Category: Pacific Crest Trail 2023

Start: 1810.8

Stop: 1833.2

Today’s miles: 22.4

Total PCT miles: 1685.4

One word for today: brutal. So absolutely brutal. And yet-so breathtakingly gorgeous.. well, and just flat out breath taking, too.

I was cold throughout the night, if I turned a certain way, a draft made its way up my back. Once I retucked my quilt around me, I was snug and warm though. I got up and started packing at 5:30, knowing Strider was probably already awake and waiting to hear signs of life from me.. she’s an early riser, and I really just don’t know how she does it.

It was a very cold start to the morning, and in the darkness of the dusky morning, we saw three deer dancing down the trail above us as we packed up our tents. It was pretty neat to see. Later, after maybe a mile or so of hiking, we saw them again, eating just above the trail. The cold morning wasn’t causing any issues for them!

I took so many breaks on my way up to Muir Pass. We had water crossings early on, and I kept my feet dry some how, but as dry as my feet were, I was feeling everything but successful. I couldn’t catch my breath, like at all. I had to stop, let my heartbeat slow, take deep breaths that felt like they somehow STILL weren’t deep enough to make my lungs happy. At some points I was on the verge of panic, sucking in air like never before, and had to remind myself that I’ve done this before, I know how to be safe in high altitudes, I just had to slow my breathing and take my time and drink my water.

Knowing these things and making the panic subside were wildly different things, though. When I finally made it to the Muir Hut, this gorgeous rock hut at the top of the pass, I was exhausted and so short of breath that I was pretty worried. I had gotten a little lightheaded just before reaching the hut, and it was really freaking me out. I tried to hide it from Strider, who made it there way before me, but waited for me nonetheless. Man, she rocks. I told her I didn’t feel so great, so we snapped some pictures of the hut and then quickly started to head down the other side. The best way to fix issues related to the altitude is to go down.

I was very stressed out about the snow everyone had been talking about going down the backside of the pass, so, feeling panicky over my breathing soon turned into panicky over snow crossings. Several of the snow traverses were steep enough that I put on my microspikes. It was early morning and the snow was ice hard, so the spikes definitely helped give me traction. I don’t think I *had* to have them, but they did make me go through it a little faster, even if any speed gained was then lost by taking them off and putting them on again a quarter mile later. I think all in all, I put them on 3 times, and each time I was happy as hell to have them.

The sun cups were massive and the water cascading down trail from all this snowmelt was pretty massive, too. Water was everywhere: little lakes and ponds, streams and creeks and some that rushed like a full on river. The descent once the snowy parts were passed seemed to just go on and on forever. Thankfully, it was seriously beautiful. And, the highlight, I saw several picas and even got one on camera! They’re so dang cute!

Around 10am I finally got warm enough to take off my gloves and jackets. About 4 and a half seconds after that, it was so damn hot it felt like I was melting! The farther down into the valley we went, the hotter it got.. and the mosquitos and gnats came out in full force. So. Many. Bugs. Thankfully, we ate lunch before getting too far down into the valley, because as we continued that descent, the terrain got boggy and all around nasty. Muddy looking water, bugs galore-absolutely eating me alive-overgrown grasses and fallen trees.

As the trail started its ascent, the bugs didn’t stop. I got to the point that I was sucking them in trying to breathe-and ended up in my headnet, and dousing myself with a probably unhealthy amount of picaridin.. spray and lotion-no shame. Once the climb came above the thick tree line, the bugs stayed, but the absolute hell of it started to subside, the views came back.

That’s when the real fun started.. the Golden Staircase. The climb included very steep trail that wound itself up the cliff sides in what felt like vertical gain. It wasn’t of course, but it probably could have been if the trail maintenance folks hadn’t taken the time to create these massive stone steps up and through the steep cliff side.

It was somewhere on this Golden Staircase that the clouds rolled in and it started to sprinkle. I was actually happy, thinking it would knock down the bugs-but these are California bugs, they don’t follow the rules. They kept buzzing in my face at my headnet, even with the rain. Thankfully, the rain didn’t last but 20-30 minutes at the most.

The temperature started to drop as the sun started to set. I hadn’t seen Strider in a while, she’d stayed ahead for the majority of the day, but I did catch sight of her way up ahead on the switchbacks of the staircase. As the sun disappeared, I prayed that she would have her headlamp on so I could find her in the dark. I knew I would have a hard time figuring out where the camp sites were with my dim headlamp. The anxiety started to creep back in.

In my headlamp, unable to see much of anything for maybe the last mile of my climb, I spotted a light up ahead. It was Strider, she saved me a spot for my tent and had been looking for me to make sure I wouldn’t pass her in the dark! Ah, my hero! I quickly set up my tent next to hers on this gritty sand in between two massive slabs of rock. We still have 4 miles to get to the top of Mather Pass tomorrow morning. After the way this kicked my ass today, I’m worried about how I’m going to do tomorrow. I definitely think I’m not eating enough calories for the work I’m putting in. That’s pretty stressful, along with the whole getting lightheaded and not being able to breathe thing.

We ate dinner together sitting outside on the rocks, and then I finished unpacking. I’m now all snuggled in and ready for some sleep. When I get service, I really need to order a new headlamp. Mine just isn’t bright enough. Too bad I don’t have it now, when I feel like I need it most. I also want new gloves-WARM ones. Or at least 2 matching warm ones lol. Alright, y’all know that 5:30 wake up call comes way too early for me. And I’m absolutely spent. Sweet dreams!

