Author: memoriesaheadmilesbehind

June 1, 2018

Mile 977-990

Well, today was as bad for me. We slept in–which for me was 6:04am. I quietly packed up so Justin could “catch up” on his own sleep. I think we were hiking just before 8am. I was dreading Kerrick Creek though. Everyone has it hyped up for good reason, although swift at 9am, crossing the log wasn’t horrible. It was wide enough for me and not too high off the top of the water. Although I’m pretty sure during the afternoon melt water would be flowing over the top of that log. I had Justin give me just enough help at the end of the crossing. I needed just a little breathing room which he patiently gave me by holding onto the end of my trekking pole as I finished over. The next “Creek” was more like a waterfall. Each crossing of the rocks was either fast flowing or deep. We had to cross in three different sections, none being better than the last. We both agreed–this Creek was far worse than crossing the log at Kerrick.

Stubblefield Canyon Crossing was next. All places to cross were wide, fast, and deep! Justin and I forded this one together at the same time. I stayed as close to him as possible but the longer I was in the colder and weaker my legs felt. I was in swift deep water up to my hips and it felt like it lasted forever.

Around mile 987 there was still yet another ford at Wide Creek. We had planned to take break at the Ranger station all day. Except that it had taken us all day to get there as it was nearing 4pm. This is unfortunately where I met a rather large group of mosquitos. They went to town on me and I had to put my fleece jacket on just to get a layer of protection against them. I’m not sure how many bites I was subjected to but I’m pretty sure you could connect the dots on my back and make a gnarly constellation.

We hiked just a few more miles to 990 for the night. The campsite isn’t really ideal as there’s still snow piled around. Everything will be wet in the morning and we hope it doesn’t get windy as there’s a partially downed tree near my tent. Awesome.

Tomorrow we will hope for 14 miles. We are running low on food and it’s 26 miles to Sonora Pass/Hwy 108. If we can stay out of the snow we might make some decent miles but if the trail is tucked in the trees all day it’s going to be a soppy snowy melting mess.

In all these days we’ve hardly seen any people. Since we’ve left the Yosemite NP area, we’ve only chatted with 6 other hikers. Today we saw 2 hikers headed southbound who report that snow in the Tahoe-Sonora Pass section was minimal. I hope they are right.

5.31.2018

Miles 963-977.7

***6/4/2018 Trying to keep the details straight with the photos. Thursday was a tough day I didn’t blog about but trying to get the words out now. I apologize if it doesn’t make a ton of sense.***

I do know we started early as we needed to cross Wilson Creek early in the morning. After the creek crossing we were back in the snow.

We stopped for lunch knowing we had to cross creeks to get back on trail. The miles had been slow and moral was low but we’d reached an elevation we thought would be snowfree. So As Justin looked for a spot to cross the creek where he wouldn’t have to take his shoes off, I crossed in a shallow direction. I second guessed myself and ended up making my crossing a two-part scenario. Stupidly, I ended up in the weeds trying to get out. One foot slipped and I fell forward. I wasn’t in a terrible situation but I was pretty well drenched. The worst part — which I laughed about later cause I was extremely forgetful — was that I thought I lost my phone when I fell forward. I had been keeping it in my side jacket pocket, which when I reached down, was unzipped. I hollered a loud profanity and reached back into the creek to see if I could find it. In my moment of panic of losing my little bit of “life line to the outside world” I forgot that I had safely tucked my cell phone into my sports bra for safety. Seriously, these are the moments I wonder why I torture myself out here.

Log crossings were prevalent this day too. There was one particular log that Justin crossed and knew that I would hate the crossing. He was nice enough to come back, grab my pack and take it over for me. You’d think that would have been enough help for me. Nope, not this time. This was my worst moment to date. I got 3 steps on that log and froze up. I just couldn’t do it. Justin came back over once again to help me across. I got to the end of the log and sat and shed a few tears. The fear is real for me–I know I’ve already said it but I’ll say it again. There’s a deep seated fear inside of me when it comes to walking across a log that’s no wider than the length of my foot. The sound of the water rushing below and the thought of falling in and being swept downstream…. That’s my fear and I can’t get over it.

This day we stopped short of Kerrick Creek. Kerrick is known for the unfortunate passing of 2 hikers last year. Those thoughts rattled through my head before falling asleep that night.

Seavey Pass–Below is a photo of the sketchy snow along Rancheria creek. Hardly a creek, it was a raging river and this photo does not even slightly show the terror in my face. We followed footprints in the snow but never had a clue as to where the actual trail was. One slip of the foot would have been swift dunk into the water.

Justin built a fire ring that night. Always a mood lifter to have a little heat at the end of a cold soaked kind of day.

I do remember this log fondly. Probably one of the longest ones I’ve had to cross, but probably one of the easier crossings only because it lay practically on top of the water and it wasn’t flowing fast at all. ***Fridays post will follow up soon. I was on battery conservation that day and wrote it in my journal instead of here. With the snowshoes on top of my bag I couldn’t charge my devices with the solar panel. Eventually I borrowed Justin’s battery pack to keep my phone going until we were out at Sonora Pass.

May 30, 2018

Miles 951-963

It’s actually Thursday morning at 5:13am as I write this. Yesterday was a tough day. I feel stressed and saddened. I’ve had more moments about “why am I doing this” in these past few days. Yosemite is tough. We are still “early” for these conditions. But yet, there never seems to be a perfect time. Yesterday we forded 4 creeks. Each time I was in water up to my knees, twice as deep as my hips. One particular crossing I didn’t have very good footing and neither did Justin, which when he vocalized that, it made me panic. Each crossing was a challenge on its own. We ended the day at 963 where we needed to to cross Wilson Creek, but by then it was late in the day and the water was high. We have to go have Benson Pass as well in 2.5 miles.

This isn’t hiking anymore. Postholing in knee to waist deep snow isn’t enjoyable. Putting crampons on to walk down a hillside because you can’t see the trail buried under snow, isn’t fun. Wondering what the next water crossing is going to look like is stressful. All of this is taking the fun out of this experience. This is why you shouldn’t enter the Sierras early. The crappy thing is the double edged sword we thought we had when we started. We had good weather and a low snow year. That good weather has continued, which in turn is melting the snow that’s here. Kerrick Creek is 16 miles. It’s known to be a tough crossing as well. I’m hoping after that, things dry out. But with that being said, that only gets us to Highway 108/Sonora Pass. I haven’t looked Passed that towards So. Lake Tahoe. I just don’t know anymore.

I’m mildly sad, which isn’t my norm. I’m sure Justin hates my dismal attitude and my lack of confidence. He believes in me and has been helping me along so I am ever so grateful for his friendship through this tough time. I want to keep going but I don’t know how much more of THIS I can justify.

**6/4/2018 As I briefly read my blogs now, I know there’s details from these next few days I didn’t blog about. As tired as I was when I wrote, the feelings were real and raw. I also recognize I took less photos on these days.