SCENE FROM THE TRAIL: Over and down Forester Pass

The trail to Kearsarge Pass was beautiful.
Trees, mountains, water, meadows. THIS is our favorite hiking terrain. The Kearsarge Pinnacles framed the valley and, in the end, made a really yucky, steep pass we had to climb over.

We were a little melancholy knowing this was our last night/day on the trail. We met a ranger on the trail who upon hearing we hoped to camp near Bullfrog Lake, informed us that it was closed to camping but that there was a hidden campsite behind a boulder at the little lake just prior to Bullfrog Lake. We reached the place just as our energy was giving out and found the site as he promised and settled in for the night. Even though it had been warm all day, thunder echoed across the valley until early evening. Fortunately, no lightening or moisture this time.

The ranger also told us we'd have a climb to get to Kearsarge Pass and then the pass itself. He didn't say how steep it was. Oh my gosh! We agreed that we'd rather do either Whitney or Forester than Kearsarge! It was steep and non stop and seemed to take forever. I'm not sure how we did it other than just knuckling down and going for it. Ironically, this is probably the best we've felt the entire hike. I wonder how much of it is mental, knowing that we are nearly done (for awhile).

The hike UP Kearsarge was one thing but then it was followed by mile after mile of DOWN. Down doesn't work your heart muscles like up does, but it can be just as tough otherwise. After awhile we were begging to be done. As we got closer to the campground, more and more people started showing up. Mostly JMT folks but a few day hikers and PCTers returning to the trail after resupply. About a mile from the parking lot, we met a couple day hikers and, though only a smile was exchanged between us, there was a weird connection--a familiarity--it was strange. Anyway, if we ever make it back to pick up where we left off, this is where we'll have to jump back on. Yucky place to do that. Near the bottom Crazy Horse caught up with us and passed us. Leprechaun came a short time later. It worked out well for us as Crazy Horse had lined up a ride to Independence for all of us so we literally walked thru the parking lot and jumped in a vehicle--no hitchhiking here! While in the parking lot we saw another hiker, Zack, now Trivia, that we'd met way back in Scissors Crossing! We chatted a few minutes and learned he was behind schedule due to an injury. We were glad to see him back on trail and flattered that he remembered us!

We said good bye to the PCT as "Tom from Kennedy Meadows" gave us a ride to the small town of Independence. Now we were truly off trail. Oh, remember the couple of day hikers I mentioned in the last paragraph? Well, as fate would have it, they were the managers of the motel we stayed in! We clicked with Doug and Cris (Strider) who are another story. Cris, aka Strider, is a JMT hiker. She's done it, I believe, 18 times now. Like I said, this is another story in itself. Just know they were absolutely wonderful people and I hope we meet again someday. Check out their motel at http://mtwilliamsonmotel.com/.

We also crossed paths with the three hikers that camped ahead of us prior to Forester Pass. We asked them how they did during the thunder and lightening. (Now that we'd seen the area ourselves, we were sooooo grateful that we'd camped where we did.) They said it was very, very scary. It was a huge, exposed valley with little or no protection. It was also higher elevation. They said they ran for cover under/near big rocks and waited it out. Yup. I'm sure glad we stayed below! Crazy Horse and Leprechaun on the other hand, had opted to not even come as far as we had and didn't even get any rain! Go figure!

We are done for the day, the week and for a time, but we aren't done for good. We'll be back. We hope in a few weeks. Please keep an eye on our blog to keep up to date.

We love hiking!

KOKO & The Bald Guy

The trail side-hills the beautiful valley and mountains.

Looking back makes me glad we're going forward!

So far we've come, so far we have to go...

Water is so refreshing and beautiful.

The trail pavement. Many thanks to those who do trail maintenance.

I believe these are the Kearsarge Pinnacles

These clouds brought thunder but no lightening or rain...at least not on us!

A touch of home, fern!

Daunting mountains!

The trail leading to Kearsarge Pass trail. It was UP and we haven't event reached the top yet! Worse than Forester in our opinion!

A ranger told us about a campsite behind a boulder at this little lake just before Bullfrog Lake. Thanks Ranger! This photo was taken from our tent. It was beautiful and private.

Our private campsite from the trail. At least 4 hikers passed without seeing us!

The sunrise was so fantastic over Bullfrog Lake, just a hop skip and a jump farther along the trail. No camping here, or we would have!

Another view from Bullfrog Lake.

Looking ahead...

Climbing Kearsarge Pass. Very steep.

We made it. In case you can't read the fine print, it's 11,760 feet. We weren't expecting the climb this time and it caught us off guard. It was a ruthless climb.