#glen pass

[jonthephotographer]

Glen Pass on a cloudy rainy day

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There is a reason that Rae Lakes is so popular.  It is stunningly beautiful. This is my favorite view with the reflection of The Painted Lady. Bolton Coit Brown first named this distinctive peak “The Pyramid” in 1899. Brown was a New Yorker who travelled west to establish the art department in Stanford University. He went on to become an accomplished artist (mostly known for his lithographs) and even had a hand in the creation of the Byrdcliffe artist colony in New York, known better for the name of the nearby town: Woodstock.“The Painted Lady” first appears on maps in the mid-1950s, after a few decades as the unfortunate “Colored Lady.”

With 11,969′ Glen Pass to the south (and Forester Pass 11.6 miles south from Glen Pass), for the southbound PCT hiker the high passes are coming to an end. However for the northbound hiker, you are just getting started. The view back over Rae Lakes from Glen Pass is pictured below.

And a final look at the Painted Lady . . .

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What Was I Most Scared Of When Hiking the PCT?

From the beginning of our efforts to collect stories for the Pacific Crest Trailside Reader books, Corey and I quickly learned just how rare hikers were who also worked at the craft of writing.  That was a decade ago.  In the seven years of curating this website since the anthologies were published, that perception has not changed.  So it refreshing to discover hiker/writers like Kathleen Neves.  Over the next half year, we will periodically publish more of Kathleen’s writing.  In the meantime, do not hesitate to check out Kathleen’s website:  http://www.kathleenlovesyoga.com/

By Kathleen Neves

Since being home from thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, people have asked me all kinds of questions about my trip. The one question that keeps getting asked over and over is, “What was I most scared of when hiking the PCT?” Most people think my answer would be animals or creepy people on trail. Nope. Some have even guessed it would be weather. Nope again. Surprisingly all three of these were the least of my concerns on trail.

I was fortunate enough to not come across any creepy people on trail. In fact, I met the most friendly, generous and amazing people on the PCT. Nowhere else in my life have I ever met so many people who genuinely wanted to help others without expecting anything in return. This ranged from fellow hikers to trail angels and complete strangers I met along my way up to Canada. Thanks to my experiences on trail, my faith in humanity has been restored. I now know there are plenty of kind people still out in the world.

I didn’t have a whole lot of encounters with wildlife other than a bunch of friendly deer, swarms of bees in Northern California, several mosquitos in the Sierra and a couple of baby skunks, the occasional snake and tons of lizards in the desert. The only bear I saw on trail was when I was on my way into Chester, California when I saw its butt scurry down the trail as I rounded a corner while singing at the top of my lungs.

I lucked out with weather for the most part on trail. It rained on our way into Julian, down in Southern California. By the time we got back to the trail from Julian, the sun and warm weather had come back. There was one scary thunder and lightning storm Grit and I hiked through on our way into South Lake Tahoe. In Washington, from Trout Lake to Holden Valley, Grit and I hiked through several days (and miles) of fog, rain and even some snow, but nothing too crazy. Nothing we couldn’t handle.

When I first started my hike on the PCT, I thought my biggest fear of being on trail would be having to camp by myself because I’d never slept outside by myself before. On my first night on the PCT, I camped with 10 to 14 other thru-hikers at Hauser Creek. It was here where I met my Team Lagger trail family. For the next 700 miles, I didn’t have to spend a single night by myself. It wasn’t until Day 58 when I went into the High Sierra by myself when I finally faced that big fear of mine and camped alone for the first time.

In all honesty, sleeping outside by myself wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. The first night in the High Sierra was hard, but that’s only because I was heartbroken about having to say goodbye to my Team Lagger trail family. All night long, I kept thinking everyone’s tents were just outside of mine – KitKat and Amish, Punchline and Bleeder. Anytime I wanted to yell out something to one of them, I remembered no one was there to answer back. I cried multiple times that night in my tent. Since no one else was camping near me, I wasn’t afraid to cry loudly either.

In the High Sierra, I spent most nights camping by myself, all the way to Red’s Meadow. In Red’s Meadow, I was reunited with Grit again. From Red’s Meadow to Burney, we camped together on most nights. From Burney to Mount Shasta, I hiked solo while Grit stayed back in Burney, waiting to see a dentist. It was during this section when solo camping became less of a fear and more of a choice. I’d see plenty of hiker friends during the day on trail. At night, I’d purposely choose tentsites at the top of big climbs, on ridgelines or on mountain tops with epic views. Everyone seemed to spread out at night and do their own thing. I loved it when I’d have a tentsite all to myself – just me, my tent, the bees, the mosquitoes and the sunsets/sunrises. It’s funny how the one thing I was sure would terrify me turned out to be something I really enjoyed doing.

The thing I was most scared of when hiking the PCT was a fear I never knew I had. My biggest fear of hiking the PCT?  Fording rivers and creeks. Before hiking the PCT, I’d never forded a river or creek. Never in my life had I ever needed to walk across a raging river to get to the other side without there being a somewhat safe way to get across. There had always been either a bridge to cross or stones large enough to walk over to get safely to the other side. What made fording rivers and creeks even more scary was every time I came up to one, there never seemed to be anyone else around. Where were all of the other hikers?

