June 19, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Twin Lakes, King's Canyon N.P
Miles: 15.5

Adrian:
Today we slept in because there was no need to rush to get to Glen Pass early. The pass has a fair amount of snow on it that is very slippery when frozen solid after a long night, hence, no rush.

Glen Pass, at 11,978 feet, is known to many as the most treacherous on the PCT, so we would wait until 10:30 a.m. to hike the steepest parts.

The ascent wound through dark azure alpine lakes still choked with icebergs. Snowmelt streams were abundant so we never carried more than a half a liter. You can't see the switchbacks zigzagging up the improbable cliff until you are very close to them. The trail was good and we sped up it in fine style.

Lorenzo, 57, is from Torino and is now being called Uncle Lorenzo on the trail was on top to greet us. The view was great down to Sixty Lakes Basin and Rae Lakes.

The way down started with a steep traverse over snow, maybe an eighth of a mile long with big exposure. A fall here would have dire consequences. The rest was intermittent snowfields and rock ridges. We made it down safely and took a break at beautiful Rae Lakes.

Continuing down the valley towards Woods Creek we stopped at Dollar Lake to fish. We caught Golden Trout, the state fish of California, on every cast. They are such beautiful fish, not very big, but golden brown with bright pink spots and a fluorescent orange underbelly. We fished for about an hour before the mosquitoes drove us off.

The rest of the day we hiked down a long valley next to a river I don't know the name of, to Woods Creek. It had a great suspension bridge around 100 feet long over the torrent. Only one person was allowed across at a time.

King's Canyon National Park has some the best hiking I've ever seen. The scenery is simply breathtaking, ranking up there with Patagonia, Glacier National Park, and Yosemite.

I HIGHLY recommend a backpacking trip here along the John Muir Trail or any of the other great paths in the area.

This is fun...

Kirsten:
The scariest pass ... DUM, DUM, DUUUMMMMM. It turned out to be not so scary. It didn't make it any easier. The pass was still steep and snowy. My confidence with trekking through snow has increased and I think that has helped me today.

We haven't seen any bears yet and I'm starting to wonder if there are any out here.