TC cranking it uphill.
John Muir Hut at the top of same pass.
Rest break. Needed refueling. This was the last 12,000 ft pass.
TC gets up at 4:30am to do her business and we are climbing by 5:53am. Snow is everywhere but at that early hour it is hard. We walk on top of it. We mistakenly cross a river hoping to avoid a snow field but have to re-ford it...in our bare feet. The angle of the snow field is too steep for us to remove our packs without the fear of losing them. We tried to cross with our boots on but the move from one rock to another is too big and there is ice on the rocks.Too risky so we take off our shoes and we are standing in the snow waiting to cross. There is a river raging under us and the snow bank could cave in at any moment. Across we go. It's all we can do to stay upright. We make it to the other side and our feet are frozen. Holy shit, that was close. Up we go with our micro spikes on, sucking wind like we are on Everest. There has not been a path for the last half hour so we are going straight up. We make it to the shelter at the top of the pass and take a short break. It's now 8:30 and we are aware of the sun starting to melt the snow. Add this to the list of things that make you run with a backpack on...impending snow melt.
Now let's talk about this snow for a moment. It looks like miles of egg cartons or that waffled sleeping pad you see hikers carrying. According to TC the technical name for this pattern is sun cups. The snow is not flat like a blue run at a ski resort. It is lumpy, bumpy, rippled, unstable and melting.The micro spikes work better on hard snow but there is a tendancy to grab and hold so that your knees are cringing in anticipation of a meniscal tear. A fully loaded knee does not do well with sudden turning. DG is imagining orthroscopic surgery. Your ankles feel like they are having a workout standing on moving balls. It's not a comfortable stroll in a winter wonderland.
In addition to the above we now have to deal with the dreaded leg suck (aka Postholing ). We are already suffering from the PTS of the previous leg sucking day. We don't know when we are going to sink nor do we know how far. It's scary like roller coaster scary. You're waiting until you drop so you can scream your head off. Will we plunge to middle earth or just 6 inches. The reaction is to pull your leg up as fast as possible which is difficult and nerve racking. It's not something you can relax into. You have to walk like you are walking on egg shells. DG coined the expression PDA(pre drop anticipation ).We did this for a mere 3 hours! At one point TC is sunk up to her thighs. DG thinks this would be an opportune time for a photo. She asks TC for the camera. TC says "fuck you" . DG is not offended. She waits patiently as TC fishes out the camera. Meanwhile she is sinking. DG takes the shot and sinks herself. It took our intrepid hikers 5!hours to hike 5 miles. F...k!!!
Post hole hell.
Did we mention fording Evolution Creek. TC getting it done.
BRAVO! Whew! we are exhausted!
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