Day 55, The Golden Staircase

Part 2, The Sierra Nevada, Day 55

The Golden Staircase

Miles: 17.19

PCT Mile: 828.47

**day 54 is higher up on. The menu if you can't find it. 

I left camp early with Shepherd and KC, and our first order of business was crossing a swift stream. I found a log downstream and we crossed easily. 

Here is Shepherd crossing the log:

Our pass of the day was Mather Pass, another pass notorious for how steep it is. I love the steep, high passes, and I was excited for this. The three of us hiked up toward the pass all morning. 

Get a load of this cute marmot:

It's cool how the closer you get to the high passes, the more barren the landscape becomes. The sudden changes help to build my anticipation. I enjoy the passes because I hike towards them for hours, and I become increasingly curious to see what's on the other side. 

I came to the base of Mather Pass and it looked steep. I knew snow would cover the other side, but this side was all Ricky switchbacks.

Here's the other two climbing below me:

I reached the top and took a load off. The views were amazing. One by one, the others in the group arrived at the top and we sat up there for about an hour. 

Here's me doing my explorer pose: 

Here is me showing KC how to do the pose:

It was soon time to descend the steep face of Mather. I led the way and the others followed. I cut across the snowy face and climbed down rocks whenever they appeared. Once again, we had to cut our own route. It was fun!

After reaching the bottom safely, we started the long descent. We would hike downhill for the rest of the day, about 6 hours of downhill. 

We ate lunch at Palisades Lake, which is the most beautiful lake I've seen yet. It had several creeks flowing into and out of it at every turn, and waterfalls filling it's alpine waters from the steep surrounding peaks. 

The trail followed the lakes closely for awhile. It was a delightful hike.

I saw Zig Zag resting in the sun on the lake shore and he informed me that he was going to do low miles to set up for the next pass, so it would be the last time I'd see him for awhile. I wished him well, knowing I'd see him again down the trail some day. I've been hiking around Zig Zag since early in the desert, and I think he's an awesome guy. 

The upcoming downhill is known as "The Golden Staircase," because it descends wildly and steeply straight down a stunning valley with Palisades Creek cascading right down the center of it. I started down the countless rocky switchbacks, thinking how difficult it would be to hike up it. 

Here's a look at the valley I was heading down to:

This is where my body was starting to break down. My back was aching and my pack was cutting into my shoulders. To top it off, my feet began aching again, probably because of the constant downhill switchbacks. I had to take a few breaks just to reach the bottom.

The views were so beautiful that I ignored the pain and hiked with a smile.

I walked through a burn zone at the valley floor, but it was nothing like the desert burn zones. It was beautiful with windflowers and green everywhere. 

I was so tired here and hadn't seen anyone for hours. The sky was darkening again and I hurried a bit trying to get to camp. 

I got real close to this deer and it refused to move. It was a brave deer. 

I arrived at Grouse Meadow to find Shepherd bathing in the creek. I set up my tent and hung out in the beautiful meadow for a bit. 

Here is the view from my tent while I cooked dinner:

At night we had a campfire and it was pretty fun. Mrs. Smith saw a bear while she was out digging a hole, so we made sure to protect our food and what not. Another great day in paradise.