Days 46-49: At high altitudes, cold currents and resupply

General Trail Thoughts:

Remember that quote from the last post about expectations? Well, this section didn’t follow the plan, but we’ll get to that later. The thought that stuck with me during this section was to make wise decisions. Previously I used to laugh when my dad told me to be careful. As I crossed Forester Pass alone, I thought, this is not being careful. He had an ice ax and he had micro-spills, except that the consequences of the fall were quite dire.

On the other side of Forester Pass, the trail was covered in snow and a few sets of footprints led in different directions. I finally followed the wrong tracks and discovered it when I was on the edge of a 50-foot cliff. I turned around and headed back up the hill and found the trail. I later met someone who continued down that wrong path and tried to go down the cliff instead of turning around. He fell and fortunately for him he landed on his back where his backpack protected him. He tore his pants in some places and had some bumps, bruises and scrapes. If he had fallen on his head, he would probably be dead. He’s older than me and I asked him how he got to be so old and make such bad decisions in life… We both laughed about it. I talked to a few other people who successfully went down a much shorter cliff and a few who went back uphill to find the right path. I guess we all have our thoughts on how to do things.

Day 46

21 miles or so

From Crabtree Meadows ~ mile marker 767 elev 10643

Two mile marker 787.3 student 9913

Approximate ascent 3730 Descent 4744

Camping: Solo

People I walked with: NoDak

I left Crabtree Meadows with the plan to stop at Tyndall Creek to fish and then travel a few more miles to camp at 12,500′, just below the switchbacks to Forester Pass. The day went well with sunny weather and at Tyndall Creek I noticed a decent trout in the pool at the creek crossing. The water was moving quite well and, as is typical, there was a dip at the edge of the pool. There were no rocks to jump over or logs to cross, so I walked across the cold pool and on the other side put on my «camping» shoes, also known as Hawaii’s local brand flip flops. I rinsed my hoodie in the stream and set it to dry along with my shoes, socks, and tent. I also took a moment to wash myself with my wool cloth and the fresh melted snow water. While I was preparing food, another hiker, Punch, approached and we chatted for a while while he ate. After he left, I took out my tenkara fishing rod to try my luck. I caught and released a couple of golden trout. Then I broke the tip of my rod. No more fishing for me. Sitting in the stream eating, I watched some people cross the stream walking along the line of rocks at the very edge of the pool. If they had fallen downstream, it would have been about a 4-foot drop. It may not seem like much, but with the current running fast it would have been bad and could be avoided by walking across the pool.

A golden trout from Tyndall Creek

After an hour and a half I packed my bags and headed to my campsite. The closer I got to the base of the switchbacks leading to Forester Pass, the more I realized I wasn’t going to camp at 12,500′ as it was a solid snow field. I had practiced snow camping with the Sierra Club’s Basic Wilderness Course, but preferred to avoid it if possible. I had planned to climb early in the morning as the snow is firmer and there is less chance of the poles getting stuck. Post hole is when you step on the snow and your foot sinks a foot, two, or three. At the very least it’s a nuisance and at the most it can cause real injuries since there are rocks, hard ice, branches, etc. Additionally, there is the risk of inclement weather. I assessed the situation, it was 2:30 in the afternoon and I estimated that it would take me an hour to get to the top and two hours to get down the other side to below the snow line. There is usually much more snow on the north side of the passes, since that side is protected from the sun. The sky was a bright blue with no clouds and I thought I would give it a try. The climb was steep as the lower switchbacks were completely covered in snow and it was a matter of walking fairly straight across the snowbanks to get to the places where the sun had melted the snow off the rocky switchbacks.

Looking back at the access to Forester Pass

I finally made it to the slide where slipping at this point led me down a steep slope with rocks at the bottom to stop the slide. With a lot of concentration and a little trepidation, I walked slowly across the icy slide. I’ve been thinking about this step for a long time and anticipated it as much as I was worried about altitude sickness on Mount Whitney.

The Forester Pass slide – it’s steep!

Happily I made it and followed the remaining switchbacks to the top of the pass. When I looked across the pass I saw the next challenge.

