We've reached the beginning of my mapped crossing points. I told the GPS to alert me when we got close and the alarm beeped when we were 200ft then 50ft from the first mark. I examined the local terrain at the first location and it was just too dangerous to attempt a crossing. The water was hauling ass and there were many narrow shoots, slick surfaces and abrupt walls that made crossing an impossibility. The first point saved us the most time, but the two major streams here had not merged yet. That meant the water flow was about half, but it also meant crossing two separate streams several hundred feet apart and I couldn't even see far enough into the forest to assess the second stream. I was already starting to think we were going to have to hike the entire U. I thought if it is running this fast up here, what happens when the to streams merge?

We continued down river and when we reached the final area I marked (where the two trails on opposite sides of the river were the closest together), I spotted an area where there was a large island in the middle of the river. I thought we could boulder hop across to the island, then switch shoes and ford across the second section. At this point the river is well over 100 ft across and unfortunately this crossing had to be taken very seriously, so you'll get only one photo. The rest will have to be left to my description and your imagination.

I began making my way over the massive granite slabs to the island. I moved carefully from one to the other making sure I built zero momentum as I moved with my heavy pack across the river. I stopped on each rock outcropping and carefully considered my next move. I told Andra not to follow me. On each of the tricky crossings, I wanted only one person at risk at a time. In addition, I wanted to take my pack off and be ready to assist before Andra made her way across. I dropped my pack on the small island. These types of water crossings make Andra very uncomfortable ever since her experience sliding down a granite slab near LeConte Falls. Fear and panic are a recipe for disaster even if the conditions are not that tricky.

Andra moved about half way across the first section and was too afraid to continue. The next rock was just a bit farther than her comfort zone. She just didn't want to extend her leg that far to reach it. I asked her if she wanted to just go back and we could just walk the U. She seemed determined to find some way to cross here. I told her to take her pack off. She was standing on a large flat granite slab with good footing. I walked half way back across the river to the opposite rock. I had her set the pack down on the edge of the rock and as I leaned out over the water she tipped the pack over my direction. I pulled the pack up and across to my location. I then told her to wait. I didn't want her making any moves while my back was turned. I carried her pack across to the island.

Without a pack on, she mustered the courage to leap across to the next rock. The remaining path had shorter gaps and she easily made it to the rock island. I told Andra I would take my pack across the river, then come back and take her's. That way she didn't have to ford the river with any equipment on in case she slipped into the water. There are many strategies for crossing a river like this. Often people recommend you unbuckle your pack so that you do not end up trapped in it should you fall. In this case the unbuckled pack was more of a liability as it made the load unstable and could easily knock me off balance. I consciously thought about how fast I could pop the main buckle in the event I lost my footing.