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Our Journey along the Pacific Crest Trail

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Week 4 of the PCT 13th June 2019
Week 3 of the PCT 8th June 2019
Week 2 of the PCT 19th May 2019

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Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 60~ GO TIME! It was 2am in the morning, we woke up and packed our stuff. Drinking some electrolytes and eating a couple protein bars, we needed the energy for what was coming. We left camp by 3am, slowly making our way to the approach 3 miles away. The sky was clear, milky way in sight and a clear path in front of us. We could see other headlamps in the distance, slowly making their own way too. The ascent was steep, a small footpath cut into the snow lead us up towards 12000 ft. We stopped to rest as we came near the rocky switchbacks. The transition to rock from snow was difficult and required a short scramble to gain ground. From here we were able to climb steadily towards the ice chute. The trail narrowed rapidly as the rock overhang lowered and I was forced to my hands and knees to crawl. The danger was real, a near vertical drop was to our left with a narrow passage and steep rocky walls to our right. With a calculated step, I walked onto the ice chute. One step at a time while I plunged my ice axe for stability. Slowly we made our way across as others watched our steps, waiting for their own attempt. Safely across, the final switchbacks lead to a last vertical wall of snow to scramble up. With this done, we stood on top of the pass, looking down towards the valley and forward to what lay ahead. VICTORY.

Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 59~ Like most mornings these days, we were awake and packing up before sunrise. We've been getting used to the early starts, preferring the firm snow and cooler temps in the early afternoon. We spent the morning casually exploring the mountainous terrain. Wading through thigh deep creeks in bone chilling water, then climbing back up for our first views of Mount Whitney. Many hikers were making the ascent up this dangerously snow covered summit. @go.wing.it and I had different plans, get ourselves setup for Forester Pass. This pass is the highest point on the entire Pacific Crest Trail and all our focus was making it safely up and over this notorious landmark. By mid afternoon, we were within 2 miles of Tyndall Creek and traversing the most beautiful and never-ending snow field I have ever seen. We reached camp andthe starting point of our trek towards Forester. Our game plan was simple, wake up early and tackle the pass before the sun softens the snow. Or so we thought..

Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 59~ Our morning started great! A little climb with a beautiful sunrise followed a breathtaking walk through forests littered with frozen lakes. We had our first big creek crossing of the day, so we were feeling anxious and excited to get it done! As we approached the creek, the trail turned sharply downhill and the tracks turned into glissade chutes that we took advantage of. By no time we were at the creek and I took the lead and crossed as Lora watched. I dropped my bag off and waded back to give her assistance when we found out the unthinkable.. Her ice Axe fell out! We couldn't continue without it so I had to cross the creek again to retrieve my bag and AGAIN to meet lora, we backtracked a mile before running into another hiker who found it! The day was saved! So we went back down, crossed the river and ate lunch. Elated we had all our tools, we pressed on down the trail. The next section was a hellish climb up 1500ft of very aggressive uphill. It was also late in the day so post holing became a very real annoyance. By 4pm though, we climbed over the pass and down into the next valley, I meadow covered in snow and an inviting camp area for the night.

Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 58~ On our third day from Kennedy Meadows we hitched into Lone Pine with the intent of being back on trail by the evening. We'll that didn't work too well as our hitching efforts were slow and we didn't get into town until 2pm. We instead ate alot of pizza and managed to sleep on the floor of a hotel room with another hiker friend. The next morning we shared a ride to the trailhead and headed back up Cottonwood Pass. The first mile was fine. No snow and readye walking, as the altitude changed, the snow increased. By the time we got to the pass, tracks were nearly gone. We hiked a short distaste through the trees to Chicken Spring Lake. Finding a small snow tree section to camp that night. We fell asleep by 8pm with an early start the next day. By 5am, we were hiking up the ridge. Watching the sunrise over the mountains was incredible.

Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 57~ The second day into the Sierra we started to encounter snow, though not completely covered, it made the hike longer and the walking slower. We left camp at 6am with the knowledge that the mornings would soon be starting even earlier. It was also the first time we'd gain over 11,000 feet in elevation! The transition from desert to mountain pine was dramatic. The morning saw shrubs of sage mixed with pine and cactus, by evening we were hiking among giant Fox Tail pine trees and snow covered landscape. We camped that night over 10,500 feet and enjoyed an early bedtime. 16 miles in snow was exhausting.

Pacific Crest Trail. ~DAY 56~. . . >>>NEW BLOG POST UP, FOLLOW LINK IN BIO TO WEBSITE!!<<< . . We left Kennedy Meadows about 7am. We had every intention to stay earlier, but a last minute repair job on our @zpacks duplex delayed our morning start. The first part of the morning took us through the last of the desert as we quickly gained elevation and left the dust and sage behind. Before we knew it, we were walking through meadows of green... GREEN! AMAZING! But of course, that didn't last long. Thunderstorms message their way into the sky and the afternoon was filled with rain. We were soaked. But happy of course to be out here. As we crossed Cow Creek we discussed some camping options further ahead and how much further we'd want to walk. By 5pm we'd hit 18 miles and settled in for the night. We made a fire to dry out our gear and went to bed around 8. Welcome to the Sierra!

© Andrew McIvor and Wing Lok Hui are Bigfootlittlefoothike, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Andrew McIvor and Wing Lok hui Bigfootlittlefoothike with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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