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!

Start: 1775.3

Stop: 1790.3

Today’s miles: 15

Total PCT miles: 1642.5

It would be so wonderful if it would quit raining on me when I’m trying to get over mountain passes! Sheesh.. Mother Nature.

I slept pretty dang good, in my queen bed with the heavy blanket.. Although I still tossed and turned and even got up to go to the bathroom at 2am. Weird. The power went off at 10:15 last night, and I was fast asleep seconds afterwards. I purposefully left the bedside lamp on and my stuff plugged in, so when it flipped back on at 6:45am, I was woken up (I rolled back over lol), and my battery bank could hopefully finish charging.

I got up at 7 and immediately took another shower. This time making the effort to shave my legs since I found real shaving cream in the hiker box last night. What a time to be alive! Once out, I slowly packed and looked through my food. Yep-definitely not enough calories for a day.. so, instead of putting everything in my pack as it goes, I left it mostly packed and went up to the store to figure out what else I could buy.

Welp. I got a couple more power bars, just typing that makes me nauseous, but the alternative was tuna packets-and that idea almost had me throwing up in the aisle. I’ll remind my stomach of this protestation when it’s growling and I don’t have anything else to eat! So, extra bars in hand, I went to the register and ordered my breakfast and paid my tab for the last 12 hours. 2 meals, a resupply, lodging, and a ferry boat ride round trip.. it was a small fortune.. so I grabbed a diet Coke for good measure.

I ate an enormous breakfast sandwich: eggs, cheese, bacon, apparently hash browns and some gravy too. Plus, a side of gravy. Wow! The sandwich was superb and I think I shocked some of the staff with how easy I put it away. Around 8:30 I ran back down to my cabin (which the girl working this morning called it the boat house.. neat!) and finished packing. I sat outside at a picnic table and talked with another hiker doing the JMT. We have the same pack. She was so nice to chat with.

Eventually, 9 am rolled around and it was time to get on the ferry. It was 9:40 when we arrived and I spent the next 20 minutes getting my shoes on and talking to mom before I’d lose service again. I started moving at 10am, and felt overall pretty dang good. After the first mile and a half which was the side trail to the ferry, the PCT went over a bridge and then up a massive amount of switchbacks.

I ended up passing 19 people today headed in my same direction. I never pass people! They pass me! Two guys were chit chatting as we went up and it cracked me up when they slowly started falling back. They passed me when I sat to filter water later, but then I passed them again once I started moving. One girl I passed remembered me from yesterday, she said I passed her in the morning on the climb up to Silver Pass. We talked a little while getting water, she’s on her 3rd day of the JMT!

I passed some others that were on the ferry, and then one guy that remembers meeting me before, somewhere on trail, but neither one of us can remember where.. he and I ended up doing the most leapfrogging of the day. After a small descent from the switchbacks, the trail went up and over Selden Pass (10,913 feet). It was gradual and there was tons of water. One spot I took my socks and shoes off to cross in my crocs-because magically, my feet were still dry!

Then. The clouds. I knew it was going to rain, I just knew it. All my hard work to keep my feet dry was wasted, because around 3pm, it started to sprinkle. As I climbed up this mountain to the pass, it just got heavier and heavier. I never saw lightening, but heard distant thunder.. so, I put my umbrella up. It was coming down hard at the lake 1/2 mile from the top of the pass, hailing even. I was in all my rain gear and had the umbrella up, moving pretty quick because I was cold. It was during all of this stopping to get on rain gear that me and John kept meeting up. He made me feel better knowing I was going over the pass with him nearby.

The views were epic from the top, and the rain slowly stopped. It was cold, so I kept moving, now after 5:30. I was planning to go all the way down the descent, but the trail was wet and slippery with big rock steps and tons of water crossings. So, instead of 5 more miles, I was wrapping my head around 2 more miles-but constantly going back and forth. Do I night hike? Do I just try to get up early tomorrow and make up the miles? Do I make an entirely new plan with the food I have?

I passed heart lake during all of this inner dialogue. I laughed because I could see the rock Andrea and I sat on to eat lunch one day when we did the JMT in 2018-and then the sky dropped out of nowhere on us and we had to scramble.. it was a mess. But it was just as beautiful today as it was in 2018. I rounded the corner still smiling, thinking about our trip, and remembering that these two lakes I was now walking between were so gorgeous on that trip, that Andrea and I made the comment that we wished we could have camped there.

I was considering it, just setting up shop, but I talked myself out of it. I had another mile and then I’d be to that 2 mile mark.. that is, until I saw a hiker up ahead getting water from the lake outlet.. I strained a little to see: STRIDER! She had her tent up already and is camping here tonight. We talked a bit and then I decided to just set up camp here, too. There’s several other hikers around, I think John is somewhere here too.

Strider and I plan to get hiking by 6am so we can cross the sketchy river together, the one where the bridge is out from the snow damage. I like this idea.. well, not the 6am bit, but the having someone I trust to cross with bit. And then we’ll get most of the way up Muir Pass, but camp 5 miles shy of the pass, since the other side has some pretty questionable snow still. We don’t want to do that in the evening, so first thing in the morning will hopefully go smoother. Plus I think changing my itinerary like this makes it to where I can climb in the afternoons, but camp before the passes and go over easier in the mornings.. hopefully with no storms. At least, I’m praying.

So, I set up camp and ate my ramen noodles for dinner. It’s cold. I think I’m going to look at my mileage business and then get some sleep. 5:30 will come way too damn early!