Day 57 - Muir Pass and Evolution "Creek". 855.9 (22.9)

I took my pictures today than I think by other. 

The climb up to Muir Pass was stunning. But what I enjoyed more was the Hikers Hut at the pass summit. 

The way down Muir Pass was easy to start with.  I had woken up early again do that the large snow fields would still have some integrity. Around 7.5 miles for the day (8am...ish) the snow began to soften. Slipping, sliding and post-holing was brutal on the legs. 

Around 12 miles I stop with Leah for a long lunch. 

The afternoon was fun.  Evolution Creek Ford was a big highlight of the day. We had heard from other hikers that at the crossing the water level was high. With this information, I decided to take the Evolution Creek Alternate which travels to a meadows area where the creek isn't as high or swift. 

After crossing, the group of us decided to jump in. It was quite refreshing. After exiting the water, the mosquitoes were relentless. 

The group decided to stop around mile 852.  I wanted to continue on an additional three miles.  One, I wanted to make it over Selden Pass tomorrow (the group wasn't planning on it) and two I hadn't been out hiking/camping on my own for the last month and a half. 

The evening hike was great and I crashed as soon as I setup camp. Tomorrow will be the last early morning for a while. 

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Day 56 - Mathers Pass. 833.0 (18.7)

Was out of camp by 4:15 am. My goal was to make it to the top of Mathers Pass before sunrise. Success. The mountain peaks looked majestic as they lit up before the valley below. 

I also had wanted to make it down before the downhill slope saw sunlight. This helps prevent my micro spikes from slipping, which happens as soon as the sun warms and melts the snow. 

I had to run down at the end to find dirt to do my business in.  I had to do this on Forester Pass, so I had some idea of how quickly I needed to move. 

The valley below was a non-stop adventure through some of the most incredible scenery. Had breakfast with a view, had lunch next to a river (which I took a little dip), and didn't ever stop taking pictures. I even learned that this awesome phone can take slow-mo videos... Enjoy. 

I could have spent a week in this valley, but instead only had a day. 

Day 55 - Pinchot Pass. 814.3 (11.7)

Day 54 - Glen Pass. 802.6 (12.8)

After waking up semi-early, I was on my way up Glen Pass which was difficult, but manageable with micro spikes. Going down Glen Pass was a whole different story. Soft snow on a very steep slope made falling inevitable. After taking considerable time to navigate the most difficult parts, I chose to rock scramble rather than post hole. 

At the bottom of the pass were two beautiful lakes, amazing views, many stream fords and a large suspension bridge.

Only having hikes 12.8 miles total, I and everyone else I camped with were pretty exhausted by the pass decent in the morning. 

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Day 53 - Kearsarge Pass One More Time. 789.8 (8.4)

Mileage Breakdown: 7.5 miles on both the Onion Valley Trail and Kearsarge Pass Trail + .9 PCT miles. From this post on, I didn't have the time/energy/motivation to write as I normally have. I will be writing the post as I put them up.  Took my time getting out of the Onion Calley Campground. On the trail up to Kearsarge Pass, I had a chance to talk to my parents one more time. I also found a really nice rhythm and really enjoyed the hike. 

On the PCT my goal for the day was to simply set myself up for going over Glen Pass tomorrow morning. Having a short day was nice since my pack weight was pretty heavy.