Day 54 – 6/5/15
Above Bullfrog Lake
Miles – 17.2
Total Mile 816.3 (PCT 788.5)It was our coldest night on the trail last night. It reached 37°in our tent. We had on almost all our clothing when we started to hike. Getting to the sun did not help because of the cold wind. We had only hiked .7 miles before we had to stop for water at Tyndall Creek. We then started the long climb up Forester Pass, the highest pass on the PCT at 13,120′. We wanted to get up and over before the clouds built into something.
The snow level in the Sierras had been a concern for everyone and Forester Pass is a weather vain to let the hikers know what they are up against with the rest of the passes in the Sierra Nevada’s. The south facing slope is almost clear of snow. Once we cross to the north side, we will see how much snow there is. The north facing slope has most of the snow.
We hiked most of the morning heading up to the pass. Even though we were climbing up, we kept all our layers on because it was so cold. The wind was blowing, making it feel even colder. When we topped the pass, the temperature was 34°and the clouds had moved over us. The water that dripped from Papa Raven’s hydration tube turned into an ice cycle. The North side of Forester Pass was solid snow.
As we hiked down, we could see rain to the north. After several hours, the dark clouds moved over us and it started to snow. Not a lot but enough to get excited over. Coming from San Diego, snow is rare thus a little snow fall is fun. We reached the bottom in the late afternoon and we immediately began to climb back up to Kearsarge Pass which is off the main PCT and the route to Independence and our next for drop. The sky cleared to blue. We camped two miles from the pass with Justa and Lint. Quickly, the blue sky was replaced with low clouds and temperatures dropped. Justa read the Hobbit to Lint while we played cards in our tents. In the morning we will be getting up early and hiking over the pass.

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