http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/gallery/0000p9pp.xml http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/gallery/0000p9pp From Crabtree Meadows (post-Whitney), up Forrester Pass (the PCT's high point at 13,180 feet), and out Kearsarge Pass to Independence for a planned resupply stop. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/000685a6.xml http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/gallery/0000b25a.xml Hikers clustered at Crabtree Meadows, both pre- and post-Whitney -- the bear box, front, was an excellent place to store heavy gear during the 4,000-foot ascent. The mosquitoes, however, were thick. (Note the heavy use of raingear during an otherwise pleasant evening.) I picked up the stuff I'd dropped off and hiked on, hoping to get a little closer to Forrester Pass that night. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/00064ygw.xml 50ad8ca9bda642d264fde2cd7c597262 image/jpeg 1280 960 653958 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/00064ygw With some stream fords, we were lucky enough to find log bridges or rock-hop crossings. With others, no such luck. We'd roll up our pant legs and simply wade across, using trekking poles for balance. Time of day did make a big difference to stream crossings -- this picture was taken in early morning, before the sun melted snow to raise the water to shorts-high levels. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006552x.xml afcf3d22405d0e4794627e6a00391a76 image/jpeg 1600 1200 1003933 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006552x This desolate moonscape was at about 11,200 feet elevation, above tree line. I imagine that just a few weeks earlier it had been covered in snow. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006h3dr.xml ca816a01b37ee7c1618d5b9b80a064e3 image/jpeg 1600 1200 879486 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006h3dr Waaaaaay off in the center distance. The THGTTPCT says: "As you're approaching Forrester, you have no idea where the pass actually is. Look at that wall of rock in front of you. It forms a sort of wide 'V'. The notch of the 'V' is Forrester Pass. Really. I'm not kidding." http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/00067xay.xml 8b4f7f12f5a7006f8dfcb636ec9ba27e image/jpeg 1600 1200 963161 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/00067xay I found this guy hanging from a gate shortly after Robin Bird Spring, carried him to Kennedy Meadows, and ended up with him again a day before Whitney -- so he spent well over 100 miles in my care. At least he was good enough to guide me to Forrester Pass (just beyond his outstretched hand). http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/000685a6.xml 87431e827a7a39f872fddb9089f3c14f image/jpeg 1600 1200 803751 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/000685a6 A steep trail switchbacked up to the pass (at top left). Not that it was at all easy to see from below; all I could do was follow it when clear, and try to climb up the scree to it when snowbound. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/000698zx.xml eddc4dd263d95825063b229ac9f83123 image/jpeg 1600 1200 962154 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/000698zx At times, snow over the trail forced me to cut the switchbacks -- scrambling up the scree of the rock wall until I could catch up to the next trail segment blasted into the slope. The camera in this picture isn't quite pointing straight up, but there were points where it really felt like what this looks like. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006as3z.xml cc44f091e91c31fb64a4aa8f45948b91 image/jpeg 1280 960 578871 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006as3z Lest anyone think "Eh, it couldn't have been that bad a climb -- he had a trail and everything!" ... this is what the trail precariously switchbacked up. You can just barely see a switchback in the lower left and trail above me at right. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006bhws.xml 70a89b9763422180460556d82531d3d1 image/jpeg 1200 1600 922475 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006bhws The sign right behind me marked the apex of Forrester Pass, the Pacific Crest Trail's high point at 13,180 feet. It was all downhill from there -- about 1,000 feet of steep snow slopes (glissade ho!), and another 3,000 feet of descent down the Bubbs Creek canyon, in the gentler grade near the water. