We were warned by another hiker yesterday that the deer here are aggressive and crave salt. Sure enough, WILDCAT woke up this morning to his shirt dripping with deer slobber and two buttons missing. I thought it was stinky before, but now it is truly yukky!
Today's climb is extremely steep, 2,500 feet in just two miles (since we came up short yesterday, it will be 3,000 feet in three miles). For reference, the Pacific Crest Trail is designed for a maximum 12% grade, while this section is 24%.
We get an early start and begin the climb. With little shade and no water sources, it is still a hot, slow trudge with our packs full of food and water, but we get it done.
Near the top, we meet a family on their way down. Their leader quickly queries if we know about the snow. We stare back with blank faces, asking what snow.
This is one of the areas of the trail that I worried about because of a steep northern slope that would retain snow. A couple of months ago it had nine to eighteen feet of snow. I was quite concerned, so WILDCAT and I both packed our ice axes and crampons. But the melt was very rapid, and so far we had only crossed little snow drifts around 8,000 feet elevation. I had dismissed concern about snow and forgotten all about this area.
The leader said that the north face is covered in snow so travel is extremely dangerous. He spent the prior day scouting out and marking a safe route to the west that weaved around the snow.
Still, we were stunned when we crossed over the top and looked down towards Caribou Lake. An unbroken snowfield dropped about 600 feet directly from the top. Without our ice-axes and crampons, that would be absolute suicide. We began searching to the west for the route that the other hiker had described. The snowfield was contained in a bowl so the slope to the west had a little more sun exposure and less snow. We very carefully picked our way along the jagged rock ridge, occasionally seeing the tracks of the group that came up. For a couple of hours, we slowly progressed down, following narrow bands of rock between the snow, and crossing smaller, safer snow fields.
I couldn't help but wish I had my ice-axe. With that I might have glissaded straight down the snow chute, having a blast and getting down in no time at all.
To get lined up for tomorrow's climb in the morning, we now need to make some serious miles. The climb up and the descent around snow were both very slow going, netting under four miles by early afternoon. The trail out from Caribou Lake is good and well maintained as this is a popular overnight hike with locals, so we circle the lakes and then bang out eight miles to the Big Flat Campground.
As we begin to doze off, just sleeping under the stars in our sleeping bags, I hear a noise and sit up. Just 15 feet away a startled small black bear hurries away in a panic. He obviously thought the camp was abandoned since there were no tents and he came in for a look. He doesn't return all night.
The reality of the challenge of this trail is settling in. The level of skill and fitness required is well beyond any trails that WILDCAT or I have encountered previously. It is fun but in a perverse sort of way.
13 miles to the Big Flat campground, to mile 142.
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