Mile 760 to 767.

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.

We had scouted Rock River the night before and found several potential crossing points. We opted for one at the widest part of the river that involved several log crossings. Unfortunately, over night spray from the river had iced some of the dead limbs on the logs, but we all managed to help each other get over without really getting wet! The meadow on the otherside of the river, however, was another story. It was completely flooded and we ended up with soaked feet. Ironic.

The crossing took us off course by about half a mile and we spent quite a bit of time bush wacking through the forest on steep slopes. Burnout was guiding us on a course to intercept the PCT rather than get to it at the closest point. We ended up spending a lot of time and energy. When we finally did get to the PCT, it was like being on a highway. Moral of the day, get to the trail as fast as you can and don’t try to take short cuts.

After gaining back all the elevation we lost getting down to Rock Creek, we crossed through some still snow covered meadows. I went a head of the group and hiked by myself.

This was my first time doing so in the Sierra, and I am glad I did. It was truely something special to be alone in a vast wilderness without another human in sight and no man made noises. Something that was an impossibility while I lived in New York City. I took the opportunity to meditate and listen to my surroundings.

I took a break with a great view of some jagged peaks and cooked lunch while I waited for the group. I also spotted a good self-arrest practice slope.  When Vipr arrived, she agreed that the slope would work so everyone ate a quick lunch and then headed up the slope with their crampons, ice axes, and gaiters. Self-arrest is a technique by which you use your ice axe to stop your fall on a snowy slope. It is your first and last line of defense if you fall and can keep you from sliding off a cliff, into rocks or into a crevasse. A decidedly useful skill to have if you are going to summit Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States tomorrow.

This practice session turned into a multi-hour affair as we practiced throwing ourselves down a snow slope in various positions. We all started by sitting on our asses and sliding down the slope. We would then roll onto our stomachs, bring our knees in, and jam the pick of the axe into the snow while pulling up on the shaft to bring us to a stop. From there, things escalated pretty quickly and we were soon skidding down the slope face first, on our backs with our heads down slope, and any other contorted position we could think of. Before long, we put backpacks on to make things more realistic and repeated the different fall positions.

My favorite part of the day came when Bedazzled asked me to throw her down the slope with her backpack on. I started with a faint to get her off balance and then launched her down the slope head first as she shreaked with fear. Hey, you got to make it realistic. I was really doing it for her own good. You know, so she can be safe on the slopes.

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My throwing technique was so good that Shades and Voldy were practically lining up to have me throw them down the mountain. I must admit it felt good. A perfectly good stress releaver. After the trail, I might even start a stress releif business that simply allows people to throw other people off mountains. For a price, of course.
After getting our self-arrest skills in order, we all glissaded down the slope, which is a technique for sliding on your butt down a snow slope and using your ice axe to control your speed and eventually stop.

We packed up our gear after letting it dry and then headed for the Mt. Whitney spur trail. We forded another river by taking off our shoes and pants and crossing the knee deep water. Pretty soon we ran into some people coming back from Mt. Whitney and got news that the trail leading up to the mountain was covered with about two miles of sun cupped snow, but once you actually got on Whitney, the trail was relatively snow free except for three snow slopes and the summit approach.

We walked as far as we could before the snow patches got too frequent and set up camp on a large slab of rock with a great view of the surrounding mountains. We all agreed that it was one of the prettiest campsites we have had yet.

Wildlife: Marmots, Ravens