June 4 A Heart Stopping Day

Well this day was one for the record books. At 5am as I was packing up 3 hikers passed me on their way to Muir Pass. They too had heard it was the most difficult pass and wanted to get an early start. By 530 I was on my way. At 630 I caught up to Steve who was taking a break. We proceeded together and as it turned out we would both benefit from our chance meeting.



The trail was covered in snow on both ascent and descent. It was difficult to follow and there was no signage to help. Footprints were in all directions as evidence others had the same difficulty navigating. Again my GPS helped us get back on the trail after we had to detour around treacherous areas. Nearing the top we saw a familiar figure catching up to us. It was Roberto.


He was a master at navigation so we followed his lead and finally reached the pass at noon. Cold, wet and tired we were happy to enter the shelter of the Muir Hut. The hut was built in memory of John Muir in1931 for hikers that might be caught in a storm on this exposed ridge. It was built with stones that surround the mountains.
No pics to post as my phone battery died, but Mark will post picks from my other camera in a few weeks.
David greeted us. He works for the forest service and has been hiking south from Mammoth to let PCT hikers know what trail conditions lie ahead. The other side of Muir Pass would be difficult but further south we would find very little snow. The worst was behind us. There were crews working on the blow downs, some may be clear by the time we get to them. That was good news and we chatted with David, had lunch and warmed up-never noticing the change in the sky above us. The wind picked up and the air temperature dropped. We found descending more difficult and as the sky darkened we lost sight of Roberto. We post-holed on down. On one snow-covered area Steve had to dig me out of a deep post-hole as my right leg was wedged so deep I could not move it. On another my shoe came off as I pulled my leg free. Several times we lost our balance caused by the increased wind catching our packs and sending our bodies in unintended directions. We helped each-other as we descended. Still only half-way to the bottom it started to snow. No sheltered areas in-site we quickened our pace. My foot landed in a soft mud-hole catapulting me forward into the wet ground. With a heavy pack on your back there is no such thing as a graceful fall but I escaped with a few bruises. We kept searching for cover as the weather worsened. The terrain now covered in snow and ice. The wind stronger now, and then in an instant I felt myself hitting the ground again with no time for my poles to break my fall. This time I wasn't so lucky and I hit my head on some rocks just above my right eye. Steve who was a medic in the Air Force took a look and said I'd live but would have a shiner by morning. He was right.
This actually was taken 4 days later when I got to VVR. Inquiring minds want to know so I enjoyed telling them about my run in with a bear who wanted my pack. They could see I still had my pack and Steve would chime on "if you think she looks bad you should see the bear."


We stopped and after a lot of difficulty and managed to erect our tents but the wind got so bad we decided to escape downhill another half mile into a lower more protected area. We got little sleep as the blew all night..
Weary-Heart