Day 7, 6/9/10, Segment 6

Waking up at an elevation of 11,670 is cold even in June. Fortunately, being above the treeline means there are no trees to block the sun's heat when it eventually breaches the horizon.

We needed to fill all four (4) water bottles this morning, so we did not get on the trail until 9:20a. The area of the trail we started out on was filled with water racing downslope as recently as the previous afternoon. The cold night stopped the melt, and suspended the seasonal rivulet offered by the trail. The trail was ready for us and we were ready for it.

By 9:40a we had reached the top of Georgia Pass, elevation 11,880. The views were incredible and humbling. The optimism we had the previous day regarding the snow cover on the trail would disappear as quickly as oxygen at these elevations. We crossed the pass and began our descent.

The first snow drift was encountered as soon as we reached the first grove of trees. Still, this was passible, and we had no thoughts that the snow would be any different than that which we dispensed the previous day. We couldn't have been more wrong!

The next 1.5 miles would take us 3 hours to complete. Drift after drift ranging from 3 to 6 feet high required us to use a technique called "postholing". We would use our poles to check depths and search for firm footing as we made our passage. Most of the time this "postholing" was in vain. Time after time we sank up to our waist in snow. Many instances required our bodies to contort in unatural ways to gain liberation from the latent snow.

When not attempting to go through the snow, our energies were spent going around the blockages. Two problems are created using this technique. First, an incredible amount of energy is spent going up and down the slope. Secondly, there is a great risk of losing sight of the trail and getting lost. Thankfully this section of trail stayed mostly above the 11,600 line on the topo map, and also there were enough open sections of trail to connect the dots!

When the snowiest section of trail was eventually cleared, we were left with water sloshing in our boots, and a rocky trail down to our lunch destination.

Lunch was well earned and lengthy. Alongside the Swan River, we took time to fill the water bottles, wring out our socks, and dry our boots as best as possible.

The balance of the day was spent making our way toward camp, and recounting stories of the most challenging day of the trip so far.

Camp was located at 5:00p, and we enjoyed Salmon and cous cous in our serene surroundings.