Half way up Gabbot Pass to Mono Creek Tributary
Distance: 12km Elevation Gain: 260m (Loss: 1,125m)
Unfortunately, with it raining all day I didn’t take any photos. My camera seemed particularly sensitive to moisture in the air and I was getting read/write errors.
Coming down from Gabbot Pass the build up of runoff water was everywhere. It was concerning. As I hiked further down the into the Second Recess the volume of water in ponds and creeks was increasing. The Upper and Lower Mills Creek Lakes (the two lakes shown in the map above) were swollen and beyond full.
Mills Creek which flows out of the lower lake was absolutely raging and sounded like a freight train. If a person fell into that creek it would be certain death! It was actually kind of terrifying as my path would approach that creek closely numerous times and I had already slipped or fallen 4 or 5 times today on wet rocks and mud. As I preferred not to die on this trip I resolved to keep at least 100 feet away from that menacing creek. It meant more bushwhacking and would take me longer but that would be a small price to pay for some safety and peace of mind.
After 6 1/2 hours of hiking I found the Mills Creek Trail. It felt great to be on an easy and safe trail again. Feeling much lighter and more relaxed I carried on down the trail for about an hour, turned a corner and with a shock realized that my my trip as I had planned it might be over.
I had to cross this creek and a larger one after that. This video may not do it justice but It was flowing very heavy and it wasn’t at all safe to cross. I walked out about 10 feet holding onto the tree branches on the left side but the current was too strong. The water was deeper and more dangerous towards the middle and far side of the creek. I checked further up and down the creek but it was evident that there was nowhere safe to cross.
Even if I could cross this feeder creek there was still the much larger Mono Creek just beyond that would much more dangerous with the water at these levels. I set up my tent and took some time to assess the situation.
Needing help and support I was able to message my partner Carolyn and brother Matt with my Garmin Inreach. After much discussion and research Matt came up with a route and the stats to get around the creek. I didn’t like this option but it seemed there was no other choice.
If the weather continued like the last 6 days there was only one choice, go back up the valley over Gabbot Pass, take the Lake Italy Trail to the John Muir Trail and then finally get onto the Mono Creek Trail. It would be a 40km detour and take 2-3 days depending on if I was delayed again by a thunderstorm at Gabbot Pass.
Adding extra days to the hike may also have required resupplying food at the West end of Edison Lake (I would have to follow the trail highlighted by the blue line). This would add another 18km of hiking and take another day for a total of 3 to 4 days.
I didn’t know if I had it in me to add 3-4 days to my already long hike and I really didn’t want to go back up that valley to Gabbot Pass tomorrow but what could I do?