Selden Pass

PCT 2018 Day 40, June 1, Friday.

Start mile 862.4, campsite 3.2 miles from Selden Pass

End mile 882.9, campsite 2 miles from Silver Pass

Miles walked: 20.5

Climbing to the pass extra early, no traction devices on shoes were necessary going up. The night was cold and snow quite firm. The way down was steeper, with footprints going straight down the slope in places. The transition from partial snow coverage to clear was reasonably quick, so perhaps only a mile or two of post-holing and seeking alternate routes parallel to snow-covered trail.

Near the trail for Vermillion Valley Resort I meet Sunshine and two other hikers that were getting ATT cell signal, but no others cell providers. They were heading into the resort, like most hikers I have been talking to for three days, but I am skipping and will hike a day or two more to the trail for Mammoth Lakes, a town with many more supply and food options. The hikers were able to tell me that the store near the route to Mammoth was not open yet, so the shuttle from the store to town was not stopping at the store. They verified the correct trail exit for me to take of three options.

Down from the pass, let me say a word on lower altitudes. Water is omnipresent. Often the route is along a large stream, the roar of rapids a familiar presence. The trail is frequently soggy from snow-melt and swollen creeks, and much of the effort of the day is spent avoiding water hazards in the path by stepping on rocks, etc. Many creek an stream crossings are necessary, and several are fords, wet-foot crossings. One of the last fords of the day was next to a waterfall, the mist spraying on hikers. I could not zoom out for you to see how long the falls were. Here is another view.

Author: Jim, Sagebrush

Jim (trail-name Sagebrush) codes audio software for Windows, Linux, Android, and embedded systems. When not working at sagebrush.com, he enjoys backpacking, which this blog is about.