July 23rd Big Crow Basin to Snow Lake

In the morning a mile from camp, near Scout Pass, I saw a herd of nearly 60 elk down in Lake Basin. Startled by my presence they all started running, thundering away to the safety of the trees. It was quite a spectacle. A great way to start a new hiking day. Ten miles of downhill later, I was unbelievably in the snow again! The change was so abrupt at Chinook Pass that the side I had descended from along Highway 410 was snow free but as soon as I crossed the trail bridge over the highway I was on a north facing slope that required my ice axe to traverse. Strange, strange, strange. It continued all the way to Dewey Lake with the trail buried under the snow. Later that afternoon I actually lost the trail for a while as I had blown past a junction in a snow covered area and taken a side trail to Three Lakes. Backtracking cost me almost two hours, which is a huge loss in both time and energy. I was reassured I had got back on the PCT by a family who was camping at Fish Lake. They told me I could feel free to camp with them. However, I really wanted to get to Snow Lake, so I declined. Due to my earlier detour, I had to do the last 40 minutes of today's hike with my headlamp on my head. Made camp well after dark on the misty shores of Snow Lake feeling totally exhausted.

A Sea of Green with Whitecaps

30 Miles