Day 2 took us over Donohue pass and into the beautiful Lyell canyon
We woke up to gorgeous skies on the second day, and started off to tackle Donohue Pass, our most elevation gain in a single day of the entire hike. The trail (which was more of a series of 50 foot muddy segments split by large patches of snow) began by descending toward a rushing river. After admiring many waterfalls, we reached a water crossing where we encountered a group (pack? school?) of PCT hikers, who splashed right through the cold water rather than finding the dry log bridge.
We hiked with the PCT crew to the top of Donohue pass. The trail to the pass cut through an immense snow field, immaculate and white. At moments when we were able to catch our breath, we exchanged stories of adventures and trail days along the way. The view from the pass was totally worth the long snowy climb – Lyell canyon stretched ahead of us – green and snowless. We snacked on some boulders, and a PCT hiker pulled out a huge bag of cocoa puffs for lunch! It seems like you can eat anything when you are covering 25+ miles per day.
The descent into Lyell canyon was beautiful, and the constantly changing views of the river and surrounding peaks made time fly. Before we knew it, there was no snow in sight, and we packed away our microspikes. A forested trail and a tricky river crossing brought us to a perfect campsite, where we enjoyed hot soup before bed. Sleep came fast.
