(+1.7 miles to Cedar Glen Malt Shop)
Back in the sloppy posthole-inducing snow for most of the first half of the day, but as I descended from 8000′ to 4500′, the snow began to retreat from the trail.
The trail followed Holcomb Creek for about 10 miles, and crossed it three times. The crossings were calf to thigh deep, and the creek was swift in many areas. I stayed dry for the first crossing, panicked a little bit on the second one and decided I would be more comfortable keeping both feet on the ground rather than balancing on a log or rock hopping, and did the same for the third crossing.
I took a side trail, as I had done in 2021, to the very delicious and rewarding Cedar Glen Malt Shop! This time the cherry on top was getting to share with Tom.