The first time I had to ford a creek was at Rae Lakes, just after Glenn Pass in the High Sierra. I hiked along the trail, all the way to where the trail ended, which was at the creek. I could clearly see the trail continuing on the other side, but there was now a body of water standing between it and my dry shoes. I looked around to see if there was a log bridge or another way to get across without having to get my feet in the water. I couldn’t find anything. Since my camp shoes were flimsy, slip-on sandals, my choices to get across the water were to either do it barefoot or get my shoes and socks wet. I took a deep breath, braced myself for the cold water and walked across the water with my shoes and socks on. The water wasn’t all that deep, but it was cold. At least my feet would be cleaned off for the evening. That was always the bonus of getting my feet wet at a water crossing.

The next time I had to ford a creek was much tougher than the first time I’d done it. This time, the trail had led me to a raging river, the South Fork Kings River. I walked all the way to the end of the trail and could see the trail starting up again on the other side. Roaring rapids stood between me and the other side of the trail. Of course, I was the only person around. I could’ve sat there and waited for another hiker to come by, but who knew when that would be? I’d have to suck it up and face this fear on my own.

As I got closer to the water, I took a look around. From where I was standing, the river looked pretty deep and the rapids were raging. Not exactly the safest place to cross. As I scanned the area, I could hear my friend, Katie’s voice in my head telling me what to do. Her voice reminded me that I didn’t have to cross the river right where the trail ended. She told me to go upstream and look for a calmer, shallower spot.

I walked upstream a bit until I found a spot I felt comfortable crossing. It was much calmer and there were hardly any rapids going through the area. From what I could see, it didn’t look all that deep either. Just like the first crossing, I decided to keep my shoes and socks on. I stuck my trekking poles in the water first and then allowed my feet to follow. One by one, I slowly stepped one foot in front of the other as I felt around the ground with my trekking poles, trying to gauge the depth of the water as I went. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. To help keep my anxiety at bay, I started talking out loud to myself, telling myself exactly what I was going to do next: “Step. Okay, you got this. Easy does it. Slow. Okay step. Slippery rock, okay maybe not there. Try another step. Easy. Slow.”

Towards the middle of the crossing, the water came up to my knees. I could feel the current of the water pushing against my legs and feet. Some rocks were more slippery than others. A couple of times, I could feel my feet starting to slip out from underneath me. I did my best not to panic. I kept talking myself through the situation and took it slow, one careful step at a time. Once I made it safely to the other side, I couldn’t help but turn back around towards the river and yell, “Not today!” I had just forded my first big river safely and had done it all on my own. I felt pretty accomplished.

Fording a river or creek never seemed to get easier though, no matter how many times I had to do it. I was scared every single time. I always seemed to be alone whenever I’d have to do it, which made the whole situation even scarier. After doing a few of these, I learned how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I came up with a system based on the things I had learned at previous crossings. I’d always scan the area for the safest spot to cross. Before getting in the water, I’d take a big breath to calm myself down. Once I was in the water, I made sure I was never in a hurry and took my time getting across.

A couple of  times I got blisters on my feet from having to hike in wet socks and shoes after fording a river. I learned the best way to keep my socks and feet dry was to take my socks off and the insoles of my shoes out before getting in the water. This way, only my shoes would get wet. By the time I got to the other side, I could wipe my feet dry with a towel and would have dry insoles and socks to put back on and hike in. Since I hiked in my trail runners, my shoes would dry completely within a couple hours of being out of the water.

There were a couple times I forded a creek barefoot. Not a good idea! Not only did it hurt my feet, but I slipped a fair amount of times on wobbly, slippery rocks. I felt much safer and more stable with having the traction of my shoes underneath my feet instead of bare feet.

Another thing I learned was to move things in my pack I didn’t want to get wet, up to the top of my pack. For example, I usually kept my GoPro, wallet and cell phone in the hip pocket of my pack. At a river crossing, I’d move these items up to the very top of my pack instead. This way, if the water was deep enough and reached my hips or if I slipped and fell in the water, these items would most likely not get wet because they’d be further from the water.

Also, on big water crossings, I learned to unbuckle my pack before getting in the water. This way if I slipped and fell in the water or was swept in by a rapid, I could easily release myself from my pack and prevent myself from drowning.

Before hiking the PCT, I had no idea fording a river or creek would be such a huge fear of mine. Probably because up until this point in my life, I’d never been in a situation where I had to do anything like this before. My fear of fording rivers and creeks made my fear of sleeping outside by myself seem so silly. The High Sierra section of the PCT was really good about not only showing me how strong of a person I am, but forcing me to face fears I never knew I had.

[mainewanderlust]

Hike: 2019 John Muir Trail

2019, the final year of the John Muir Trail section hike adventure, concluding on a sunrise hike of Mount Whitney. #wanderlust #jmt

In August 2019 Jeff, Michael and I returned to the John Muir Trail for the third straight year to complete it. Our friend John, and Michael’s brother Steve joined us. We flew into Las Vegas and drove in a van to Grandview Campground in Inyo National Forest. Campsites were limited, but we squeezed into one and spread out looking for flat-ish areas to set up tents. In the morning we caught sunrise…

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Several photos of Perry Gabbard’s pass through the High Sierra in 2015.  Glen Pass with its snow-free south face and the broad snow-field on the north side.

