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Once again we’re up bright and early. Dean retrieves the hanging bag. Thank goodness he is there to hang it at night, as throwing ropes over limbs is not my forte. Bear canisters are required in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, but due to the large amount of food we have, plus sunscreen, etc, we have an overflow bag that Dean is hanging up at night, as well as our bear canisters.
We set off towards Roaring River, where there is an unstaffed ranger station. It’s a very pretty three mile hike there, which we enjoy. We stop for a little breather in this gorgeous area as we’re about to start the ascent to Avalanche Pass. This is the first inkling I have that maybe we should have camped at the base of the climb last night. By first doing those three miles before climbing 2,600 feet, I can already tell my freshness has worn off a little.
We start up the ascent and make it through the first section fairly quickly. After gaining about 1,300 feet, the trail levels off for a couple of miles, and we stop in this flat section to have breakfast at Moraine Creek.
We have a leisurely time and then set off again around 10am. Somehow, it takes another three hours until we complete the remaining four miles to Avalanche Pass.
In retrospect we concluded that it must have been the substantial extra weight we were carrying, as the distances and elevation changes were similar to what we are used to and the trail was straightforward. I started flagging and needing to take more frequent breaks. We started joking about how ridiculously slow we were and maintained good spirits for most of the time, but after a point, I was beyond finding any amusement in the situation as the trail just seemed to unfold again and again into seemingly never ending lengths. As the trees thinned close to the pass, I was fatiguing and grouchy. Dean decided to run ahead to the pass with my pack, and then come back and take his. A bit of a risk in bear country as one of the packs would be unattended for a brief time, but since the food was secure we decided to go for it. That was very helpful for me!
After all the work of getting there, views at the pass were completely obscured by trees! It was an interesting landscape of sparse and twisted bristlecone pines and granite. I sit and eat a very big lunch and recover a little bit. Then it’s time to go down to water, and to camp. We see Sphinx Creek on the map has an upper fork that is closer to us, and we plan to camp there, while the lower fork will be crossed tomorrow. I’m in a much better mood as we walk down, down, down to what we think is the upper fork of Sphinx Creek. I am extremely worn out and after having a wash in the creek I spend some time stretching and relaxing before bed.
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