(via the Ridgewalk Bypass)
Shortly after my campsite, the trail returns to the Mission Creek drainage, and is blocked by 25’+ rocky waterfalls. The PCTA is encouraging hikers to skip this entire section (from miles 209.5-250), but a few hikers are choosing to scale these waterfalls.
Hikers coming from the north last year discovered they could walk a ridgeline to bypass this section, so that’s what I chose to do. I hiked 1800′ of elevation gain over 1.5 hours to rejoin the PCT, once again creating my own path among the rocks, dirt, and shrubbery, using “up” as my North Star.
After rejoining the PCT, I was greeted with deep, heavy snow, then patchy snow, before finally descending (instead of ascending for a change!), seeing Ogre & Tom, and rushing to greet them!
