Day 61

Baxter Creek was our first major water crossing of the day and it's when hiking in a group that works together becomes very important. Communication is key and after crossing safely, we quickly continued hiking to warm up our frozen feet. Cold water is quite painful. I distinctly remember telling Indigo to keep walking after crossing the frozen water to keep walking as it is the quickest way to warm up our feet, and also dry up our socks and shoes.

Upon reaching the suspension bridge, we took a little break. We laid out on the sun, exposed rock to warm up and snack up before starting the long ascent that ultimately took us to the top of Pinchot Pass.

We lost the snow trail and we ended up on slushy sun cups, which are quite terrible as falls are almost always inevitable. We ended up hiking on the creek instead, although cold, but we had so much fun. Our trail family is pretty awesome because we find ways to enjoy the trail when it tries to bring us down.

Our campsite of the night was beside Lake Marjorie, where I found a sweet spot under the bushes to cowboy camp, protected from the wind and condensation, as well as a beautiful view of Pinchot Pass.