I’m really not sure where to start or how to describe today’s adventure. I’ll give it a try, but words can’t describe how it really felt. We were up early, around 6am, with temperatures below freezing yet again. The plan was to basically hike as a group whenever we lost the trail to snow. Last night’s group, including Jack Hammer, Gloves, Chubs, Panda, Hiker Bum, Remy, Heather, and our six, all left the campsite within minutes of each other.
I heard yelps and soon saw why; the raging stream next to the campsite had to be forded. It wasn’t yet 7am, the sun wasn’t up due to some clouds, it was below freezing and the only way to cross was to wade through. I didn’t even bother taking shoes, socks or gaiters off; I just waded on through the swift, ice cold water and kept hiking. Another mile of hiking and we got to do the fording all over again, then again at 4 ½ miles. The first 4 ½ to 5 miles, basically all up, had patches of snow to negotiate.
At the five mile mark we topped out onto an expansive flat glade which was covered in a sun cupped snow field. Since the trail was now gone, we hiked to a high spot where some bare rocks sat like an island in the snow. Batteries took the lead on some orienteering work to determine the basic direction of the trail toward today’s big goal, Forrester Pass. We traversed a mile of snow and the terrain began a descent toward a river far below to the left and wooded terrain to the right. I spotted the trail on a bare spot and we all got oriented on the trail and hiked another half mile before reaching another creek to ford.
All 13 of us stopped for a break before resuming the hike. We climbed and climbed, the trail becoming more and more obscured by large patches of snow and inundated with running water from snow melt. Eventually, as we approached 11,500 feet, the open expanse toward the jagged, rugged Forrester Pass became all snow fields, except for occasional tiny islands of rock outcrops. We could see even from 4 to 5 miles away that the chute up to Forrester was covered in snow. The hiking across the snow was slow and difficult as we continued to climb.
As we neared Forrester we had another 1000 feet to climb to the top, and it became very steep. Everyone pulled out their ice axes and I put on my crampons. A steep ascent ensued that was harrowing and was more mountaineering than hiking. We finally reached bare switchbacks leading up to the ice chute. Finally, at about 13,000 feet, we had to cross the ice chute. It was terrifying and any wrong move or slip would certainly mean severe injury or death. I watched in total fear as my fellow thru-hikers, one by one, inched their way across the chute. When it was my turn, my legs felt like jello and I could feel a sense of panic like I might freeze up. Instead, I closed my eyes and did some quick meditation and deep breathing to calm myself, then proceeded to make the crossing!
Pepper Jack had an equally difficult time, so Batteries and Bloody Knuckles formed in front of and behind her to help her across. Just before reaching solid trail, Bloody Knuckles slipped and there was a gasp from the hikers watching, but she didn’t fall down the chute, thankfully. Once we were all across, there was a lot of hooting and high fiving and hugs! A few more dozen feet up and all of us were atop Forrester Pass. The other side down was, thankfully, not as steep, but was covered in snow as far as we could see, except for a small number of feet of trail exposed about a thousand feet below.
After snacking and taking in the magnificent views of the rugged, snow covered Sierras, we began the long, slow descent across the sun cupped soft snow fields. For hours into the afternoon and into early evening we traversed and descended without trail, the going very slow and tough. Many, many times we would posthole through to our thigh or waist and I slipped and fell into the snow multiple times.
As we lowered to 11,000 feet there were dozens of snow melt created streams and we were constantly walking in water, then snow, then rocks and the cycle kept repeating. I was absolutely exhausted by the time we found the trail amongst beautiful wooded terrain with patch snow at 10,600 feet. Another 10 to 15 minutes of hiking and Batteries located the trail. We hiked to a designated camping area with a bear box where we stopped for the day.
Whew! What an adventure. Today will be unforgettable as the most adventurous day I’ve ever had in the backcountry. After dinner we had a “staff” meeting amongst the six of us to discuss whether to continue pushing the next 90 miles to Vermillion Valley Resort or too pull out tomorrow at Kearsarge Pass for additional food. The decision was not made because we didn’t have consensus and we decided to wait until tomorrow morning to make a decision. Each of us assessed remaining food before cowboy camping close together in the cold evening chill. My food supply will hold for seven days, but some of our group have only five days of food. Likely we will hike out the side trail tomorrow for additional food and I could use a day of rest for my body and feet.
Today’s weather: sunny, low 28, high 65. Today’s mileage: 14.1; cumulative mileage 784.5.
