We woke up on our little island of dirt among a sea of snow. The sounds of Tyndall Creek could be heard from almost a .5 mile away as we slowly packed up our gear and took our first steps on the firm snow. Today was the day we would cross Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT.

We have been told that the trail starts to get real after Mt. Whitney. There are navigational challenges, a number of river fords, near complete snow coverage, and of course Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT. Today, we were about to get a taste of what hiking in the Sierra durinf the largest snow year on record is all about.

I awoke to my second alarm at 1:02 and pulled on my hiking clothes over my thermals. The stars hung low in the sky and the snow covered mountains reflected the half moon’s glow as I crawled from my tent. As I climbed the rock ledge to Vipr’s tent, I looked over and saw lights moving in Burnout’s tent.

Today started with our first true river crossing. We were all excited, but not looking forward to the prospect of wet feet first thing in the morning.

The sound of snow hitting my rain fly woke me in the middle of the coldest night on trail. I was wearing my thermals, jacket, hat, hood and two pairs of sleep socks while wrapped up in my quilt. I was warm enough, but not my usual toasty.

We awoke to the Silver glow of moonlight as we crawled out of our tents and started down trail. The horizon was a light gray and the moon hung heavy in the sky. We passed twisted trees and bolders smoothed by the winds as we slide through the night.

We started out with a 4 mike morning climb from our camp at 8,620 feet along Cow Creek up to 10,500 feet. The trail hugged seasonal streams and passed through piles of white bolders and tall pine trees as we slowly climbed. Some of the group members were feeling the elevation more than others so we were a little slower and more spread out than normal.

We groaned as we picked up our packs and put them not on our backs but on our thighs and then swung them onto our backs with a thud and sharp exhalation.

Bedazzled, Vipr, and I awoke at Chimney Creek Campground at 4:00 and packed up quickly. We were on a mission to get to Kennedy Meadows and put the cabosh on the desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail.

After our game of Farkel last night, I was returning to my tent with Vipr and Shades when we came upon a girl puking out the door of her tent. Vipr gave her some electrolyte powder and encouraged her to mix it with water and drink little sips every 3-4 minutes. The girl, who was from Canada, said she would drink it in the morning because she didn’t want to throw it up…

There was some last minute debate among the group about whether to hike today or try to hitch to Lake Isabella. Valdy wanted to hitch, Burnout wanted to hike, as did Bedazzled and myself, and Fun Dip and Vipr were indifferent. There was a vote and going to town won, but somehow everyone packed up and started hiking.

The sky was awash with color as we rose sleepily from our slumber. Standing around our tents, we looked out on a kaleidoscope of colors slowly rising over the mountains heralding the arrival of the sun. We moved stiffly from yesterday’s effort, but were set on leaving camp quickly before the temperature creeped any higher.