June 20, 2011

Start: 790
End: 794

So, we didn't wake up as early as we planned, but still woke up around 5:30am. I made a hot breakfast for the first time on the trail which consisted of oatmeal, dried cherries, walnuts, and powdered milk. Believe it or not, it was much more satisfying than pop-tarts.

After breakfast we headed up toward the first pass of the day, Kearsarge (11,600'), so we could actually make it back to the PCT and start heading North again. It wasn't too bad getting up and over the pass, and we made it to the junction with the PCT around 9:30am. After a short break we headed up toward our second pass of the day, Glen Pass (11,970'). According to Yogi, this is the hardest pass of them all. According to us, it was easier than Forester Pass. I think a lot of the difficulty with crossing passes has to do with the conditions encountered during the crossing. If you time it right and have good weather, it'll probably be just fine.

We made it up to the top of the pass around noon and again enjoyed the views for a couple hours while basking in the warmth of the sun and appreciating the lack of wind. While up there we also made slushees with Country Time pink lemonade. It was a delicious way to end our lunch on the pass.

Descending the other side of the pass was supposed to be more dangerous because we had to traverse down along a fairly long steep slope before getting to flatter ground. Because there were already footsteps in the snow and the soft consistency of the snow, we had no problems traversing and made quick work of the upper section. Once we were down below the steep section we got in a couple of glissades on our way to Rae Lakes for the night.

Being at camp early is fantastic and we enjoyed soaking up some more rays before making dinner and getting ready for bed. Tonight's dinner was spinach and cheese tortellini with white wine sausage, Alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, sundries tomatoes and slivered almonds. Perhaps you can understand why I look forward to dinner each day!

Tomorrow we have an easy day with no passes which I am looking forward to! Living the dream!

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