Mile 902.8 – The Land of Giants

Over Mammoth Pass to Mammoth Lakes Library

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”
– John Muir

We walk silently amongst the stands of Lodgepole pines, exhausted from the constant struggle with walking on the many forms of snow and ascending a total of 4,400 feet for the day. It is our seventh full day since leaving Bishop, way back when we first started this section by climbing two high passes, Kearsarge and Glenn, which both rise to around 12,000 ft. Up and over we continue to cross scattered piles of snow, some as high as 6 feet, as we slip on the late day thick snow slush. We somehow manage to navigate pretty well with just pieces of the trail being revealed. Around 6:30pm, after 12 hours of hiking, we arrive at a tiny trickling stream of snow melt and cook our final meal before “real” town food the next day in Mammoth. We have been saving a precious freeze-dried chicken teriyaki dinner for this such occasion. It has been carried over 200 miles, a long way in this terrain. After quickly consuming our calories, we walk another half-mile before another good ol’ river ford. This one is fairly straight forward, a knee high crossing, always bitter cold, but our feet have adapted pretty well. We find a flat place to set up camp as the sun dips behind the ridge, and within moments, Melissa has built a fire a leave no trace fire since we are below 10,000ft line where fires are permissible. This is the first time we have been able to have a fire and we enjoy the comfort of it as we sit close and talk about the trials and tribulations of the past 7 days.

We made it!!! We have come through what is arguably the most difficult stretch of the PCT, and what some say is the most beautiful back-country on the planet. Indeed, it was absolutely breathtaking as we were witnesses to areas that are un-touched by so many. So much has happened since our last post, but I will try to give you a taste of a typical day in the high Sierra.

Always waking before 6 am, we frequently had frost atop the inside of our tent. I am talking a thick layer of snow that was happy to cling to your semi-warm dry jacket that you are scrambling to put on. As I exit the tent, I notice the water bottle outside the tent is frozen and my shoes that were left outside soaking wet look dry- not a good sign and I soon realize they are completely frozen. We quickly learned to put them upside down beneath our packs, however, before this discovery, I did enjoy watching Melissa hold our shoes over the butane stove to thaw them out enough for us to be able to put them on our feet.

Once we stuff our wet sleeping bags and riffle through the bear canister for a quick breakfast, we pack our packs and make our way across the sun-cupped frozen, slippery snow. Moving slowly, with cold tender feet, we make precise movements as not to slip. The ice is sneaky, however, and Melissa and I both had our good falls. I snapped both my trekking poles in half and Melissa has a nice bruise on her elbow and shins. But on we hike and hike, crossing cold moving waters and ascending steep switchbacks and icy cliffs of snow.

What I can’t quite explain is the dramatic views of snow covered towering peaks, and several hundred foot raging waterfalls, big and small. Most days we had at least one pass to climb over, which began miles before as we ascended a canyon and then approached a steep wall. Often times, we could pick out one or two switchbacks high up, partially covered with snow, but sometime we just had to follow faint footprints in the quickly melting snow. Following footprints is not always a good idea as we were mislead going to Pinchot Pass. We have since found out our friend Digger has led us and probably others up another canyon to a secluded lake with towering cliffs that are not passable. As the day carries on we find second and third winds, picking up the tempo. We slow down, sometimes just to enjoy the scenery. Daily there are a few falls, slipping on snow, and postholing – sometimes waist deep, and we always yell to one another “You ok?,” knowing that the answer has to be “yes.” We both knew that this was going to be an epic endeavor, physically and mentally challenging beyond anything we have ever attempted, and we both rolled into town grinning from ear to ear, the reward is priceless.

Now, as we eat burritos, sandwiches, cookies, and chocolate milk, please enjoy our Sierras top ten:

10) Frozen shoes that you fight to put on in the morning and then soak ten minutes later in a river crossing.

9) Ford after ford after ford after mighty ford. Wet feet for 8 days walking on snow has been quite a new experience for both of us.

8) Cautiously crossing a frozen lake corridor and running when it started to crack then laughing when we reached safety at how crazy we are.

7) Not one but TWO huge Snowshoe Hares hopping past us. We are talking at least 18 inches tall. The first time either of us has seen one.

6) Discovering a way to make backcountry quesadillas and eating four at a time… we put the lid to our pot on top of our stove and use it like a hot plate. Brilliant.

5) Muir hut at the top of Muir Pass is absolutely incredible. We will visit there again someday. This was our favorite pass to climb over the past 8 days.

4) A black bear sighting! As we descended to Deer Meadow, a bear was doing some dusk fishing and spotted us. She immediately cracked the branch of the down tree she was standing on over a river, splashed around, and then sprinted on all four for cover in the trees. She was very cute!

3) Sunsets across the massive peaks surrounding us turning them a beautiful orange. You just sit in silence as darkness sweeps the sky.

2) Hanging with a Buck with new velvet antlers. We pitched our tent in a meadow next to a large herd of deer and a buck came over within about 6 feet of our tent and just stared at us, curious about what we were up to.

1) The feeling of accomplishment and reward when you take that last step and reach the top of a summit to witness the huge view of the surrounding ranges of snow covered peaks and dramatic valleys with frozen lakes… So powerful.

Tomorrow we head out again, excited to reach Tuolumne Meadows where we will be visited by our families, who have been so supportive and encouraging. We continue to walk graciously, enjoying each moment and the surrounding beauty.

~ Swift and Buckeye