Mile 1267.5, Day 103

Day 85 – Day 89 Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass (6/21– 6/25):

Joe (Fiber King), Diana (Wildfoot), and I hiked out of Tuolumne Meadows into a beautiful Yosemite landscape: granite domes and walls, lush meadows, forests, and flowing rivers. Accidentally omitted from the last blog because my selective memory blocks out horrible things so that I can sleep at night: MOSQUITOS. They are alive, they are thriving, and they are all converging on the PCT. Towards the middle/end of the High Sierra is when the mosquitos launched their first coordinated attack at keeping hikers moving by making any sort of sitting break a living hell. One time I hiked/ran carrying my full 2 liter water bladder in my hand for half of a mile because I literally couldn’t stop to filter water or even put it in my backpack because the mosquitos were so vicious. We built our first (and most likely, only) campfire during this section to keep the mosquitos at bay while we ate dinner. We were within 10 feet of a creek, had full water bladders next to us, and were located in a clearing, so I felt safe enough making a small fire in a fire ring. And best of all, it kept the mosquitos at bay. Hikers: 1, Mosquitos: ~5000. I’ll take it. One of the best quotes of the day was “Should I just drink my mac n cheese water so I don’t have to get up and drain it?” -Diana. It’s a thought that we’ve all had.

In this section we had to climb some more steep and rocky passes, including Benson Pass and Seavey Pass. The day we hit 1,000 miles we had my FAVORITE camp spot ever: up on a ridge before Sonora Pass. We narrowly missed a thunderstorm, and Joe and I scrambled up a nearby rocky peak for the sunset and best views of the whole trip. The quote of the day was “I can’t believe the one day we get into camp early you guys want to hike more” -Diana. It felt amazing to look in the distance and see the High Sierra we had just spent weeks hiking through and reflect on how far we’ve come. The next day we would officially exit the Sierra (or at least what the PCT determines is the Sierra, technically it continues until Tahoe). It was my favorite night on trail so far!

The next day Joe’s friend Isaac picked us up from Sonora Pass and drove us into the town of Bridgeport for a resupply and a meal. Thanks Isaac!!

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Day 89 – Day 93 Sonora Pass to Echo Lake (6/25 – 6/29)

This is the section where we started consciously picking up our miles. We took it pretty easy in the desert to build up our strength and enjoy the newness of trail, then in the Sierra the miles were just quite brutal, so now that we’re entering the NorCal section I feel the urge to pick up the pace and challenge myself. We’re strong enough now that pushing over 20 miles in a day is easy and our trail legs make the miles fly by.

This has been a great section of catching up with old trail friends that I haven’t seen in awhile, and meeting new trail friends. One quote of the day from a new trail friend was “I can’t believe I’ve walked 1,000 miles and still can’t cook a Knorrs Side” -Veto.

Since both Joe and I are from the Rocklin/Sacramento area, this section was filled with lots of family and trail magic! This is the closest we get to our hometowns on the PCT, and it has been such a morale booster to see family. My parents and Aunt Banana met us at Carson Pass for a few hours with lunch, trail magic, and my new shoes that I desperately needed. My dad and aunt hiked with us for a few miles, and my aunt gave Joe, Diana, and I each a massive bag of baked goods!! To say we were popular at camp that night is an understatement, everyone was so thrilled to get a homemade cookie. Thank you Aunt Banana! Also, accidentally omitted from the last blog was Melinda’s DELICIOUS peanut butter cookies that we enjoyed out of Mammoth, thank you Melinda!!

We got picked up near Echo Lake by Joe’s family, and it was so great to meet them all! We spent the night at his aunt’s house in Pollock Pines and had the most delicious homemade meal: bbq hamburgers, hot dogs, mac n cheese, and asparagus. My FAVORITE meal on trail so far, thank you all so much! Aunt Marion and Uncle Eddie drove up from Placerville to say hi and hang out for a bit, it’s been so great to see family now that we’re in NorCal.

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Day 93 – Day 98 Echo Lake to Donnor Pass (6/29 – 7/4):

Starting the trail again from Echo Lake we had some beautiful scenery as we followed the Tahoe Rim Trail. We swam in Lake Aloha, hiked over 9,000 feet for our last time on the PCT (Dick’s Pass), encountered some of our last snow, and hiked through three Tahoe ski resorts in this section. I discovered a 2 pound rock that I had accidentally rolled up in my tent; all day my pack had felt heavier than usual! We got lucky finding camp sites higher up that gave us views of Lake Tahoe and a break from the mosquitos. On Day 96, we got passed by a hiker who was on her way to get a free 40oz beer for PCT hikers from Donnor Ski Ranch, so naturally we decided to push our biggest miles yet (24 miles) to get that too. Talk about motivation!

It also meant we got to double zero in Tahoe for the 4th of July! Kerrie (our favorite trail angel) picked us up and we had the best time ever. It was definitely hard to get back on trail afterwards, but alas, home is where the tent is!

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Day 99 – Day 104 Donnor Pass to Buck’s Lake/Chico (7/5 – 7/10)

My dad couldn’t resist hiking with us for a few miles out of Donnor Pass since we’re so close to Rocklin, and it was a good morale booster after the high of our double zero in Tahoe subsided. This next section I pushed my biggest miles yet with multiple 25 mile days. While I’m tired every night when I get into camp, it’s pretty cool to see how strong I’ve become and that I can do big miles day after day. Finally got those trail legs!

I officially hit the first burn zone on trail, from the Dixie Fire, and much warmer NorCal temps. This section did bring tremendous fields of wildflowers: silvery lupine, woolly mule’s ears, and wavyleaf paintbrushes. It’s cool to get to hike at this time of year to experience all of the wildflowers! The lupine is one flower that I have noticed in all 3 sections of trail so far (desert, sierra, and norcal) which is pretty neat!

It’s too bad there weren’t lakes for swimming in this section, because it sure got hot! We’re also a lot lower in elevation, and the trail descended down to 3,000 feet at one point which miiight be our lowest point on trail since the southern terminus (don’t quote me on that though). Luckily there’s plenty of trees and forests for shade which helps a lot. We’ll continue on through the Dixie Fire burn zone this next stretch, which will bring a lot of sun exposure and dirt, but hopefully some inspiring new tree and flower growth as well (and an appreciation for trees the rest of the trail). One quote of the day that really hit home was “I’m always thinking about food” -Flinstone. I was a little low on food this section, so I completely agree.

This town stop was really special because I got to go to Chico and see Mark! My mom was nice enough to drive out and take me into Chico. Resupplying at a Winco and a Costco was a nice treat from our usual expensive town stops!

I think Joe, Diana, and I have now reached the limit on where our NorCal family members can reach us, but it sure has been a big help, mood booster, and treat to get to see so many people. Now we continue north and I am excited to see some new scenery and get closer to Canada!