(+7.5 miles up and over Kearsarge Pass)
We camped in the valley below Kearsarge Pass, where we added Lou to our tramily! Lou hiked with Ollie & Bianca earlier this year, and was returning from an achilles injury. Our jaunt up north to allow the snow to melt was successful – there was so much less snow!
This section is a little tricky because of the high mountain passes. We have to camp before the pass each evening, and get an early morning start to get up and over the pass before the day’s snow melt begins (which would make it more challenging). We want to hike on hard snow, where our crampons and ice axes will get a really great grip. Slushy, sloppy snow is not our friend!
So, for the third time, I traversed Kearsarge Pass, and continued on to new trail in the High Sierra Nevada Mountains!
We saw many day hikers and PCT hikers, so the solitude we had previously enjoyed in the mountains was over. All hikers are likely to camp at the bottom of the passes, as we are, which makes camping a little difficult to find for late arrivals.
The ever-elusive pika!
