranked out a couple more miles, but the going was tedious.
After an hour or so of post holing to nowhere, we decided to make camp early on an elusive piece of dry flat ground. Two passes in one day is a lot, so we’ll sleep good tonight
As much as I hate hiking in the dark, it seems our new schedule is 4am to 2pm. Past 2pm the hiking gets so slow and painful, it just isn’t worth it.
Cheers!