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006c6bk.xml 64ec102cb357ad803ec82ffa42dd2e3c image/jpeg 1600 1200 941281 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006c6bk Notice that line cut across the snow? That's where the Pacific Crest Trail would go if it weren't under several feet of snow. Forget that -- time to glissade down the slopes! http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006erpf.xml abe1ebb6f1ecac9c935fff720dbf5979 image/jpeg 1600 1200 956827 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006erpf The trail passed by the outlet of the lake just visible at center right. So I traversed the slope just far enough to get clear of the rocks sticking up from the snow beneath the pass, and slid a few hundred vertical feet down to shorten my descent. Fun! http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006frxa.xml 9fce68357e228af27baf111452aef16d image/jpeg 1600 1200 877699 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006frxa This is the high Sierra in a nutshell: Barren, stark beauty, with glistening snow brightening dark granite under brilliant, patchy skies. John Muir called the Sierra the "Range of Light." http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006g6w3.xml 37124aad94871f006b3ca41fba053f64 image/jpeg 1600 1200 949601 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006g6w3 This adorable little fellow, according to the notebook on his back, was looking for a ride north. I was already carrying the troll seen several pictures ago, so I regretfully declined his request for a hitch. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006dsx3.xml e9c2430e87e66ff5c46f9009e3f35bf3 image/jpeg 1280 960 645303 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006dsx3 The evidence of glaciation millions of years ago is easily visible throughout the high Sierra. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006kggt.xml 97705878975b093e5d3f12e39ea4b297 image/jpeg 1600 1200 895563 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006kggt As I said, sometimes we got lucky in our river crossings. Of course, luck may not have played a role quite as much as observation here. I reached a knee-high ford, did a cursory 30-second crossing check upstream and downstream, and found a beautiful fallen log to hike across. Later, when several groups of thru-hikers caught up to me as I was trying to jerry-rig a fix for my broken pack frame, everyone else had wet shoes and socks ... I was the only person who bothered to look for a dry crossing! (Five other rivers that morning had probably convinced everyone that trying to stay dry was fruitless.) http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006p4kr.xml 8325eadeb39a36473ca7d65489971537 image/jpeg 1200 1600 868678 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006p4kr ... looks an awful lot like sleeping anywhere else along the PCT. I wasn't packing an enclosed tent, so there was no point to setting up my non-bug-protecting tarp; I just laid out my bag under the stars in what hikers call "cowboy camping." As for the mosquitoes? They can't bite through your sleeping bag, and if you roll over onto your stomach during the night, the hood of your mummy bag protects your head. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006q1e7.xml 41b6da1f76c2d2e11189dfc5835bb472 image/jpeg 1280 960 654837 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006q1e7 "Is it morning already? Nrrrgggh ... alright, gimme a second ... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Green Bean had rescued the sheep from Forrester Pass. When she and TDS got up before me (not a difficult task), she snuck the sheep to about three inches in front of my face. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006rw37.xml 52888a8aa0d255a18844a9539f2a2799 image/jpeg 960 1280 586129 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006rw37 Looking southwest back toward the PCT after taking the turnoff toward Kearsarge Pass. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006s2rr.xml cfdd348c3a3c19a49281e89b0caab987 image/jpeg 1600 1200 958145 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006s2rr Looking west back toward the PCT after taking the turnoff toward Kearsarge Pass. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006tq82.xml d787f5835307aee2e4a000aaaffb15c8 image/jpeg 1600 1200 956871 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006tq82 Down at about 10,000 feet, the trail wound through lush grassland and pine forest. The scents of clean air, alpine water, and fresh vegetation mingled in the morning air as a light breeze tickled my exposed skin and the last die-hard mosquitoes prowled for a morning snack before sleeping the day away. http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006wqrh.xml db05083f643b01a87f756f575c4820ec image/jpeg 1600 1200 893256 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006wqrh This was the last I would see of the trail for two weeks, as I caught a bus to Bishop and a ride home from there to await a (second) replacement pack frame. The view from Kearsarge Pass, looking west back over Bullfrog Lake (center). http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006xr5f.xml 1a3b331d1be6747af974724b45a94a98 image/jpeg 1600 1200 989615 http://pics.livejournal.com/baxil/pic/0006xr5f