Mile 775.34 to 786.1

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 had 4 miles to cover, but the trail had been traveled before us so we made good time on the snow. As we walked towards the jagged mountains, we attempted to figure out which little piece of rock we would climb over. “To the left. No, its to the right,” we called out as we made progress towards our destination. Finally, we saw little black dots moving on the snow ahead. They inched their way up a steep snow slope toward what we now knew was Forester Pass.

We reached a rocky patch at its base and put on crampons. Vipr and I continued on with our trekking poles as soon as we had  finished, but the rest of the group stayed behind resting from their effort and mentally preparing themselves for the climb.

The two of us continued straight up chasing down the black dots we saw earlier in the morning and catching one at another outcropping on the side of the slope. Her name was Wildcat and her two partners had left her behind. She was terrified of heights and was sitting on the rocks. The slope from here curled upwards at a steeper pitch and if you fell, you would be sliding down to the base of the mountain if you couldn’t self-arrest in time.

Vipr and I pulled out our ice axes and found some steps to follow as we climbed the slope. We exclaimed at the view and yelled out in our excitement. The exposure was making our blood pump. We followed the steps planting our ice axes and trekking pole as we switchbacks in the snow. Eventually, we arrived just below a switchback of the actually trail and climbed up onto solid dirt to finish the approach.

We passed the two guys waiting for their partner and continued on. We had Forester Pass all to ourselves.

We took photos before we crossed and looked out at the view behind us. I crossed first and stopped midway to take some more photos. “Do you think it’s ok if I stop, plant my ice axe, and take some photos of my feet on the edge of the pass?” Viper gives a noncommittal, “if you feel secure.” I snap my photos and finish crossing. Vipr came next stopping to take the highest selfie on the PCT and finished the crossing. “Well, that was easy. Since we have it to ourselves, let’s cross it a couple more times,” we joke.

We put our packs down and wait for the others. Bedazzled comes along next and makes it across easily as well.

After some time, the rest of the group make their way up the path. Fun Dip with Shades, Burnout, and Voldy in tow. Fun Dip is smiling, but everyone else looks somber and scared. As Fun Dip crosses, we yell out and joke with her until Voldy yells, “can you be quiet, people are trying to concentrate here.” Vipr, Bedazzled, and I exchange a look. When Fun Dip makes it across, she tells us that they are terrified. We didn’t realize in our adrenaline fueled euphoria.

Shades crosses and then Voldy and Burnout come across. Burnout has a mild fear of heights and is sheet white as he crosses looking straight at his feet the whole time. With everyone safely across, we continue on to the backside of the pass and our jaws drop at the view waiting for us. It is spectacular. Peaks and ridges, snow and frozen lakes await us as we set our packs down.

Vipr, Fun Dip, Bedazzled, and I sit down to drink in the beauty. Pulling out our cook kit in preparation for lunch. The other three are still nervous about being so high, and Shades is worried about postholing on the way down, but it isn’t really a concern at the current time and temperature.

After a group photo, the other three hurry down from the pass while the four of us enjoy a long lunch break with a wonderful view. We made mocha lattes on top of Forester Pass. How many people can say that!

When we started down, we were walking on snow with a frozen lake below us. After a bit, we came to a steep section with a glissading chute. Perfect. We all glissaded down laughing like we were on some theme park ride.

That was the first of four glissades. We were having the time of our lives as we descended the pass stopping only to fill up our water from the crystal clear water of the melting lakes.

Eventually, we caught up with Burnout, Voldy, and Shades who were finishing up their lunch break. Instead of waiting for us to eat, they decided to walk .4 miles to a river crossing and wait by themselves. Fun Dip told them we were going to take a full lunch, but they continued on.
We sat with a wonderful view and soaked up the sun. Vipr made two full lunches as we relaxed and exclaimed that today was the best day on trail. Eventually, we packed up and moved on. When we got to the river, we found a note from Burnout saying they had waited for 2 hours, but moved on. Still puzzled why they didn’t wait at the lunch spot, we crossed the river via a log. I nimbly walked across, but the girls decided to straddle the log and awkwardly scoot across. The broken branches sticking out of the log made for some interesting leg positions as they crossed. I have redacted any compromising pictures from the blog to use as blackmail later.

We crossed now slushy snow, but could follow the path of those who came before us. The views kept coming as we dropped in elevation and Bubbs Creek raged through the middle of the valley.

We passed through some avalanche zones where the still green trees were knocked flat, reminding us of the power of Mother Nature.

We started looking for a camp spot and finally found one after a bit. It was near the creek and we decided it would be great to have a fire since we were at 9,998 feet of elevation. It is illegal to have fires above 10,000 feet. Before the fire though, I scouted the river and found a series of waterfalls that end with one massive one flowing into a gorge. It was breathtaking and we sat in awe of its power for a time.

Back at camp, we started building a fire. Happy Times came along and joined us.

Soon another huge group came and set up camp. It included Space Jam, Wiz Kid, Ten Gallon, and others. We stayed up past 10 sitting around the fire before heading off to sleep.

Bedazzled tried to dry her wet shoes and socks by the fire. But she learned her lesson when she didn’t watch them closely. She burnt a hole in her sock! 

It was the best day on trail yet.