PCT Day 109

Start: 1738.1

Stop: 1758.1

Today’s miles: 20

Total PCT miles: 1610.3

Ok, trying to make myself type this up when I’m cold is tricky.. but it’s just 9pm and I know I can make it happen, plus I kinda want to stay awake a little longer to see if those flashes I saw were lightening, and if it’s about to storm. It doesn’t seem like it could be anything else, but I literally see stars shining above me from all sides of my tent-soooo-I’m confused. Ha, nothing new there, huh?

I was the last awake out of all the campers there this morning, that’s also not shocking. I left camp around 7:15, just after the couple that I chatted with yesterday going up Donohue Pass. Everyone camped with me is going into Mammoth Lakes, a town they’ll have to hitch into from Red’s Meadow Resort. I think Strider is planning to come back to trail today though, so maybe I’ll see her again within the next few days.

The hike down to the broken bridge was an easy one. Five miles of mostly downhill, wooded terrain. I passed a couple parking lots for other trailheads and for other pack ranches with horses. The horse poop is real! But it’s sort of nice, because if you’re seeing horse poop, the trail is pretty tame and easily passable.

I told myself when I got to the broken bridge, if my feet were already wet, I’d ford the river.. and then get to do laundry and shower today at Red’s Meadow. If I got there with dry feet, I could take the road walk alternate, but I shouldn’t do laundry today and I can wait until tomorrow. I was shocked when I got to the broken bridge, because 1. I had dry feet even though I rock hopped over several creeks and 2. It popped up way faster than I expected it to.

So, I road walked. Two miles into it, I was regretting it. The inside of my heels hurt, and hurt all night last night, although I can’t spot anything wrong with them. It had to be from 3 days of walking in wet socks and shoes. But, they were tender and the asphalt is way less forgiving than the soft pine duff. Oh well. I was happy my feet were dry.

I got to Red’s Meadow at 10:45 to realize the restaurant doesn’t open until noon for lunch. I was slightly sad, but I did want to eat their lunch and not their breakfast, so I figured that was fine. The resort has everything right in a little area: restaurant, store, shower and laundry house, bathrooms.. and in the middle are picnic tables. I used the bathroom, put my stuff to charge at the outlets by the showers, and went into the store.

It looked so bare! There was hardly anything in there! Apparently the resort has to close early, September 18, because of road construction. So, they’re trying to get rid of everything without replenishing anything else. I grabbed some skittles, and AlpineAire freeze dried meal, and 2 poptarts, for my resupply, and the a Gatorade and a Dr. Pepper plus a cookie for now. I’m glad I was already planning to go to Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR) tomorrow, otherwise I’d be sticking my thumb out and trying to hitch into Mammoth myself.

I sat at a picnic table and ate my cookie while paying bills and checking out my finances and whatnot. I talked to Mom and generally counted down until noon. I had 1 bar of service, but it was handling more than I thought it would. Now that I’m thinking about it, I should have tried to get a post up. Whoops! Missed opportunity for sure!

At 12:02 I ordered a double cheeseburger and macaroni salad with an Arnold Palmer.. I wished it was a John Daley, but hey-it was still delicious. I devoured that burger like my life depended on it.. and the macaroni salad was wonderful too. It had chunks of celery and carrot in it, which really set it off nicely. There were tons of JMT hikers about, very few PCTers, and several day hikers around. One JMTer joked around with me about how fast I put that burger down, saying he couldn’t have captured it on camera it was gone so fast. Lol. What can I say? I like cooked for me food!

Around 1pm, I packed my stuff, got my charging things, and headed up trail. I checked in with Aunt Kathy for a bit before I lost service. I was telling her how my hands are so dang cold in the mornings that it takes like 2 hours before I can feel them. I need better gloves. Maybe VVR will sell some, or have some in a hiker box. When we were talking, it made me think of her mom, who I consider my grandmother. She always had gloves on her hands because she was so cold, and I know she’d whip me up some nice gloves if she were still alive and knew my hands were cold out here. I really miss her, so very very much.

Whew-ok-anywho, the trail was uphill after Red’s Meadow, the first mile or so in exposed burned area, but from several years ago. And then it went, still uphill, into some woods. It switchbacked its way up on loose sand and dirt with the standing trees more sporadic than the ones fallen all over the ground: however, as many downed trees as there were, most were not blocking the trail. They have some serious trail maintenance folks in this area.

Eventually the trail came up to a height that, even through the trees, you could tell you were up there. The mountains all around were stunning and snow peaked, while this one was shaded from the trees. It got a little rocky and then descended some into a gap between mountains with a creek running through it.

I passed two men camped right by the creek, then log walked across the creek and went to look for a campsite. There were several people already set up, and I knew others were coming behind me more than likely, so I was anxious to get a spot. I found one. Probably the most precarious one yet. Right under a tree, hardly wide enough for my tent, surrounded by buried or embedded rocks-so much so that one of my tent stakes is just wrapped around 3 rocks.

I made it work, and hopefully there’s no storm tonight. I haven’t seen anymore of what I thought was lightening.. so maybe there won’t be. I ate my dinner sitting on a patch of grass by my tent, not wanting to over do getting in and out of it, incase the whole thing collapses. While I was setting up, I found a smart wool glove! Just one, but it’s clean and fits! TRAIL MAGIC! I manifested it, or Mammo, Aunt Kathy’s mom heard me complaining about my cold hands! Although, I do plan to see if anyone is missing it, maybe I’ll find its match in a hiker box at VVR or Muir Trail Ranch. If so, I’ll leave a comment on FarOut and offer to mail the pair back-but until then, I’m wearing the one! Lol

I’ve worked out my Sierra plan.. if I can manage it, it’ll be 7 days starting the morning I leave VVR. There’s a big mountain pass every day, some days 2 passes, and one day will also have a sketchy river crossing because of another bridge that broke over the winter with the excessive snow. Mount Whitney is factored into this too. I think I’ll have to really start making myself get up early early, like 4-5am on some of these hard days, and maybe 2:30am on Whitney day, but if I do it, I’ll be grateful at the end of the day, because while it’s cold in the mornings and nights, there’s a higher risk of storms in the afternoons-and you do not want to be on exposed mountain tops in a storm. Also, that being said, I pray everything goes smoothly. One bad storm can throw a wrench into this plan so fast. Ugh.

Ok, thinking about all of that is stressing me out. Time to catch some ZZZs and hope I can manage to wake up decently early tomorrow! Goodnight!