Bailey Range Traverse,  Olympic National Park,  Jul 26, 2007 - Aug 1, 2007     page 92 / 97

Once off the snow we briefly followed a game trail, looking for any sign of a marked trail on the south side of the river. We found a large rock a few hundred yards downstream, with a rock cairn. This was a sign of the river gorge. We certainly did not want to descend beyond that. I looked across the river and found two small pink plastic ribbons tied in the brush marking a crude path up the steep side of the valley. We searched for a safe place to ford the river then began our river fording routine. I removed my boots and socks, tying the boots together and placing them over my neck. Then I placed sandals on my feet, unhooked my pack belt and sternum strap and marched through the cold water with Tom’s trekking poles. Once reaching the other side, I removed the sandals and threw them across to Tom. Then I tossed the trekking poles to him. He then followed me across. We would perform this routine two or three more times before the trip was over.