Bushcamp to Bushcamp
11.2 miles
Mile 804.7
It was a surprisingly warm night, despite the frozen snow surrounding us and being well over 10,000 ft in elevation. As per usual, we were on the move by 4am.
It was a slow start. We kept losing the trail, so our morning escaped without many miles to show for it.
Just as the sun began to rise we reached a pretty gnarly river crossing. It was freezing out, so walking through the frigid water wasn’t exactly appealing to me. After checking up and down river, it was clear that there would be no dry crossings available, so into the water I went. Brrrr!
As the day progressed we wound our way down into the valley where the snow had melted revealing the green undercarriage of the forest floor.
There was also water…lots and lots of water. I lost count of our river crossings by noon. It seemed we couldn’t walk a mile without hitting one.
We treat each crossing a bit different based on it size and speed. If we’re lucky, we use rocks or a log to dry cross, if not, we decide whether to remove our shoes or not based on the what the river looks like. It stinks hiking in wet shoes, but it’s better than getting injured.
Inevitably, the rivers and creeks feed into alpine lakes tucked through the range. Today we passed Arrowhead Lake, where just last week a hiker had to be rescued after breaking his leg.
As the day progressed, we enjoyed a mostly visible trail. It wasn’t until we began our ascent of Pinchot Pass that things got rough.
It was past noon and we still had miles to go before we’d be at he Pass. I had wanted to make it over today, but as the snow conditions worsened the post holing began, sucking all desire to continue hiking from us.
We decided to call it early, just a couple miles from the Pass rather than endure the pains of post holing and sketchy snow conditions on the mountain.
We hope to get an early start to tackle Pinchot and Mather Pass tomorrow.
Cheers!
P.s. and here’s my toe…
