Tuesday, 09 Aug 15.0 miles, 9:40
Colorful descent from Pinchot Pass
We meant to wake up at 5:30 today but it was closer to 6:00. We were walking shortly after 7:00 and soon came to Lake Marjorie where we met G&L (Gail and Lynn which we’ve morphed into Gailynn) just setting out. The climb wasn’t terribly steep but I was still tired from Mather and, for that matter, the Golden Staircase two days ago. I took the switchbacks slowly but still made decent time to the pass. There, Chelsea scored an apple and some homemade jerky from a hiker who was lamenting that he had too much food. We also saw a fleeting bird, the size of a small, skinny pigeon. She had a narrow black beak and was light grey in front and black in back. I later figured out that she must have been a Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), a member of the Corvidae family, of which I am quite fond. We left the top with A&R at 9:30 as we had eleven more miles to go to set ourselves up for Glen Pass. As with other descents from passes, this was a switchbacking adventure down a steep slope. The descent leveled and carried us into a stark and magnificent landscape. I was particularly struck by the colors at the head of this basin. The mountains presented in rich red, brown, grey, and black. On the valley floor the grasses were the kind of precious green that is worn by only the freshest spring growth. Scattered throughout the scene were patches of white and pink watermelon snow. A sky of impossible blue was our ceiling. It was like walking through a rainbow. Later we passed through a recent (this winter) avalanche zone and passed an impressive snow shelf over Woods Creek, the stream we’d been following. At last we came to a crossing of the stream that meant we had not too far to go. The creek was spanned by an excellent suspension bridge. Except for wide-gapped narrow boards providing a tread, the bridge was all wire, and very bouncy and wavey. We crossed the bridge and dropped our packs for a break. I went back onto the bridge to play and see what kind of standing waves I could produce. But it was a busy bridge, and, sadly, not everyone appreciated my experiments with wave behavior so I gave it up. After our break we set out for the final four miles and an eighteen hundred foot climb up the valley of the South Fork (of Woods Creek, I suppose). The climb wasn’t too bad; lots of gradual gain in between short, steep sections. The first part reminded me of Lyell Canyon. Eventually we came to Dollar Lake. We had originally planned to camp here but Ranger Erika told us that it has been closed due to overuse. It is easy to see why: the lake is beautiful. An easy 0.7 mile further brought us to Arrowhead Lake, which is also lovely. Three tents were already set up. We secured sites for ourselves and for Gailynn and for A&R who arrived very much later. Chelsea waited up for them but the rest of us were already in our tents, taking refuge from fierce mosquitoes.
