Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 63 to 75

Had a BBQ by the pool at the place we hired which was pretty good. The next day most people had a lazy morning sorting packs and food for the next small stretch. I headed out to buy a new pack and ended up with an Osprey Atmos. Fortunately one of my hiker friends is staying in town until tomorrow (monday). So I'll leave my old pack with him to mail out.

A few of us went to the cenima before doing another BBQ for dinner again and relaxing in the hot tub. They are pretty prompt with their 10pm pools closed rule so it wasn't a late night. Had some corn flakes for breakfast before catching the 3 busses necessary to get back to the trail. 2/3 were free shuttles Mammoth runs around town so it wasn't pricey but took some time.

Despite getting it properly fitted at the shop I think the torso length on the new pack is too short... with some adjustment it was OK but it still gave me about the same/worse back pain as my broken pack... maybe a full day at a decent adjustment will be ok or hopefully by Monday I can get a reply and might have a new SMD pack sent out and send this one home for spare/friends... I'll almost have as many packs as dad has camping fridges!

Despite pack woes the trail is still beautiful. Some cool rock formations in the mountain, seen similar rocks elsewhere too but the Devils Post holes were good to see. There were also more amazing lakes, mountains and rivers flowing strong.



Last night I had my first "the hell am I doing out here" thoughts. It was drizzle/rain for the last hour of hiking, and pretty cold. When I got to camp I setup the tent quickly and jumped inside, figured I;d sort sleeping gear and dinner later. After killing the 20 or so mozzies that managed to follow me into my tent in the 10 or so seconds the fly was open I laid there, on the ground, with my sore back. By 7pm the sun was still shining but I forced down some food and setup my sleeping mat, thankfully I was tired enough to fall asleep through the back pain.

All those thoughts from last night were squashed after less than a mile out of camp in the morning. I turned a corner to the below view of Thousand Island Lake and remembered 'Oh yeah, that's why I'm here.'

The Seirra are nothing short of amazing. Every day for over a week I have been greeted by one glorious view after another. Today was a much better day with the pack too after the adjustments yesterday I only barely felt any back soreness. I assume it was remnants of the pain from the day before.

After winding through the beautiful Toulumne Meadows for almost 8 miles I arrived at the campground late arvo and tried to get a Half Dome permit. Fresh out :/ but second on the waiting list for tomorrow if people no show. I'm also going to get in line at 7am to hopefully get a permit issued at 11am for the following day.

Got to the permit line at 650 am and found 4 people already waiting... to go the oposite direction. Knowing we were guaranteed the spot made he early start seem worth it but or was still a wait until we officially got our permits.

While waiting in the line and chatting the other hikers loved tails of the PCT. As they were in front of us and also 100% sure on getting permits they offered us their safety food! Strawberries, choc chip cookies, pistachio nuts, blue berries, chicken sausages, salsa, a few other snacks and even a beer! Made the 4 hour wait for permits seem like a good thing.

Despite needing to descend down to Yosemite Valley there was quite a bit more climbing to do. Once again though we were rewarded with great views. Some sections seemed pretty fast... but that was because I was almost in a jog. The Mozzies in Sunrise Meadow were so thick it almost felt like you were hiking in the shadow of a cloud...

After guiding a pair of lost day hikers back to a Trail junction, that would lead them to a road by nightfall, Burn Sides and I pushed on towards Clouds Rest. Dark grey clouds and the sound of thunder behind us had us stop about 0.7 miles short of the summit at a safe site to camp.

The storm turned out to be all bark and no bite. There was light spitting for all of 30 seconds. I think only a dozen or so drops hit my tent... Still it was a good camp and put us in a prime position for the morning. We headed up just after sun rise to see a golden glow descend upon Half Dome.

Seeing it lit by the morning sun made us even more excited to climb it. We wasted no time heading down off Clouds Rest and starting back up again towards half dome.

On the trail up we were asked by at least a half dozen people if we had extra permits. It sounded so weird, who would line up for 4 hours for an extra permit... but if you had a 3 person  permit and someone got sick I guess it would work. Still felt strange being asked.

After a lot of steps we finally made it to the fun bit. The cables to climb. Granite rock smoothed by a million footsteps, small wooden platforms you could barely fit a shoe on and People in front scared of heights.  It was pretty awesome!



At the top we had amazing views and awesome cliffs to sit on the edge of. I had to wait for one place where people were carefully (some crawling) making their way for a photo op. When my turn came I hoped over the first few rocks to the main ledge before dropping down past where the people before me dared to venture.

