A much easier day today, with some climbing to Swiftcurrent Pass in the morning. We got to see Granite Chalet from a distance and then the beautiful view down to Many Glaciers.
The trick was getting down the pass. The trail is largely blasted out of cliff, so we had to descend on snow until we got to the right spot and then follow it. It turned out to be 95% snow free, but damn, that last 5% was gnarly. Chance led the way over the worst of it. It would have been impossible without ice axes and extra traction on the feet. Chance even had to chop some steps with his ax.
We got down fast after that and we knew we were close to civilization when we started running into tons of day hikers. We slogged our way into Many Glaciers with thundershowers and hail chasing us.
3 cokes and a burger later, I’m feeling human. We have to resupply here and get our permits extended by a day to stop in Two Medicines… We originally thought a 23 mile day would be doable, but if we want to keep doing these big snow-bound passes we have to stay slower.
Daily Summary
Date: June 28, 2011
Daily Distance: 9.7 miles
Trip Distance: 46.4 miles