Day 55, June 11: Mile 771 to 789, Over Forester Pass
Start: Mile 771.2
End: Bullfrog Lake Trail - Mile 788.5
Miles: 17.3
Ascent: 4294 | Descent: 4375
It was hard to wake up after the early morning for Whitney the day prior, but I managed to pack up camp and get going before the sun rose too much. From camp, I ascended through forests and meadows, and got a beautiful view of Mt. Whitney. I crossed Bighorn Plateau where some of my friends were camped, and there was a beautiful, near 360° view there of Whitney and the surrounding mountains.
After a little bit of a descent, I started the long climb up towards Forester Pass. I passed many snowmelt streams that reminded me of Mt. Rainier NP in Washington. The terrain felt challenging compared to Whitney with my heavy pack (albeit much lighter than when I started this weeklong stretch), and I took breaks now and then to take it easy on myself.
On one such break, I met two JMT hikers, Brian and Beau. Brian had packed too much food and was trying to offload some of it, so I grabbed a pop tart, energy gummies and skittles. Thanks Brian!
I continued on and after collecting a liter of water at the snowmelt lake at the base of the climb, I started up the switchbacks. Funny enough, the switchbacks actually felt easier than the lower elevations. I guess I got into my groove, similar to how I did on Whitney the day before.
Soon enough, I made it up to the pass, woohoo! Forester Pass is the highest point on the PCT at 13,200’ and it marks the border between Sequoia NP to the south and Kings Canyon NP to the north. The views from the pass were incredible. I took some pictures and ended up hanging out and chatting with a number of hikers there for maybe an hour or so. It was sunny and pleasant and not too windy.
Finally, I pushed on. The descent down the north side of the pass can often require glissading (sliding on your butt on the snow), ice axes for self arresting, and microspikes for traction. Earlier in the season and/or in heavy snow years, it can be a dangerous spot on the PCT. Thankfully that was not the case at all! I never needed to put on my microspikes and managed to get down just fine.
As I descended, the views of Kings Canyon began to open up. Stunning is not strong enough of a word to describe what I saw today. I descended past aquamarine-colored alpine lakes, rushing rivers filled with caramel colored rocks, waterfalls, jagged mountain cathedrals that stretched into the sky, so many pines and blue skies. I tried to take photos to be able to remember everything, but they can’t begin to capture it all. I was giddy all day at how stunning it was.
I stopped for a quick lunch break with some other hikers near a stream and had fun chatting. Brian, the JMT hiker, shared more of his snacks with the group.
After more and more jaw-dropping beauty, I made it to the bottom of the long descent and started back up another steep climb towards camp. Luckily, it was relatively short and I made it to camp before anyone else. I pitched my tent as quickly as I could again and climbed in to escape the mosquitos.
Other hikers arrived and we had dinner together- Squirrel Daddy, Popeye, Spin Cycle, Zippo, Purple Joy, Lucky Charm and Gadget. I bundled up in multiple layers to avoid the mosquitos but finished up as quickly as possible again so I could climb inside my tent and drift off to sleep. Town day tomorrow!!!