Doing a map check.  Perry’s website is https://inspiretoseek.com/   We have also previously posted some of Perry’s photos from his 2019 thru-hike.

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photo: My Bill Cunningham impression, sun protection is all the rage, hoods and hats are what hikers are wearing. 

Day 3, July 23.  

Halfway home

It was hard to catch my breath last night, I didn’t sleep well the elevation was keeping me up. It was uneasy most of the night in the tent, once the dark sky started to turn light I got out to take a photo and get the day started. I was on the trail the earliest this day around 8:45am. But on the way out the lake looked nice for photos and the fish were biting, so stoping to take a few photos plus fish again. It was Rae Lakes, so I had to catch at least one fish. This put me back 30 minutes on the trail. There is about a one mile hike from the ranger station at Rae Lakes(about where I camped at) to the start of the climb up to Glen Pass. The climb is two miles and just about a 1,500’ climb. After two full days of hiking and about 23 miles my body was for sure not fresh anymore. All the aches are starting to come through. Forehead sunburnt, my lips cracked and chapped, camera strap digging into my neck rash, my neck would cramp when I turned to look behind me too far,  my shoulders itched from the mosquito bites, my hands would cramp from holding trekking poles, my legs felt like stones...

At the climb everyone was passing me by, I was kind of unsure of the distance I had to cover. The climb becomes very steep and rocky the air feels thin and breathing becomes short. Focusing on breathing and staying on a slow pace is what I tried to maintain. Early on I ran out of my personal motivation, nothing I could think of could really motivated me. I didn’t talk to anyone, and there was no friends to talk to. Being physically drained I needed something, I end up putting on my headphones for that music motivation. It took about two albums Femi Kuti, and Kaytrnada to get me up the pass. After two long albums and hiking at a snails pace I got to the pass. I was drained physically and mentally I was tired of everything… And then it was over, reaching the top the felling of relief came through, and almost like a purge of concerns about the hike. Even though there was 17 miles left it was mostly down hill. Knowing that the hardest part of the hike was over, that there was no need to turn back, it really freed up my mind. One thing I decided was to stop shooting nature and landscape stuff on the trip(doesn’t work), partly because I’m not a landscape photographer, second I was not spending quality time making photos, third I for sure want to come back to take time to photography the area, and fourth I like photographing people. With a lot of time spent on being a hiker, photography became the second or third concern. I created a project while I was up there, I wanted to use a roll of film to photograph different people on the trail. Focus on people the rest of the trip(again doesn’t work), because that is what has been the most consistent thing in my photography work and career. So one of the only photos I took up at Glen Pass is of some random hikers, they actually happen to be from San Luis Obispo. Changing a motive in the middle of the trip felt good, switching things up from time to time keep things fresh.      

The rest of the hike to Junction Meadow is seven miles, going back down into the canyon. The canyon walls start to get higher and the views from the pass disappear behind them. Feeling overly confident after the pass, I didn’t stop at the first water source. It was a deep turquoise lake a mile under the pass. It turned out that the next water was 4 miles. I only had 24oz, and it was 12:30 in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day, and it is very exposed no tree cover. What the fuck. Feeling some urgency I took a break to reference the map. I was breaking more often to conserve energy, get out of the sun more often, and take tiny sips of water that turned warm from the sun. One positive from the trail is the view of Charlotte Lake, but, it’s so far it might as well be a mirage in the desert. Also, this area has the most junctions and offshoots of trails. stopping to talk to people about directions and pulling out the map more because signs   got confusing. Getting to the water I drank over a liter, soaked my feet, then washed and changed socks. From the pass to camp at Junction Meadow the drop in elevation is about 4,000’. Seeing this change is another scenic area of the trip, but, I had decided to not take nature photos only photos of people. So yeh, that didn’t work, I took a couple landscape photos. But another person that passed me in this area was a young blond woman trail running part of the trail that day. I didn’t stop her to ask to take a photo, she was on her pace and she scared me when she passed me. So I froze for a second, and the next thing I knew she was gone. I tend to remember the photos I didn’t take.

Getting to camp at 5 pm was the most positive, it was the last night, it was early enough to get all the chores in, jump in the water and dry off, and, fish for over 30 minutes. Also, Heather was at camp which meant extra dinner, and we finished the last of the bourbon to celebrate. That night I slept a little drunk. Because my body was drained, a little bourbon was as strong as a few burbons. We slept early and easy that night.  

[itsthefreeoutside]

Day 112 - two passes

Day 112 – two passes

PCT day 25

The Sierra Nevada mountains are one of the most incredible places I have ever been. There are snow capped peaked, grueling passes, and wild animals all over. If I didn’t know better I would think the landscape was untouched. Gone are the rattlesnakes and lizards of the desert in favor of the bear, grouse, deer and marmot. It is like a whole new world and I got to spend another day…

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