Memories from June 16
It was pretty cold last night. Not so cold as to be notable but cold in a way which makes it seem closer to winter than summer despite the opposite being true. My thermometer, whose accuracy I don’t completely trust read 40°F just before dark last night. Between this and the weather from a few days ago, any buyers remorse I had about getting a second sleeping bag, designed for winter, just for the Sierras, is completely gone. Every day when I struggle stuff the giant thing into my little pack already occupied mostly by a bear canister, I think how nice it was to not have been freezing last night.
Today was pretty uneventful so I’ll talk about the amusing distribution of bridges on the trail. All pictures are from this morning though many days in the Sierras provoke the question why one stream or creek is bridged and another is not.
Here’s a case where I used three logs to get across without getting my feet wet. This guy just decided to get wet. I guess there’s no bridge because it’s seasonal.
Here, on the other hand is a bridge which someone clearly invested a lot of time in. The stream looks seasonal but one might say it was done because the ditch is so deep. First, you regularly have to make jumps this far on rock hops to keep your feet dry. Second, it’s shallower above and below the crossing so you could go a little off trail as is frequently done at any stream crossing involving the potential for wet feet.
Finally, here’s the bridge over Mono Creek. Given the width, depth, and speed if the creek, it seems pretty reasonable.
By normal PCT standards, however, there’s already a bridge. See those logs? They look pretty stable. There are two other log bridges around the bend.
In case this comes across like a gripe as opposed to an exploration of the amusing, I should say that it’s a huge treat to cross a bridge wherever they are on the trail and a fair evaluation of the situation will usually result in a deep gratitude in not having to trudge up and down the bank looking for a safe ford.
To wrap up the bridge theme, I camped tonight just before the Mono Creek bridge and built a fire for a very pleasant evening.
Isaac Takes A Hike 