Creek Crossings

An “easy” eight and a half mile day today as the trail crossed high valleys and plateaus, at times completely buried in five feet of slushy snow near 11,000 feet. I hiked with two easygoing PCTers, Squirrel and Little Bug, and we’re now camped with half a dozen others by Tyndall Creek to set ourselves up for Forester Pass tomorrow. I’ve met about 10 southbound hikers over the past two days, all of whom turned around in fear at Forester, so it might be interesting…

Today was difficult enough with my first two major stream crossings, Wright and Tyndall. A record snowpack is melting fast with the hot weather this week, and Sierra streams are raging. When we arrived at Wright Creek this morning, the mere sight of it was enough to make Squirrel, Little Bug and me have to pee simultaneously. That accomplished, we donned our packs and waded fully dressed into an ice-cold, thigh-deep current 20 feet wide. Tyndall Creek was even more terrifying, but luckily someone had left a note about a safer crossing one mile upstream – whew!