By the time we were heading back down the bulk of the early morning day hikers had started to arrive. This caused a massive traffic jam on the cables. I opted to hop on the outside, still having firm grasp of one line, and scoot past everyone. 2 people told me it was dangerous and 1 guy called me stupid but at least a dozen said something along the lines of "wow, that's pretty neat."

To finish off the side trip we took the Mist trail out. It was off the back if suggestions from friends and I'm glad we took it! I'm also very very glad that I was going down... Lots and lots of steps. Big ones. Two fabulous waterfalls with the spray from one covering the trail down. Was nice and refreshing after hiking down the hot valley.

On the mist trail we also started to see a lot of holiday/tourists. Some dressed like they were heading to the city. It was interesting the mix of day hikers, people just starting the long JMT hike, people with toddlers, people wearing thongs (flip flops) and even some in leather dress shoes and business slacks/shirts.



Yosemite Valley itself was very very touristy. Despite being a National park it felt more like a theme park. Shuttle busses, different eateries, hire bikes, activities for kids and of course the massive crowds to go with it. After having a lack luster (and expensive) burger we started trying to get back to trail.

We needed a ride to where we started, 21 miles up the valley, which unfortunately was a 1.5 hour car trip around.  After trying for a while we were finally pocked up by a friendly face, the ranger that issued us the Half Dome permits! He was down in the valley for training. He also lived down there but offered us a place to stay and a ride when he was going back up... he following afternoon. We thanked him but being eager to get back to the PCT we got dropped at the main HWY junction instead.

Wasn't too long before someone came by. She asked where we were headed and despite planning on turning west she decided that taking us east would be ok too. She was on a year long road trip around he USA and didn't have any set plans. To say thanks we offered some fuel money and to share a beer. It was already pretty late so Wind (a trail name given to her for changing directions for us) ended up camping there too.

Late start the next day as I needed to charge electronics for an 8 day stretch in the wilderness. Finally made it out around lunch to knock off a fee miles before dark. More awesome falls and rock formations and as I was following a creek down most of the afternoon I made really good time too.

Today was a pretty tough day physically. Lots of climbing and heaps of rivers to cross. There was 7 where getting wet was the only option as well which slowed down the day. Still plenty of rivers meant plenty of cool little waterfalls. The views on the climbs were pretty good too.



Found a relatively mossie free camping space... at least for a while. After setting up and making dinner they finally found me. Still not anywhere near as bad as some nights I've had. Where I went to brush my teeth must have been a good spot for them though, they seemed to swarm out after me. I quickly finished and headed to the safety of my tent. Only 1 made it inside with me. It didn't last long.

Heard through the hiker grapevine today that another couple I knew had to pull off trail because of a disease from a tick bite! That brings the total (that I know of) to at least 25 people. Some from injury/illness others from lack of funds and a few because they simple had enough. Some of the injured have hopped back on but others were bad enough that they're out for the season.

Lots of steep up and down today but not many rivers that required getting wet. The second half of the day wasn't as bad with the hills and I fell in with some hikers I hadn't seen for a while that convinced me to push onto the next milestone. 1000 MILES!!



Mozzies were really bad 0.25 mi either side of the marker so it was a quick snap then an even quicker exit. It was funny seeing people hike in their rain gear and bug net to escape the swarm. Lucky for me Bushmans seems to do the trick... Might need to get some more though...

Last day in the Sierra Mountains and they were as beautiful as ever. It was a very distinct change in mountain ranges too. From tall granite to towering sedement/rock. It was as of someone drew a line and each type of mountain stayed on its side. There was also a pretty cool view of the trail, sometimes it's hard to see/pick where it goes without a map... other times you just wish it was.

Spent the night at Kennedy Meadows (North) and had an awesome prime rib dinner. A few hikers are organising a 4th of July party on trail, so stocked up some supplies to pack out for that too. It was only 10 miles out but that was good because of the extra party food etc pack was a little heavier. Despite the change in mountains we weren't quite done with the snow yet, with quite a few fields to cross/climb.



After a fairly big 4th of July night, which included jungle juice made in a bear can, a lot of hikers were sluggish in the morning. I stuck (mostly) to my small bottle of bourbon so I didn't feel bad but definitely had a slower pace. Managed to get in a decent distance and camped by Noble lake. Far less mozzies the last 2 nights as well which is very welcome.

