Rae Lakes Loop- Day 4/5

Day 4- Glen Pass.

How I loved it.

How I hated it.

The entire day before, I told everyone the next day would be easier- 2 miles up, 6 miles down. Only 2 miles of uphill, and everything else would be downhill. I kept telling them over and over like a mantra, trying to build morale. Our group split up once again, to my dismay. I had hoped they would have learned by now, but by the end of the day the lesson would have been taught.

 The southern-most Rae Lake had this little island I had the biggest urge to get to. Unforunately, we were pressed for time. We needed to get over Glen pass before late afternoon to avoid the worst, plus we had 6 miles to go after that. Before we had separated, our plan was to meet up at Charlotte Lake Junction. The other part of our group had a thirty minute headstart, so we did have SOME time to admire the view.

Then came the snow.

At some points, the trail would disappear- marked only with footprints of people before us.

We ascended to see this- what we thought was Glen Pass. Just over the hill, and we'd be free and clear!

So we climbed. We were not prepared for snow in the least, but we managed.

We passed several PCT'ers who said Glen Pass was easy. Liars.

 We made it over the hill, feeling accomplished. From here on, it was all downhill. As we looked around though, we couldn't see where the trail was. It wasn't until we realized the trail never turned, but went straight- straight up this massive mountain in front of us.

Glen Pass, June 6 2014.

 As we stared, horrified at this white-covered crag in front of us, we noticed two little dots at the top descending down the snow. We looked ahead to see our two friends climbing up the center, following these poorly marked lines. The trail was no where to be seen. We had to get over.

I surveyed the mountain, then told the girls to drink as much water as they could. I told them we'd take breaks more often, and encouraged them to focus on getting to the top. I opted to go left, over the rocks rather than the snow- rocks have less surprises.

So, we climbed.

This was the last time we saw our friends until Vidette Meadow.

And climbed.

And climbed.

And climbed.

Looking down on where we hiked from.

Dat angle.

I was envious of the PCT'ers at this point. Every one of this PCT 2014 group were heading north from Mexico, so they had climbed the dry side of the mountain, and were able to slide DOWN the snow. I admit, I was tempted myself to slide down. What I would have given for a snowboard at that point. On the otherhand, climbing was slow progress. The elevation (11,900', give or take at that point) made breathing difficult. One of the girls with me was fighting nausea; I was fighting light-headedness. Little did we know, our friends on the other side of the hill were having troubles of their own. One of them was dealing with a mental breakdown as well as vomiting from the exertion/altitude. We were oblivious, though, because we had went separate directions.

The angle of the climb.

 Towards the top, we'd take breaks every fifteen feet or so. Climbing was horridly difficult, but we persisted. We made it to the top, feeling accomplished. The experience left us half in horror, half in awe. We didn't know where our friends were, though. Were they ahead? Were they behind? We couldn't see them in either direction, and our avalanche-risking yells went unresponded. All we could do was stick to the plan and hike on to Charlotte Lake Junction.

Looking down the otherside of Glen Pass.

The other side of Glen Pass.

There was still plenty of snow to be had on the backside of Glen Pass.

A little pond I affectionately called 'Gatorade Lake'.

 We made good time heading downhill, relieved to have an easier going. The long strain of the mountain, with the frequent breaks, left us without water. There were only stagnant water sources heading down the pass, so I hoped to catch water at Charlotte Lake Junction. I should have looked at the map. There is no water at Charlotte Lake Junction. We stopped there and rested, but we were drained and hungry. Several other PCT'ers were there (shoutout to Possum and Almost Awesome), who we talked to about the Pass. It seemed everyone was curious as to what to expect, and it was closing in on late afternoon. A group passed us, determined to make it over Glen Pass before nightfall. I bid them a silent farewell. R.I.P.

(To be fair, I have no idea if they made it or if they turned around. Regardless, it was a dangerous endeavor to just begin at that time of the day. They would be descending the slushy snow at about 5 pm., assuming they made it up the dry southern side in a reasonable time.

We, on the other hand, were hungry and thirsty. We left a note at the junction, telling our friends we had pressed on to the next water source (which would be much further than I had hoped). We finally arrived at Vidette Meadow, miles further than planned. We stopped to get water and eat lunch (yes, we hadn't even had lunch at this point).

 The reflection from the snow left us all sunburnt. I just wanted to be out of the sunlight and in the breeze where the bugs weren't. It was a pity, but the moment we left the snow area, bugs returned.

Our friends finally arrived a little over an hour after that point. They were not happy. They reloaded on water, and we let them rest up and have lunch. We rested another 45 minutes there and then moved on, aiming for Junction Meadow, which would leave us a 10 mile hike out the last day.

We made it to Junction Meadow, where there were several other groups already camping. With all the good spots taken, we settled for a little high spot, and dug in the for the night.

The next morning we woke up, and headed the 10 miles back to the parking lot. This time our friends stayed with us.

The second bear of the trip. He ran right in front of us, across the trail.

The first of two Rattlesnakes we saw on the last day.

To the right is Wood's Creek, where we originally traveled.

To the left is home.

We left for home after that, stuffing ourselves with pizza; because gluttony is allowable after five days of asceticism.

POST REPORT: It wasn't until after we returned when we discovered many on the PCT were bailing out at Glen Pass. There were advisories for ice axes and crampons, but none of the rangers had seen Glen Pass firsthand. I gave them my report, showing them the pictures I posted here.

A week later, one PCT'er was injured on the descent of Glen Pass, ending his thru-hike prematurely. Remember, safety comes first. We were not prepared for the icy conditions we had encountered, and I would advise against climbing Glen Pass without the appropriate gear. At the time of writing this article (6/23), conditions may have changed from when we traversed it (6/7).