[pct-l] Conversation with Brian Robinson on Sierra streams, June, '05

[rellinwood at worldnet.att.net (Robert Ellinwood)]

As most of you will recall, Brian Robinson posted a great summary of 

his "Eleven Days Through the Snowy High Sierra With David Horton." 

David is a friend of mine and I know how grateful he feels for 

Brian's experience and expertise in guiding him through the heavy 

snowpack this summer.  It occurred to me that, while things were 

still fresh in Brian's memory, I'd ask him about some of the stream 

crossings, as he and David Horton experienced them.

 

Dr Bob:

Before I ask about the stream crossings this summer, I've wondered:  

Did you ever use snowshoes on your Calendar Triple Crown?  If so, 

what kind?

 

Brian:

Yes.  I chose Northern Lites Elites for my Calendar Triple Crown. 

I've still got 'em and still use 'em. They're really durable. I'd buy 

them again, but they're guaranteed to last a lifetime, so I probably 

won't have to.

 

Dr Bob:

At high run-off, the streams really concern me.  On my last PCT hike, 

the sound of roaring water some distance away was scary.

Each hiker's trip and each day of weather-induced run-off will vary, 

but it occurs to me that your experience at really high water levels 

might be instructive for the rest of us.  Can you reconstruct some 

of the nitty-gritty detail on the major stream crossings and 

whether you found better solutions by moving upstream for the 

crossing here, downstream there, right at the trail crossing in this 

case, etc??  My wife is shorter (5' 6") than I am and I figure your 

"findings" this bad snow year just might help us. 

 

Brian:

Sure.   But I'll also toss in a few words written before in my "Eleven 

Days" post.  Not all the "wet" was during stream crossings.  Often, 

when post-holing late in the day, each step would sink deeply into 

the snow, sometimes waist-deep. Also, walking through melting snow 

is very wet and slippery and we had wet feet for days.

 

OK, streams:

 

South of Tuolumne:

Rock Creek           760.3

I think there's a good log crossing here.

 

Wallace Creek      770.4

This one and Crabtree were relatively easy fords right at the 

crossing.

 

Wright Creek        771.5

Very easy ford

 

Tyndall creek       775.0

This was the first ford that gave David Horton a problem. Very 
fast water. No easy place to cross anywhere. We gave up looking 
and crossed upstream a bit. Crossing Tyndall Creek without a bridge 
meant fording fast-moving ice water almost crotch-deep. David, 
who has forded his share of streams on the AT and at Hardrock, 
was alarmed at how difficult it was. I knew there was worse to 
come. After dealing with the later fords, this one seemed easy in 
retrospect.  

 

(Dr Bob:  From David Horton's personal notes: "The first hard one 

[Tyndall Creek] scared me to death.  I went halfway across and 

then went back. Later I decided that it was the only way to go.")

 

The crossing between the Rae Lakes  794.5

There were some partially submerged logs right at the crossing. We 
had no trouble using them to stay out of deeper water.

 

S Fork Kings River     814.4

There are two fords here in quick succession. One is hard, the other 
extremely hard. The worst one has several decent logs to cross. We 
chose one upstream 100 yards or so.

 

Evolution Creek      849.9    The toughest ford on the PCT, Evolution 
Creek.  In the chill of early evening, we waded out into chest deep, 
fast-moving water. More than halfway across, with my trekking 
poles completely under water and my feet numb from the cold, the 
current pushed me off balance. I had visions of being swept away, 
but I recovered with just a few unplanned steps. David also nearly 
turned into a swimmer, but managed to regain his footing too.  We 
crossed right where at the trail. This was a mistake. We almost got 
swept away and could have died. Check out the other options.

 

Dr. Bob:

Let me interrupt. With conditions you just described, I guess we 

need to clarify the time-frame involved here.

 

Brian:

I was with David Horton from June 19th through June 30th.

OK, going on.

 

Bear Creek   867.8

Just one crossing, thank God.  Extremely tough. We forded right at 
the trail.

               

N Fork Mono Creek              880.2

Difficult, but not too bad with all the practice we'd been getting. 
We crossed right at the trail.

 

"Re-ford" of N Fk Mono Creek  881.4  ("where a fall could be fatal")

This one is short but swift. Getting swept away here would be bad. 

We crossed right at the trail. Not too hard for people with long legs.

 

North of Tuolumne:  Northern Yosemite dished out some of the 
hardest trekking yet. There were several deep and swift fords.

 

Return Creek in Virginia Canyon    956.7

"Easy" for us by then. Lots of practice. We forded right at the trail

 

Matterhorn Canyon Creek      962.5

Deep, but not too swift. A tough one, but we didn't have any trouble.

 

Wilson Creek   965.8

Medium tough, but not too bad. We didn't even wait for each other 
before crossing. (Probably as tough as Tyndall Creek, but David had 
built up a lot of confidence by then.)

 

Piute Creek    973.1

Very deep crossing. Would be a swim except for a large log down-

stream toward Benson Lake 100 yards.  We crossed on that log to 
avoid having to swim, but it cost us nonetheless. David slipped on the 
log and lost a trekking pole.

 

Kerrick Canyon Creek    980.2   

This one is downright dangerous. We traversed steep snow that 
could have dropped us into a raging torrent that we didn't dare 
cross. The far bank was mostly snow-free, but the whitewater was 
so ferocious we could not find a safe place to ford. A slip would 
have sent us tumbling into that water.  At the trail crossing we 
had no choice. It nearly swept us away. This one is scary.   

 

 Falls Creek near Wilma Lake   987.6

Very deep crossing. Basically a swim. We barely found footing in 
water over waist deep just below the trail crossing by following 
sand bars up and down stream a bit.  It was another chest-deep 
ford, but the current was slower moving than Evolution Creek. 

 

Kennedy Canyon Creek    1007.1

This was fairly easy right at the trail.

 

As I wrote earlier, this was as tough as any 11-day hike in my life.

 

Dr Bob:

Thanks, Brian.  Just thinking about your words at Evolution Creek,

"with my trekking poles completely under water,"  I'm not sure 

I could have done it.