Disappointment alt def To be in a back country camp with a pit latrine that is full to the brim.
No man is an island. Every man is an island builder when it comes to pit latrines. I grabbed my stick and headed into the latrine. It’s always wise to carry a big stick when heading into a latrine. If you open the lid and something jumps out, the stick is a lifesaver. On the other hand, if you open the lid and are presented with a volcanic island, you get to play god and smite the Lilliputians; the stick is a lifesaver.
I play a little game and try to be the first ready. I was the first out and packed. Today the winner was actually the last one out because the mosquitoes were swarming. Sassy won and lost. She was the last out of the tent but was immediately covered by the little blood suckers. She has a gift.
Something strange happened. We had a goal of leaving camp at 8:30. Thanks to the mosquitoes, we were on the trail, a quarter mile from camp, at 8:15. It was looking good for us making our 18 mile goal for the day. We had what appeared to be an easy 1500’ climb to 7000’ above sea level in the first 3.5 miles.
We had discussed hiking arrangements for when we got on bad snow. It’s inevitable that we will be on snow since the melt line is around 5800’. It was decided that Bear will break trail/lead with Sassy behind him. Bunny will be next so she can watch how Sassy makes a crossing. That leaves me to be the designated survivor in case of accident.
Altogether, we crossed about 5.5 miles of snow. It wasn’t a continuous path of snow. We were often dumped out onto rock piles or would find clear stretches of trail. The views were spectacular. Early on we met a girl coming down with her Great Pyrenees, Einstein (I didn’t get her name). Obviously, Einstein was not leading because we met them again later on when they came back by us after they discovered they were going the wrong direction. A dog named Einstein would never make a mistake like that.
We ate a snack directly across from Mt Jefferson. There were obvious cracks in the snow pack onJefferson where an avalanche will eventually take place. We hoping not today as we will have to cross below that on our way down. Bear decided to check to see if there was cell signal. There was enough for us to get an email from John and Jenny with a way to contact them. We also got good news that the weather will be good for next 10 days. On the bad side of things, our inReach is still not working. Worst news was that Sassy’s dad’s cancer has relapsed.
Coming down, we met the least helpful ranger. I’m pretty sure her name tag read Ranger Negative Nancy. She tried to scare us off the trail telling us about a rough river crossing ahead at Russel Creek that was over 3” deep. She also gave us trail conditions ahead which contradicted reports we had already gotten from people that had crossed a couple days ago. She then finished off her soliloquy by dissing how slow we are hiking. Bear tried to see if we could get permission to enter a “limited entry wilderness” below the PCT. She shot us down there, as well. It was a very pleasant encounter.
Bear wasn’t going to give up on the alternate route. I’m not sure if he really wants to hike it, or if he’s just trying to see if I’ve become more flexible in my trail standards. This will be the third alternative he’s tried for us to get (nature and the Forrest Service having thwarted the first 2 attempts). He spent 15 minutes on the phone at lunch trying, but failing again. My hiking in the wrong direction for 1300 miles is not enough to satisfy him that I’m a changed man.
Not too long after our brush with death crossing Russel Creek, we spent 3.5 miles walking in burnt forest in blazing sun. It was hot, dusty, and depressing. There are lots of burned forests in this area, or one massive burned forest, it’s hard to tell how many fires have raged through this area in recent years. It’s terrible to see the destruction and waste. I know this is nature’s way of rejuvenating forests, but I don’t have to like it.
We made it to camp around 6 after giving up on our original mileage goal of 18. In all, we only got a little over 12 miles. The snow crossing had really slowed us down and taken our energy. Sassy found a nice little camp just off the trail about a quarter mile after Milk Creek. We all ate together outside since we were far enough from water that the mosquitoes weren’t a pain in the ass. Before turning in, Bear was looking at our tents and made the observation “Our tramily has a big ass and a light heart.” I’m assuming he was referring to our tents: a Big Agnes and a LightHeart and not either one of our wives. I’ll defend my wife’s honor.
EFG