Start: 1719.8
Stop: 1738.1
Today’s miles: 18.3
Total PCT miles: 1590.3
I woke up to a very damp tent and quilt, like I knew I would.. I was also freezing! I was so cold packing up my tent that I had to stop and take breaks, breathing hot breath into my cupped hands to get some feeling back in them. I didn’t leave camp until 7:25, which was late for my first big big climb of the Sierra, but I was just too dang cold to get moving.
I was in the shade of the mountain for the first two or so miles. I had my gloves on, but they weren’t doing much. My hands were so cold that they physically hurt. I need to get some better ones, although I wish I had them now, when I need them most.
I was slow moving up that mountain to the top of Donohue Pass, at 11,073 feet. The first two miles of switchbacks were cold and steep. I kept getting passed by folks. When the trail finally came up out of the forest to exposed rocks and meadows with a large stream running down the middle, I was blown away! The views were outstanding! It was like standing in the middle of a bowl, everything above was sharp and steep and snowy, but right under my feet was lush and green and soft. Two huge contrasts, right there together. Amazing.
I had to rock hop across the stream to and then follow the trail up higher with more rocky switchbacks. There were two patches of snow but they were so easy to walk on that I didn’t even slow my pace any.. not that my pace was fast by any means. Then, I was at the top! Surrounded by 360 degree views of WOW. I was ecstatic! There was a small snowmelt pond, once I skirted around it, I got service! I took that time to rest and call mom to check in.
I was so winded from the climb, and talking with mom I realized I must have also been struggling with the altitude some, because I was spacey and had trouble keeping up with the conversation, even though I was the one trying to have the conversation to begin with. She noticed, of course, because moms notice everything.. so I downplayed it and then decided I probably needed to get moving.
We said our byes and then I went a little further before deciding to sit a little longer. I was still at the top, but in the sun, and I was just too exhausted to keep moving. And then, thankfully, Strider showed up! She sat with me and we talked a while, she started to eat a snack and I figured I needed to get a move on, when two pack ranchers came up the mountain pass with 3 horses and mules each.. like the guy was on the first horse, had 2 more behind him, and then the gal, with 2 more connected to her.. it’s always so fascinating to see these ranchers! True cowboys and cowgirls.
I asked if I could take their picture as they passed, because they looked cool as hell. They said of course, and then the woman offered me trail magic! She gave me a Shepards pie burrito! I was so thrilled! Happily taking the burrito and parking my butt right back next to Strider to eat it! It was delicious, even cold! It was by no means as good as the Shepards pie my friend, Tracy, makes-but I don’t think that’s possible to beat. (Now my stomach is growling for her Shepards pie and I reeeeeeaaaaaallllllllly wish I could have some!)
While Strider and I hung out, we watched the perfect blue bird sky start to fill with angry looking clouds. Once I realized they were heading in our direction, I finally started heading down. The back side of the pass was gorgeous, alpine creeks and streams and grassy patches all around. I was constantly swiveling my head in every direction, trying not to miss anything. The flowers were blooming and it felt like a scene from Avatar. Just unbelievable beauty.
The clouds rolling in were threatening rain my whole way down, and then finally started sprinkling on the next ascent up Island Pass, 10,226 feet. It wasn’t a hard climb, and thankfully it wasn’t as high as everything else surrounding me, because eventually the sprinkle turned into a downpour and I could see the lightening cracking across the sky towards the massive peaks nearby. It was scary, in an exhilarating “how cool! But stay over there” Kind of way.
One of the massive peaks is Ritter Mountain, which stands over Thousand Island Lake.. it is gorgeous and happens to share its name with my Andrea, so that’s pretty awesome! I screen shot her mountain with my PeakFinder app that Margot showed me, so when I get service again I can show Andrea.. and then I tucked my phone away, fearing water damage. Time to keep on trucking. I had plenty more miles to hike, and now I had someone to camp with tonight: Strider, who was already probably so far ahead of me I knew I wouldn’t see her until I get to camp!
There was a ton of water, and lots of crossings-one in which I got half way across and realized I was too short to reach the other side, so I took a step back and leapt forward with all my strength! When I landed on the other side, an older man had just walked up, and he says with wide eyes, “hell no, I’m not doing that!” Ha-I don’t blame him a bit! He trudged through the mid thigh freezing water, and I was quite thankful I made the leap successfully! Not that it really mattered, not long after that crossing I was soaked through and freezing cold from all the rain!
My hands were taking it the worst. I couldn’t even hold my trekking poles my fingers were so painfully numb.. the numb that throbs instead of loses all feeling. They were bright red and hurt, causing me to once again walk and blow my hot breath over them, attempting to warm them back up some.
I passed the stunning lake at the bottom of Andrea’s mountain, and saw many other hikers, mostly all JMTers. It was like 3pm and everyone was starting to set up camp. I wasn’t even close to where I needed to be, so I just continued trudging through the rain and occasional hail. The other side of Island Pass went down into Agnew Meadow. Literally, the second I passed the sign with the arrow pointing the direction of the meadow, the rain stopped and the sun came out!
The rest of the afternoon, everyone I passed was completely dry and looking at me sideways for looking like a drowned rat. My hair was plastered to my head, my fingers were still throbbing, I was soaked completely through, and these people all said it hadn’t rained on them all day! How temper-mental these mountains are! It was unbelievable! The trail was dry, the sun was starting to warm me up.. I was shocked!
Somewhere in that meadow, I got service again and heard from Margot! She got into Yosemite Valley yesterday! She’s dry and doing well, the day we separated she didn’t stay where she planned for long because the whole area was turning into a lake under her feet, so she actually only camped 3 miles away from me! I wish we would have just stayed together one last night. Anyway, she’s got her new tent now, and is super excited about it, plus she gets to do Half Dome! I’m so happy she’s ok.
I finally made it to camp, and got lucky to find a spot to set up my tent. There’s 7 other people with 5 other tents, and Strider is one of them. She came over and ate dinner with me after I set my tent up to dry out from last night. She cold soaks like Marquis, and she also dehydrates most of her own meals because she’s vegetarian and gluten free, making it hard to find good stuff to eat while resupplying in small towns.
Tomorrow we all plan to get to Red’s Meadow Resort. Strider has to hitch down to the town of Mammoth Lakes, so she’ll probably get an early start.. I think she plans to come back to trail tomorrow though, so hopefully we’ll meet back up. My plan is to get there in the morning and just eat at their restaurant and get a resupply, then hike out.. although, I sort of want to shower and do laundry too, since it’s all right there, and then hike out. I just don’t want to pay $28 to camp there. And I’ll be at Vermillion Valley Ranch the following day, and I can definitely do laundry there-which I’ll have a longer stretch without laundry and showers after leaving VVR, so that makes way more sense-but I’m also wet and gross-so who knows? I’ll just decide when I get there I guess! Ok, time to get warm and fall sleep! Sooner I get to sleep the sooner I get to hit food! Sweet dreams!