June 11, 12 and 13

miles 817-832 plus 12 mile side trail to town

Amber guest story and town stop day off

The PCT is officially closed beyond mile 832 due to an important bridge being washed out from high snow and water damage. Hikers are advised to connect two side trails to reconnect at mile 857.

The following is Amber’s route to town:

” Day 51, June 11th.

Waking up at the base of Mather Pass, Chris went over to check out the boot track for the ascent and I made coffee right outside our tent and watched him as well as a group who began their approach. It was a rare luxury to enjoy the comfort of a hot cup of morning coffee- and surreal to watch the group make the approach knowing we’d be climbing soon too.

When Chris returned from scouting, we checked in with Golden and decided as a group to separate so Chris could help her get to safety with her seemingly very broken arm. It was hard to decide to separate, we knew it would be safest for Golden to have his help. I was with a safe group that we had grown to trust since Glenn pass. Chris kept the tent in case he needed it and Sunshine offered to have me share her tent if I needed shelter. After lots of hugs and kisses, Chris left with Golden and then our group of four began our ascent. After watching the previous group the evening before, I was nervous for the climb, but waiting til morning was the right call. We followed the traverse and solid boot track.

We worked together to navigate and I felt my confidence grow as I self-belayed up a couple short vertical climbs, using my handy ice axe to safely anchor with each step. Our Swiss friend Looki lead the way and we made it up in great time! At the very top, there was a cornice with a couple scary last steps, but thankfully Looki just grabbed each of us strong ladies by arms and pulled us right up.

At the top, I screamed out to let Chris know we made it up safely, not knowing whether he’d still be close enough to hear. Then we slowly made our way down. There were some steep sections mixed with long traverses, so we had to move very carefully. And slowly. You go from 12,000ft down to 8,700ft into this beautiful valley, taking the “golden staircase”. The trek through the valley included a lot of wading through water and climbing over trees falled by a prior year avalanche.

And we enjoyed a lunch break by the water. The descent was exhausting. As soon as we made it through the hardest part, I messaged Chris on my inreach to let him know we were ok, knowing he’d get the message as soon as he got service during his evacuation of golden.Once down, in order to get out of the mountains to resu pply in town- and to meet back with my love- we then had to climb again up bishop pass to make our way out. Our friends Looki and Melissa decided to stop there while Sunshine and I continued on. The climb is a long gradual switchback and includes a tricky water crossing about 2 miles up. We met with an elderly hiker who wanted to make sure he crossed with people instead of alone, which is extremely important for safety.

The three of us made it safely across and continued our climb. At close to 11,000ft, about 4 miles up, we were exhausted and daylight was running low, so we decided to look for a good spot to cowboy camp at the upper deucy lakes. We found a great spot right as it started getting dark, and I finally heard back from Chris! He was able to let me know that they made it to town after an exhausting trek. This is the first time I’ve really needed the inreach and I’m so thankful we were able to talk and have the peace of mind knowing we were all safe and that we’d be back together the next day. Sunshine and I then enjoyed our dinners under the night sky.

In my exhaustion, I had an amazing night sleep.Day 52, June 12. We woke up with the morning light and made ourselves some hot coffee, while in the comfort of our sleeping bags. We were only 2 miles from the top of bishop pass, a total of 8 miles from the trailhead. The rest of the climb up was smooth and gradual. So we thought we were in the clear- but then we approached the decent and realized the adventure wasn’t over yet. Down in the valley, we had a ranger let us know that folks were opting to go to the far right for the descent and either glissade or trek down the snow.

The other option is the partially melted switchbacks. We also talked to a couple hikers who said the descent was no problem. But when we got there- our assessment was very different. It’s a dramatic drop into the valley. The descent to the right is completely exposed and didn’t feel like the safest option, so we gingerly descended toward the switchbacks. Getting to them felt very precarious because of how steep it was, but it didn’t take long at all to reach them. The switchbacks themselves felt good, where there was too much snow we could climb down the rocks. At the bottom of the switchbacks though- we found a deer buried in the snow who clearly didn’t fair as well as us in the decent.

Once down, we still had a lot of snow to navigate, but we finally made it to easier trail and got to enjoy walking along several beautiful lakes. And began seeing all the day hikers coming to swim and fish. It was beautiful! And reassuring- we hoped dayhikers were a sign we’d have an easy time getting a ride to town! And it was! The first car leaving the parking lot was a sweet elderly couple who generously drove us right to town! I was able to talk to Chris during the drive to find out where he was, and the couple dropped us off right at the hotel!

Seeing Chris was such a relief! I ran up to give him a hug. And we all got back together to discuss all our adventures. I’m so grateful that we were able to work together as a team to make sure everyone had the safest way out. It took a lot of trust and support for us to come up with our plan to separate and I’m really grateful for the way it all worked out. And I loved how supportive Chris was for me to keep going forward through Mather and our Bishop- it was an incredible experience. The technical experience, the problem solving to navigate the safest crossings, approaches, and descents- it was all so empowering! And exhausting! After all that craziness, it was so fun for all of us to be back together again in Bishop and share stories.