Start: 1790.3
Stop: 1810.8
Today’s miles: 20.5
Total PCT miles: 1663
Well, I don’t think I’ve made it to camp this early in a long time! We made it to our stopping point by 5:20! The panicky side of me thought we should keep going, since it was so early-the common sense part of me saw the storm clouds ahead and was already getting cold: aka-don’t be dumb and go over a mountain pass 5 miles away right before dark.. and then have snow and rain to contend with on the other side..
Today was stunning! We crossed into Kings Canyon National Park! Our 6th park of the trail 🙂 Again I had moments of remembering certain areas from when Andrea and I came through on the JMT. It was all still just as beautiful and breathtaking today as it was the first time I saw it.
I actually got up at 5:30am, packed, and was walking to Strider’s tentsite just a few minutes after 6. She was putting her tent in her pack and a couple minutes later we were on the trail. I still had to use my headlamp for maybe 15-20 minutes, and then the sun started to light the sky enough to see where to place our feet. It was cold, but we were able to move quickly because the terrain was smooth and easy going. Thank goodness!
We had 9 miles to get to the first sketchy water crossing we’ve all been hearing horror stories about. The bridge over a part of the San Juaquin River was out because of the snow-so this is usually a river we’d never have to walk through, just over-but with the bridge gone and no easy way around-through we went! Earlier in the season it was entirely too dangerous to cross it, so the national park service was making people detour around, which added over 15 miles and they were forced to skip the iconic Muir Pass because of it.
We made it to this crossing by 10:30am, and a woman doing the JMT was there waiting for us, so we could cross together. Strider went first, then me, then her. It was COLD. It moved fast but it was honestly like every other cold water crossing we’ve gone through so far. The water only came above my knee in one spot and otherwise stayed right below. I think the river crossing that I forded with Heidi, Marquis, and Margot was way sketchier.. so this made me pretty happy! I have been so worried about it!
The trail started slowly climb upwards, surrounded by raging creeks and huge mountains. We got to Evolution Meadow and crossed Evolution Creek, another water crossing known to be potentially fatal if you fall in it when the water is high-mainly because right after the crossing spot, the water goes down some waterfalls-and that water was raging! Thankfully, it too only came to my knee and I felt very stable crossing it. We waited to go until after we ate lunch though.
The 7 ish miles after that creek crossing were a slow and steady climb towards Muir Pass, with one of those miles being less than gentle. It was sunny at the start, and buggy as hell, but then the bugs stayed and the sun departed for storm clouds around 2pm. We kept moving, praying it wouldn’t rain. The temperature as we climbed only got cooler, but the views became more and more epic. It was astonishing how quickly you can go from wooded forest to alpine lakes and scattered rocks.
We had to cross over a bit of snow, I slipped and landed hard on my left hip in a very easy section.. just goes to show you how much I dislike the snow! Lol-but, the really long snow field was absolutely fine.. even though there was a huge hole at one point and I almost panicked when I realized I was on a snow bridge and everything under me was melting out.
We got to where we wanted to camp and looked ahead at the sky: angry clouds were swirling in the exact direction of the pass. We knew we made the right call to not cross the pass in the late afternoon. There’s apparently more snow on the other side and we didn’t want to risk navigating that in bad weather or with the sun setting.. and then have to find a camp site too. No thanks!
So, we set up our tents on Evolution Lake, the upper part-which im pretty sure is where Andrea and I camped in 2018. Pretty neat. We unpacked and got water and ate dinner-all while shivering. I started out with a vestibule open, it’s closed now and I’m all bundled up. Tomorrow we’ll go over Muir Pass first thing, then down and mostly up Mather Pass, and camp just before like we did today. Again, I’m anxious over the snow, but there’s nothing worrying will do.
I think it’s time for some sleep (at 7:10pm!! Heck yeah!). We’ll try to get up early again tomorrow and leave around 6 to have a longer day of getting the miles in. Pray it goes smoothly! Goodnight y’all!