June 6th, 2022 by Jon
We woke again in our soft bed, dreading the idea of leaving it. But there was hiking to do, and we were excited for the next section, so here we go. We got up and began collecting all our things and packing our packs for hiking. Once we had everything ready, we took all our stuff and walked down to the community room, where Raccoon was making migas and French toast for everyone. They were still getting set up when we were there, so I was able to weigh my stuff. My pack came in at 32 pounds, which included my bear can full of food and 2L of water. That’s pretty good, actually. My goal was to stay under 35lbs.
While they got things ready, I went over to the bakery next door and grabbed both Singsong and me a ham-and-cheese croissant to pack out for lunch today. They came with a thin Danish cookie, too. I came back to the community room and put our sandwiches in ziplocks before putting them in the fridge to keep them as cold as I could for as long as I could. Singsong and I both took turns helping cook the French toast and ate in between. We had a pretty lazy morning, made even lazier when our driver called to say he was running 30 minutes behind. We really didn’t mind, though, because it gave us more time to eat and clean up, and we didn’t plan on doing a huge day today.
Our ride arrived, and we hopped in ready to get back to the trail. The drive back is almost an hour long, but before we knew it, we were driving up the switchbacks, rising nearly 5,000 feet from the valley up to the trailhead. It was about 5 minutes before the end of the ride when Singsong and I realized we had left our sandwiches in the fridge. It was a very, very sad realization. But stuff happens, and at least we didn’t forget anything super important. We sat at the trailhead for a while, trying to get used to the altitude and mentally preparing for the 2,500-foot climb over 4 miles to get back over Kearsarge Pass.
We saw a bunch of hikers that we knew coming off the pass, and we wished them luck getting a ride to town. It feels like a fun, “you earned it” moment to share with hikers who are headed into town, and it’s fun to be on both the hiker getting it and the hiker wishing them the best. We began climbing as a large group because Rune, Wilco, and Bouge had returned to the trailhead at the same time we did. We saw them at the bowling alley, but otherwise we did our own thing, and they were at a different hotel across town. It was really great to catch up as we hiked. The trail was steep and full of switchbacks, just like it was on the way down, but it really is an amazingly beautiful pass with many lakes, streams, waterfalls, rock formations, and trees to look at.
We all took a break by one of the first big lakes about halfway up to the pass before pressing on to the top. We hiked higher and higher, rising out of the tree line, hiking along a rocky hillside that made our feet prone to rolling an ankle. Finally, we made it to the top and enjoyed another break there. By this time, it was already mid-afternoon, and since we didn’t really want to go over Glen Pass and deal with the slushy snow on the other side, we decided to hike to a campsite near a creek about a mile before the top of the pass. That was about 4.5 miles from where we were at the top of Kearsarge.
We set out down some more rocky switchbacks and marveled at the lake-filled basin we had camped in on Andrew’s last hiking day. It was just as beautiful, but this time we took a slightly different trail back to the PCT that took us higher up on a ridge looking down into the basin instead of the trail through it. The lakes sparkled and shimmered in the afternoon sun, and we remained in awe of the granite backdrop behind them. It was a wonderful little section of trail. When we came to a stream, we decided to take another break, mostly because we could and enjoyed a few snacks, laughed, and took in the great views of the mountains. We set out for the last 2 miles of steep climbing up towards Glen Pass and Singsong, and I got to walk on our own since everyone got ready before us. We chatted about town and enjoyed our own slow pace up the hill. We really needed a night of sleep to acclimate to the altitude, so we took our time on the last climb.
After we crossed a few patches of snow, we finally came to two small rocky outcroppings with tree cover and a nearby creek that trickled down the side of a steep cliff. Our group split up and camped on the two outcroppings, and we’re only about 100 feet away from each other. Biscuit, Singsong, and I all packed out a can of beer, and so we chucked them in the creek water to try and cool them down a bit before drinking them. We set up camp, started making dinner, and then took everything down to the other camp so we could all eat together. We ate and teased each other to catch up on lost opportunities from the last few days, and then also drank hot chocolate, which has become a delightful part of our routine in the Sierra. This is especially true for Rune, who packed out 18 packets of hot chocolate for this section. We sat and talked together for a long time before the sun finally went behind the mountain, and it began to get very cold. We all retreated to our tents by 7:30 or so and began getting ready for bed. Tomorrow we plan to get up at our normal time around 5:30, climb the mile over Glen Pass, and then see where we end up.
I love the area! The rocks, mountains, trees, and more look awesome!