Just one pass. And a smaller one at that. Still, there was the San Joaquin bridge at roughly mile 852 that was washed out from a bad storm. It crosses a fairly deep and fast portion of South Fork river and has proven to be a major obstacle for most hikers this year. We got up early to get to the crossing first thing. As the day progresses, more snow melts and rivers grow stronger. First in the morning, the water is lower so we planned accordingly.

We got to the river around 10 AM and picked a long fallen tree that stretches across the river to walk over. We were at a 75% success rate for getting across without getting wet. I was the under achiever and slipped off of the log getting my lower half soaked. I had planned accordingly as I was in my slide sandals and boxer briefs. I even put my waterproof pack liner in so to not take any chances of sleep gear getting wet. After a quick dry, we headed on our way.

Mackenzie and I stopped at a spring to grab some water and eat lunch. The heat became palpable reminiscent of our time in the desert. Our climb up to Selden Pass was slow and steady. The ascent wasn’t the worst and the views were incredible. Rivers ran through the valley we climbed up with walls of gray rock that surrounded us on either side. With one final push, we were up to the pass and ran into Tomas, Sir James, and Icy. The view down to the valley below was tremendous with Marie Lake offering a wonderful stage to the mountains beyond. We figured it a perfect place to stop and have dinner.

We pushed another three ish miles before calling it quits today. We have a nine mile walk to Vermilion Valley Resort where we plan on taking a half day to let some feet rest and do some fishing. Looking forward to that cold beer too.

Happy dreams…