PCT Day 115

Start: 1854.2

Stop: 1871.5

Today’s miles: 17.3

Total PCT miles: 1723.7

Today was great! It’s amazing how much better you do and feel when you decide to listen to your body and slow down a bit.. and eat more calories. I slept fantastic, without earplugs, even.. the creek was the perfect white noise. When I was packing, Strider came and gave me one of her homemade dinners, because she should get into town this afternoon and won’t need it! HELL YES! Now I’ll definitely have enough calories to get me through the next several days!


We left camp at 6am and within a mile we hit the avalanche zone with a mile of mangled trees covering the trail. Yesterday, a hiker gave Strider directions for how to bushwhack around it all, by climbing up to the rocky ridge on the right hand side and following it along until after a stream crossing, then come back through the mess, cross the meadow, and reconnect with the trail. Thank God he told her, and she remembered it all so well, because it would have been a disaster if it were me leading us this morning.


We found the rock cairn and headed right, up a steep ridge, then carefully made our way around the chaos below. It was still slow moving, because the rocks were loose and sharp, making you really pay attention to every step, but it was way faster than climbing under, over, and around thousands of snapped trees and their roots. We crossed the stream, and when I saw the way Strider’s long legs had to leap off the last rock to make purchase with the ground on the other side, I got nervous. Eventually, she just reached for my arm and as I jumped, she pulled me, giving me the momentum to land safely on ground.. I would say solid ground, but it was most definitely not solid! Ha.


Before we came down off the ridge, I ended up needing to dig a hole. Classy. Strider carried on but still waited for me before getting too far ahead, to make sure I got back to trail ok. We talked and walked for a little while once back on the trail, and sadly we went ahead and said our goodbyes for now.. she is much faster on the ascents than I am, and she has to get into town today-I really didn’t want to slow her down! We snapped a selfie and made sure to swap numbers, and she was gone!


Including the bushwhacking business, it was 8.7 miles to the top of Glen Pass. I had been cold all morning, the trail always seeming to be in the shade of the mountains surrounding.. but I didn’t want to wear my nice jacket, rain jacket, gloves or beanie while bushwhacking. You know, incase something got ripped-and as it was creeping into later morning, I knew I should be warming up soon, walking uphill and all, but I stayed cold.

About 10am I made it to a level chunk of the climb: Rae Lakes! I saw the spot Andrea and I camped, near a ranger station, after I fell in a creek and busted my head. I had a pretty big goose egg and we were fairly certain I had a concussion, too. But we survived the night-I slept so good that night but poor Andrea was worried sick I’d die in my sleep. Oh, what fun times a first backpacking trip is!


Around the corner from that camp spot, I found a nice sunny lake overlook, so I filtered water, ate a snack, and rested. Before too long, it was time to get a move on the last few miles to the top of Glen Pass. It really wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I passed the creek I whacked my head in, this time I crossed without issue, praise. Then it turned into winding and twisting rock switchbacks.


I came to a false summit, only to start the real steep switchbacks. I passed a couple people and quite a few folks passed me. About 200 feet from the top there was snow. The top traverse looked very steep and less traveled, there was a middle one with slightly better boot track across, and then the bottom one was like a trench. Snow came up on either side of the “trail” to about my height. The inside of the trench was half melted out to rocks and the upper half still snow, but there were steps visible in it.


I rock scrambled down the jagged boulders to the trench then made my way through. I didn’t slip or slide, I took my time and stayed calm. I knew if I fell in the trench, I’d go no where.. but it would hurt like hell. Once on the other side, I had to rock scramble my way almost vertical to the ridge line above where the actual pass was. It was pretty dang scary, but so exhilarating! There were a few guys sitting up there and they congratulated me when I made it. It was just after 12pm.


I took my pack off and sat a bit, talking. Then, I headed down the other side. It was snow free and had a ton of switchbacks to start with. There had been a rock slide so the ground was very loose and the steps at times were a bit sketchy, but I never felt unsafe. If anything, the softness of the ground felt good on my feet. I was cruising down hill, surrounded by open sky and a tiny stream. When I got hungry for lunch, I realized I had already passed the last water source for a little while. Dang it.


As I walked and got closer to water, a day hiker caught up to me and we started chatting. He’s done the PCT and the CDT! We maybe walked together talking for close to 25 minutes before we got to the junction for Kearsarge Pass (also where Strider left out to get to town). He ended up giving me 4 protein bars! And then, as we said bye, we spotted another one that someone dropped! Holy crap! That’s trail magic AGAIN!


I thanked him profusely and then within half an hour I was posted up at a stream, water filtering, shoes off, and eating potatoes. I was going to eat Strider’s homemade ramen with spices and peanuts-but I decided I’d rather have it for dinner, so I can savor it more! I stayed resting after lunch a good 15-20 minutes, so close to an hour all in all, before I continued hiking. About a mile after lunch, I got to the valley floor, Vidette Meadows, and started the ascent that would eventually lead up to Forester Pass.


It was actually smooth going, the climb meandered and wandered calmly. I wasn’t expecting the trail to be so gentle. Not even a mile into the climb, I came across more trail magic! FOUR TIMES TODAY! This was a metal locker that a pack rancher left for hikers, because the pack animals had too much weight to carry so they had to lighten the load. I unlocked the box with the spoon provided and it was amazing! Oranges, Doritos, cookies, starburst! There were other things too, but I only took one snack pack of everything I named above. Oh how the trail provides!!


I kept climbing, getting closer and closer to my destination: 3 miles south of Forester Pass. With half a mile to go, I crossed paths with Pinecone and her boyfriend! The nurses from Reno that I met back at Shelter Cove! It was so fun to see them here, in the Sierra, almost done with their hike! We chatted a couple minutes and then carried on our separate ways.


I found the area I was aiming for, but at first the sites in the trees looked close to being all taken. Several older gentlemen were eating dinner and said I could fit in there near them no problem, but up around the corner there was more spots to choose from. So, I told them I’d go take a look and I might be back. They were protected from the wind, and at 11,256 feet of elevation, it’s cold-with or without the wind!


The spots up around the corner were too gorgeous to pass up. I chose one, then went to tell the guys and let them know if anymore SOBOs come up the hill they can tell them there’s at least 3-4 more spots near me. Then, I set up my tent. As I was staking it out, Miles showed up. He’s a hiker that will be finished in Kennedy Meadows South, so he’s super close to being done with his thruhike!


I unpacked and he set up his camp, then we ate dinner together watching the sunset, marveling at the views, and talking about trail life. He was very nice and I really enjoyed the company, especially my first night away from Strider. Hiking with her helped my mood tremendously after separating from Margot back before Donohue Pass. Now, it’s like Miles is helping alleviate the ache of being separated from Strider now too.


I ate the meal that Strider made, and it reminded me of pad Thai, with the peanuts and peanut butter.. plus she had soy sauce AND lime juice powder! Holy hell it was incredible! Instead of rinsing my bowl like normal, I literally licked it to get all of the spices left on the sides! Ridiculous, I know, but my god it was DELICIOUS!


Now I’m all tucked in my quilt, glad it’s keeping me warm, because it’s cold as hell out there! I hope tomorrow goes well.. should be relatively “easy” in the sense of I’m doing less miles than today. Although it is the highest pass on the PCT.. ha, we’ll see how it goes! Goodnight!