Day 60: a day filled with elevation gain, creek crossings, and butt glissading. We left camp early as usual and got going. First we got to cross a large bridge at the South fork of the Joaquin River. We hung there for a bit and had some snacks while we waited for some restroom breaks. It was a nice place to stop. Very beautiful. It’s special to be out here alone. And I know I’m with a large group of people but we rarely see anyone else. It’s so peaceful yet fierce. Next we pass by the trail junction to Muir Trail Ranch. In typical years this is a big stop for hikers. It’s a side trail that leads to a popular ranch for JMT hikers and vacationers so typically the hiker box is absolutely legit! But they make you pay $75 to deliver a bucket of food to yourself. Yes $75 because they have to bring it in by pack animals. But no worries for us because it is closed so we just pass by it. Next is Selden pass. I now remember this pass so well because of my conversation on the way up and the butt glissade on the way down. On the way up I had a great conversation about movies with Scotty, and part of the time with Hefty when he’d jump in and know things we didn’t. We talked about all kinds of movies, but mostly Disney films. We chatted the entire way up. I couldn’t believe how fast it made it feel. It wasn’t our hardest pass but it wasn’t easy. Nothing out here is really. Once we got to the top we hung out a bit then headed across a small ridge until we could butt glissade down. Everyone was going and Scotty and I decided to race. I was cracking up but he cheated. He stood up part way through and just started sprinting it was so fun! Then shit got real for a bit. Freckles already injured her tailbone pretty badly so she has had to be very careful with any glissading. But she went for it to save time. And all the sudden we see her roll over and hear her yelling. She had her ice axe in hand and we all wondered if she hurt herself with it. Scotty went sprinting up and him and Tim got her. She didn’t stab herself, thank god. Just a bad bruise on that tailbone so it really hurt her. Then we had to be ready to take on the worst creek crossing yet, apparently nobody had been able t to get past it from what we had heard in Bishop. So we all sat and chilled on some rocks while our guide, Simon, dropped his pack and took off running to see how things looked and find an alternate. He was gone for a bit then came back that he had found a good alternate where the creek is split and much more mellow. It ended up being a brutal alternate. Not the crossing but the walk was so steep and sketchy. Sometimes I think we try and avoid things and make shit potentially more sketchy. But I can’t navigate so I can’t complain. The creek ended up being pretty easy. And we headed back to the trail. Seeing the actual crossing I think we could have done it but it did look fairly rough so I’m totally content with our choice and so grateful for Simon to always go check stuff out for us. When it came time to camp some of us wanted to walk further so me, Meg, Scotty, Javalou, and Crocs walked further to a nice dry campsite. We built a great fire and had good chats and lots of laughs while hanging out and eating. Tomorrow is just a few miles to the junction for VVR which will give us a quick vacation from the trail. Some people just need to get boxes there and resupply. It hasn’t been open which is why we packed enough food to get into Mammoth but we now heard it just opened so we will be good to get there tomorrow!