Day #33-This is why you need a graceful bailout. Miles hiked: 30ish?

I woke up this morning dreaming I was suffocating. When I woke up, I realized it wasn’t such a dream as my tent was sagging with almost a foot of snow. So much for the 2 inches that was predicted with only a 30% chance of precipitation.

We knew we had some major terrain to cross so it was definitely a solemn vibe leaving camp, but the show must go on as we climbed into the high alpine above tree line.

After it took 3 hours to walk less than 2 miles and we found some avalanche terrain we didn’t want to mess with, it was time to find a way to get low and out of danger. Backpacking is all fun and games until it’s not, which is why I preach the importance of having a plan B. Plan B today was descending from the ridge and walking out on the road to get out of the accumulation.

Thankfully the sun did come out which helped a ton with moral.

Amazing what a few thousand feet of elevation does for snow conditions!

We weren’t the only group who got sketched out, so it ended up being a group of 6 hikers walking the alternate.

Conditions should improve tomorrow so we’ll be back on trail, but thankful to be walking with others who believe equally in adventure and respect for how unpredictable the mountains can be.