Today was a big day! We had a river crossing and the highest point on the PCT to tackle (Mt Whitney isn’t officially on the PCT so it doesn’t count as the highest point). We were now a group of 6 since having Murphy’s Law and Godongo join us. We set out over snow covered trail for a few miles before reaching Tyndall Creek, our river crossing of the day. The banks were completely snow covered on both sides and the water was raging. We decided to walk upstream to find a better place to cross, as the water was too high and fast where the trail crossed. We walked maybe a half mile or three quarters of a mile and Yote and 2.Toe went first across a slower moving, wider section. It looked to be no problem for them so Wolf Bird and I followed next. The water was absolutely freezing but this crossing wasn’t as scary as the ones yesterday. It was maybe mid thigh deep. I felt better having Wolf Bird cross with me, as I know he’d be there to help me if I slipped. We got across no problem and Murphy’s Law and Godongo were right behind us. Our feet were numb after from being so cold and I just wanted to get walking to get some blood moving into them. It’s funny–I looked up this river on YouTube when we got to town and it looks like SUCH a minor crossing during low snow years, so much so that some people rock hopped across. I’ve posted a video below of what it looked like for us this year. Compare that to this video of the same creek crossing from last year!
Our crossing of Tyndall Creek this year
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After crossing Tyndall Creek we had a long slog to Forrester Pass, the highest point on the PCT. The entire approach was snow covered so we had to keep checking our GPS To make sure we were going the right way. We eventually ran into footprints that we were able to follow most of the way. It was amazingly beautiful walking, with tall snow covered mountains in all directions and a perfectly blue sky. We could see the tiny little “v” shape in the mountain where we would walk over the pass and it was amazing to see it start out so tiny as we approached from far away. As we grew closer to the pass, we ran into another group we knew (Tidy, Megaphone, Stacks, Curry, Giggles) and so we all did the approach to Forrester together.
The trail usually (I think) does switchbacks up the mountain but it was all snowcoverwd so we couldn’t exactly tell where the official trail was. We decided to go straight up as it was easy to kick steps in the snow. We used our microspikes on our boots to make sure we had extra traction on the snow. It was slightly scary going straight up as we could have slid back down the steep slope, but luckily no one did, and even if they had it was just snow (rather than rocks) below us. We finally found the actual trail near the top and walked a couple switchbacks before reaching the infamous ice chute. This is a typically snow covered section across a steep open slope where if you fell the consequences would be bad. It is not for those scared of heights. Luckily there was a great trail with clear footprints to follow across the chute. We all took our time and cheered each other on and made it just fine. And just like that, a couple more steps, and we were at the top of Forester Pass! We all took photos and celebrated for a bit.
Now the rest of the day was a long descent! We were excited because we were hoping this meant we’d get to glissade, which is essentially sledding down snow covered slopes on your butt. Wolf Bird couldn’t wait and immediately glissaded off a super steep slope that wasn’t even where the trail went. He then had to walk right back uphill to get back to the trail but at least he had his fun!
Very soon we had a glissade where the trail actually went. We could see trails in the snow where people before us has glissaded, so we went in their path. It was so fun! It was almost like a water slide. You could get going really fast but you can use your feet or hiking poles to slow you down. It was hilarious to watch everyone go. Wolf Bird got a video of everyone. We had fun the rest of the day doing other mini glissades as we walked downhill, but none were as epic as this one.
The walking Was beautiful but very slow. The snow was a bit mushy because it was warmer and later in the day, so it was exhausting walking. We finally stopped for lunch around 2 and took a nice much needed hour long rest in a tiny patch of dirt away from the snow. We then set out to do our final push of the day. More downhill and then we followed Bubbs Creek for a few miles to our campsite. We were lower in elevation but the trail was covered in snow drifts so walking was slow. It’s never clear where the trail is so we do a combination of following footprints in the snow and also using our GPS to make sure we aren’t veering too far off trail. We usually walk at lest 3mph but I think we were walking at half that pace due to the conditions. It was extremely beautiful though and Bubbs Creek was the most insane river I’d ever seen! It had such a high volume of water and it was moving so quickly that the entire river was one big whitewater rapid. I could not believe it. It really reinforced in my mind just how big a snow year this year is.
We decided to camp at a nice spot before we started climbing again. It was a beautiful campsite that was snow free, had a fire ring, was right by the river, and had an insane view of the most amazing mountain peak. We were in awe and enjoyed a campfire–our first one we’ve made ourselves this trail–thanks to Yote and Wolf Bird. It was a long day with many hours of hiking and not so many miles in that time, but it was one of our favorite days on trail for all of us. 
