Day 86 – 16 Jun 19. People on the Trail and Carson Pass

Today 29.3 km (18.2 mi), Total Distance 1732.1km (1076.3 mi) 11 hours (0720-1820)

I slept in a little today which is unusual. I was packed and ready in good time so still left around the normal time.

I headed through the snow under the pine trees to try and find the trail. As the trees stopped I found the trail and followed it as it zig zagged down.

There were a few snow patches to negotiate and then at the bottom was a steep snow slope going around the end of the valley and then up the other side.

I headed straight down where the snow started and then climbed the steep hill up to the track on the other side. There was some more sidling on dirt track and a few snow patches and then the huge snow patch leading up to the summit became visible and it looked scary. It was a traverse climbing up but the slope looked really steep.

I was just contemplating it when Cheese and Whiplash came around the corner. I last saw them at the campsite by the swing bridge the day I did Glen Pass. They pulled out at Bishop Pass as the conditions were too much. They went home for a while and then flipped north and are making their way south. They said the route under the snow patch and then climbing the rocks was doable. We exchanged advice on trail conditions ahead and then went our separate ways.

I walked to the edge of the snow and then dropped down the dirt, across a short section of snow and then down a drop to get to more dirt and then climbed up steeply to near the edge of the snow, then across a bit, down a bit and then climbed up the rocks to get to the saddle. It was much easier than the snow traverse would have been.

Now I dropped down partly on the track as it did a single zig and zag, and partly in the snow when the track was not visible. I dropped down to a flat valley, crossed it and then climbed between two hills. Then I passed near the lake but decided to do a short side trip to see the lake (Wet Meadow Reservoir) and it was all water and pretty.

Back on trail the track went around a hill and then dropped down to a dirt road. From there it was fairly flat and thankfully the trail was visible every now and again. This part had almost 50/50 snow and dirt. It think it would have been a difficult exercise in navigation as it was all in the trees and there were no big features.

This eventually came out at Blue Lake Road which was covered in snow and obviously closed. I sat on a rock by the road and ate my lunch looking at the sign warning of cows.

After lunch I there was no sign of where the trail was so I climbed the snow slope and jsut kept heading up. I found the trail, lost it, found it, lost it and so it continued. I knew I needed to keep climbingg so was not too worried. At the top of the climb I found the trail again and followed it for a little way as it went around the side of the hill but then lost it again.

I was now heading up again and was going to be sidling below a large ridge featuring the high point of Needle Peak. As I climbed above the snow line I found the trail again and now was able to follow it constantly. The trail was dirt with the occasional snow patch. There were heaps of flowers, including a couple of new ones.

The trail climbed steadily up to the saddle below Needle Peak and then started traversing under the peak. There were a couple of snow patches which were easy to traverse but when the slope steepened and became rocky I came to one patch which was really steep and I was not comfortable crossing it. Below the patch of snow was a long long way down a very steep mountain. Thankfully it was a little patch and I was able to traverse under it, though that was not easy as it was not solid dirt but loose gravel that just kept sliding. It was very hard to get traction and it took a lot of effort and gripping the few pieces of fixed rock and pulling myself up.

Finally back on trail I enjoyed a decent section of dirt before the next snow patch. This one was also really steep and I was kicking really good steps and not looking down . It took a while but I made it safely across.

Now the rest of the way down, nearly to the lake, was dirt. I came around a corner and was looking at the big patches of yellow flowers when I saw three deer lying down on the slope above and in front of me. I froze and they just looked at me. After a little while one got up and then the others. They stayed watching me for ages before slowly moving onto the other side of the ridge. I was pretty pleased. Dirt trail, flowers and deer, what a way to hike.

Just short of the lake the trail was back in solid snow and stayed that way for over a mile. The trail was now heading around the left of a hill, slowly climbing. There was a road below the trail. As the trail was under snow, and on horrible slopes I dropped down to the road. It was covered in snow and still on an angle but much less than the trail.

I am really over having to traverse steep slopes so was happy with the little improvement. As I saw the snowline I climbed back up to the trail and now it was mainly dirt I followed it. There were a few snow patches then it came back down and across the road. Just around the corner it was back to solid snow again. I traversed a wide flat area with lots of suncups, then dropped down steeply before the slope eased and it was a more gentle drop across the valley and along the side of a hill before starting the climb to Carson Pass.

It started dirt with a few little snow patches then became solid snow before going back to mainly dirt. There were a couple of bigger traverses but the slopes were not too steep.

Since I started the previous descent I had been hearing the rumble of thunder and now I was a bit higher I could see the horrible dark grey clouds behind me. In the distance it looked like heavy rain on some of the peaks. Thankfully above me was still clear.

As I was going up a snow slope I got a fright when someone said “Hi”. I turned around and there were three young guys. They stopped briefly and said they had been thankful for my footprints as it meant they did not have to navigate or kick steps in the slopes. I laughed and said how my navigation had not been the best and they said no one was in these conditions. They then went in front and quickly left me behind.

As I came around a corner I saw the final climb up to Carson Pass and it looked horrible. Traversing and climbing across a very steep slope. I caught the guys at the base of this as they were putting their microspikes on. I also stopped and put my crampons on.

I was not looking forward to the climb until I discovered the pleasure of other people’s footprints which made the climb easy. I had forgotten how nice it is to have good footprints to follow and not having too kick my own steps. I made quick time up the three snow slopes and to the summit. The guys were quicker and well gone by the time I got up.

Now it was the descent to the road. The trail was mainly snow still and dropped gently to a lake. I took the short side trail to see the pretty Frog Lake and then headed down, following the guys footprints.

About 0.2 of a mile short of the road I found a nice dry patch of ground next to the trail and set up my tent. It was spitting lightly as I did this and I though it was going to rain but it never did.

I was very pleased to see the distance I covered today and that I have less than 14 miles left, most of that downhill. Depending on the snow conditions I should arrive at Evans Pass late afternoon – Yay.

Visits: 676