Day 53 – Glen Pass

Miles: 789.8 to 804.0

Trail Miles: 14.2

I had a restless night. It took awhile to fall asleep and I awoke often. I was warm enough cowboy camping, but after 3 nights in a king size bed I felt confined in my sleeping bag and 20 inch wide air mattress.

It was only1.3 miles to Glen Pass, so we ‘slept in’ and didn’t get on the trail until 0630. The PCT Snow Report’s latest info for Glen Pass was nearly two weeks old and said the snowfields on both sides of the pass extended for miles. Fortunately for us the sun had been working its magic and the approach from the south was mostly clear. The north side still had extensive snowfields so we put our micro spikes on our feet for the descent.

Near the end of the snowfield several of us glissaded down a short stretch – e.g slid down on our butts. It was fun but bumpy!

While we were up on the pass, I got a message on my Garmin InReach from Betty’s Mom asking about the view. It made me smile. While she wasn’t there with me in person, she was in spirit. Tracking me from afar. We’d been atop Glen Pass together years before when we did the JMT. She was the one who introduced me to backpacking and the Sierras. I wished she was there with me again.

There were several stream crossings today that I hadn’t expected. All the creeks and rivers are swollen with snowmelt, but only the major ones make the PCT Snow and Water Report. On two crossings the water was knee level; a third was mid-thigh. While the point of wearing trail running shoes is that they dry quickly, I removed mine for the crossings. It’s not warm enough for them to dry that quickly and putting on wet or frozen shoes in the morning is miserable.

The trail descended along the South Fork of the Kings River in a beautiful valley ringed by granite mountains.

We eventually came to a beautiful suspension bridge that crossed Woods Creek. There was a sign saying one person at a time on the bridge. — Betty’s Mom again sent me a message on the InReach as we took a break before crossing. I’d remembered the bridge from years ago on the JMT. In fact I have a picture of me on it somewhere (taken with a disposable camera as I recall). Again it was like Betty’s Mom was there with me. It was the highlight of my day.

The elevation at the bridge was 8500 ft. The lowest point we’d been on trail since Kennedy Meadows. We’d descended from nearly 12,000 at Glen Pass that morning. After the bridge we began a climb following Woods Creek. The sound of rushing water would be with us most of the climb. We crossed many streams and tributaries on our way back to 10,630 ft where we would camp at mile 804, in a large meadow with an amazing view.

It’s 3.1 miles to Pinchot Pass – our goal for tomorrow. This will be our pattern in the high Sierras: summit a pass early while the snow is firm then hike and camp as close to the next pass as possible.

Our other goal for tomorrow is to cross the Kings River. A PCT thru hiker died fording the river last summer after the unusually high snowpack. This past winter’s snowfall was slightly below average, but her death is in the back of my mind. It’s our first ‘big ford.’ We haven’t heard any warnings or issues about it this year beyond normal precautions, so my concern may be for naught.

At dinner we shared our days highs, lows and most grateful’s. My low was rolling my ankle on a step and face planting once again. I have a nice scrape on my right shin. My high was when Betty’s Mom messaged me while on Glen Pass and at the suspension bridge. It was like she was there and sharing in my journey. My most grateful went to my trail family. Again, I am very grateful to be with a group that takes safety seriously and listens to inputs and concerns.

I’m also grateful for my husband, HH. After he dropped us off at the trailhead yesterday he got a call from Slim. Slim and I had hiked together the first two weeks on trail until Big Bear. I’d really enjoyed hiking with Slim and had learned a lot from him. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep up with his pace and fell behind when I thought I might have a stress fracture in my foot. — I’d given Slim HH’s number in case he needed anything when he got to Mammoth. Slim had been sending me trail updates (he was now 100 miles ahead). He’d made it to Mammoth in 6-7 days, where we were planning 9 days. Anyways HH picked him up and helped him get a new phone phone (Slims had taken a swim in one of the river crossings) and given him a place to stay at the condo. HH didn’t know Slim from Adam,but I’m so grateful he took care of someone who had helped me.

Almost forgot – We passed 800 miles today too!