SCENE FROM THE TRAIL: Moving toward Forester Pass

It was an interesting day. I was tired and didn't want to do anything
and we were both a little sore from doing Whitney. We set out for Forester Pass, the next big scary thing on the list. The plan is to go off trail at Kearsarge Pass, on the other side of Forester Pass.

It was pretty warm today which made my sluggishness even worse. The trail was pretty good and we leapfrogged with Crazy Horse and Leprechaun all day. We also met three other thru hikers so they are still out here! The three young hikers pass us heading for the same camp area we are, at the base of Forester Pass. Later, as we pass Crazy Horse and Leprechaun, they inform us that they too are headed for the upper campsites so we opt to camp sooner due to being tired and the fact that all the sites will be taken by time we get there.It ended up being a very, very wise decision. We camp about 5 miles from Forester Pass.

We stopped at one of the last reliable water sources before the pass. It's been hot today and I soak my feet while TBG scouts a campsite. The terrain is very sloped and rocky--a campsite might be difficult to find. He's a good scout though, and finds a nice site about 1/4 mile away. We make camp and are just starting to do our "chores" when I hear a strange sound and realize it's raining. There had been clouds, but nothing that led us to even consider rain! Before I can say it's raining, the thunder starts and it really starts to rain hard and then hail. TBG stands under a tree laughing and repeating it's only a shower and it'll be over in a few minutes. I'm not believing it and it's suddenly getting cold and wet so I head for the tent where I have my raincoat. When I'm in the tent, I see that the "bathtub" floor is not set and rainwater is getting in, I shout to TBG about the problem but due to the noise of the hail hitting the tent, but he can't hear me. Finally he does and it's so noisy, I don't hear his response! It's REALLY, REALLY loud in the tent! Needless to say, I managed to fix the tent while he continued to stand by the tree repeating that it's only a shower and will blow over. In the meantime, the lightning begins and he then decides that if he's going to die, he wants to be in the tent with me. The tent begins to leak along the seams. Just a few drops, but if the rain continues, it will worsen. Two noisy and wet hours later it does pass and all is well again. We are thankful that we managed to get camp set up before it hit.

From where we are, we have about 22 miles to get off trail. Two days. Two days of climbing. I'm anxious to go home and dreading the hard climbs. Funny how I don't like hard stuff, yet, I seem to thrive on them. They are always my favorite parts. I'm so weird. Once we get off trail, we then have the fun challenge of figuring out how to get home.

Starting with Mt. Whitney, TBG has begun leading and it's really made a difference. I tend to push hard and fast where he is slow and steady. It drives me crazy to go so slow, but it's nice to be a steady pace. And, we have both discovered, he CAN hike fast when HE wants to! It's going really well and we both wish he'd been leading all along. These last couple of days have been so good, we are both struggling with leaving the trail which is good as it will make it easier to not lose hope or drive to get back on. We are both at a place of acceptance that we must get off temporarily at least. We are just each dealing with all the "What nows?" Fatten him up and get back on ASAP. I'm already stressing about gaining back weight--I like my new weight!

We love hiking!
KOKO & The Bald Guy

PCT Miles: 767-775.34
LL: 36.65087 -118.39030
UTM: 11S 375729 4057044N
Elev: 11,097

Everyday has its "ups" and downs.

Who can resist views like this. I took so many photos--I'm glad I have digital and not film!

The views...

So much water and waterfalls. A great distraction! Walk and gawk!

Here we are as the rain starts. The clouds don't look like thunder 'n lightening do they?

Sunrise. All is well.

Our tent was by the large rock near the center of the photo. Looks innocent now doesn't it!

First glimpses of Forester Pass. It's the small notch with a bit of snow in it. It doesn't look so daunting from here!

Hiking to the pass...

That's the pass, on the left with the tiny bit of snow. The trail goes up the rock cliff on the right. Can't see the trail can you? Neither could we! We actually hike right across the bottom of the snow!