A happy hiker!

The north side of the pass was a large snowfield with no evidence of where the trail is. Some people walked along a contour to a point and then descended a ridge line to a lower elevation. Other people descended to a lower elevation and climbed a bit to the same ridge line. I didn’t want to slide because sliding on my butt would be cold and wet at that time of the afternoon. I walked to the ridge line where I began the delicate dance of trying not to make a hole. My “anti-posthole” strategy is to use my trekking poles, with snow baskets, to support some of the weight and try to step on existing surface footprints. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. One thing I learned is not to get too close to a rock that might be sticking out of the snow. Many times there is a gap created by the sun heating the rock and then the snow adjacent to the rock melts. This gap will quickly lead to a hole in the post and can be a painful experience. This is the area where I followed the wrong tracks and turned around to walk about 50 meters uphill to the trail.

The Upper Foot Trail Down from Forester Pass

I walked with NoDak for a while and we chatted. NoDak is from North Dakota and retired after working at a chemical plant for 40 years. It listed the things they made and included natural gas and urea. I pointed out that I also made those items.

NoDak and I crossed a stream on a decent-sized log, but with a good drop to the pool below. My strategy for crossing over logs depends on the severity of the fall. In this registry there were always 3 points of contact. That means that both sticks and both feet were touched and then one of the 4 moved and so on. It is a slow but safe way to cross. Finally, NoDak stopped at a campsite and I continued toward a lower elevation.

A slow and concentrated stream crossing – thanks for the photo NoDak

Day 47

24 miles or so

From mile marker 787.3 elev 9913

To mile 790 plus another 7.6 miles over Kearsarge Pass to Onion Valley elevation 9205

Approximate rise 2352 Fall 3189

Waking up to a morning much warmer than at Crabtree Meadows is a special treat. Plus, I knew my plan was to cross Kearsarge Pass to Onion Valley and then head to Bishop. I was originally going to fish this section and meet up with Marnie the next day, but with a broken fishing rod that wasn’t going to happen.

The view of Bullfrog Lake from Kearsarge Pass Trail

In Onion Valley I met a group of people who were going into the backcountry in search of food to share. You can’t underestimate the joy of fresh blueberries after eating dehydrated foods for the last 5 days. Taking a ride to Independence, I enjoyed some Mexican food and then crossed the street to hitchhike to Bishop. Previously I saw other hikers travel in 5 minutes. Turns out it took me half an hour. I guess it wasn’t the “5 minutes to catch a ride” genre. A kind lady stopped with her two mortified daughters and gave me a bottle of water. The temperature was around 90 degrees and I guess I looked a little ragged. I thanked her for the water and watched as she, her two daughters, and the empty seat in the back of the car made their way toward Bishop.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the young woman who gave me a ride in her car without air conditioning. He asked me where I wanted to be dropped off and the answer was easy: Mountain Rambler Brewery.

A happy hiker with a “trail beer”

A special thanks to my homebrew club, The Society of Barley Engineers, who sent me money for «mountain ales.» You are the best! It’s hard to see, but behind me is a table of hikers, all of whom I had crossed paths with at some point: Sponge and Jellyfish -day 2 and in Idyllwild, Oats -Deep Creek hot springs and Cajon Pass McDonalds, Strong Arm -before Green Valley and after Kennedy Meadows and Emily -before Agua Dulce. It’s great to meet Thru Hikers and catch up with them.

Day 48 and 49

Zero Days in Bishop and Onion Valley

The big surprise for Bishop was the amazing steak at the bowling alley. I had a 12 ounce prime rib with the sides and it was great! We spent the first night at Brown’s Campground outside of Bishop and the second night in Onion Valley.

The next section from the Onion Valley trailhead to the Horseshoe Lakes trailhead in Mammoth was 125 miles. There is the option to stop by the Vermillion Valley Resort to resupply, but that’s out of the way and the ferry across Lake Edison doesn’t run, so I decided to do it: 125 miles and 8 passes in 6 days.

Until the next 1-3 days, in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.