Started the day rather slowly, it was 46 mies to town so I thought I could do it in 3 easy days. Was making pretty good time though and hit some awesome trail magic just in time for smoko. With my belly full of burger, MnM's, chips/salsa, fresh fruit and 2 cans of coke I rocketed the next few miles. By lunch I had already reached the planned camp and decided to push on.

Made 26.5 miles by the end of the day so will get into town a day early. I think it must be a family trait because on the way home from a family vacation we always seemed to push some big days and end up ahead of schedule too.



Was a really good day until I had to descend over 1800 ft in just under 1.5 miles. Very steep down made the bottom of my feet cain. Still made it into South Lake Tahoe to find a care package from home, my bounce box, new shoes and everything I needed to get back into my old pack! Going to look into hiring a ski boat tomorrow but need to find a few hikers to share it with first.

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 54 to 62

After a relaxing afternoon a few of us headed to the local micro-brew to get loaded... err... up with the extra calories needed for a thru hike! With all those extra calories I needed an extra day in town. Great bacon breakfast then tried to find a steak for lunch. 3 places that serve steak only serve it for dinner. No lunch steaks! Finally hit up KFC for lunch, KFC over here don't have chips! Blasphemy. 

I lazed about the hostel from most of the afternoon with a few other hikers before heading out for dinner (yes steak) and then back to the hostel to get an early sleep for the next day.

Caught the bus back to Independence and then got a fairly quick hitch back to the trail head. Despite my thoughts coming down this pass the up hill wasn't too bad. It also make you feel a little better when you come across day hikers, with hardly any gear, then speed past them. It's good to be back in the wilderness!

After getting over Kersarge and back down again it was time to head up Glenn Pass. Beautiful alpine lakes on the way up to distract from the climb. Still a bit of snow covering the switch backs so there were some... interesting trails to get around them.

Coming down the northern side had even more slow. At a few places this was awesome though as you could glissade (AKA 'ass slide') down the mountain. Rae lakes down the bottom were awesome as well. Just as we were reaching them someone was taking a quick dip! Snow melt water at 445pm, no thanks. Finding a camp just a little further on was fairly easy and in the sun it even felt kinda warm. Hope it can stay like that for the night!

Well it didn't stay warm. Wasn't too bad but cold enough in the morning to delay my exit from the comfort of my sleeping bag. A long way down today to the bottom of the valley. Feet got wet on a few creeks but the main river at the end had a cool suspension bridge to keep hikers dry.

Then I started the 7 miles of uphill. Lots and lots of uphill. This one, Pinchot Pass, felt harder than all others... even Forrester.  I think it was because of the amount of steps. Seemingly endless at some points. Most of the way we were beside fantastic cascading falls though, so I didn't mind taking a break to look at the view.

Finally made it to the top and began heading back down. Snow covered track with footprints going everywhere made me lose the track for a few min. I knew it was near me though and pushed on down the valley until I came across it again. More beautiful alpine lakes made the afternoon pass quickly.

Although covering roughly the same height over a shorter distance the next pass didn't seem as bad. There was a really steep bit at the end made even steeper by some of the switchbacks covered in snow.

Getting down was steep again, but with plenty of snow it meant more sliding! There was 4 slides in total one only 10m long but others cutting through quite a bit of trail.

https://youtu.be/rlpDbJv0lzc

Once over the snow we were walking along a mountain  side for a while and had great views of the valley below. Went down a very steep section before the trail mellowed out and followed the valley floor. Made for great views.

Following along a crystal clear creek for miles made me long for a swim. All those thoughts were squashed when I soaked my feet. Yep still snow melt! It did look very beautiful and really inviting though. Made camp just at the end of another gorgeous meadow. Might not have been the best idea though,  had to eat dinner in the tent due to all the mozzies!

Luckily it seemed the evening chill had driven the mozzies into hiding so I was able to have a pleasant breakfast. Luckily too as Muir Pass today was pretty difficult.

This time we were heading up the steeper side so all the good slide spots meant snow ladders to me... It was so steep that some of the track was even blasted out of the mountain side. You could make out the drill holes and where the explosives were placed during construction.

The reward up the top was a cool little stone hut and more glorious views. While not a steep descent (meaning no slides) it still proved difficult. The snow was weakened by the sun and there was a snow field almost 4 miles long to cross.

Post holing (where one leg falls through the otherwise solid snow) really slowed progress. When one leg is thigh deep in snow and the other is still on the surface it takes some effort getting out. Shoes were already wet due to snow but post holing into a stream was especially invigorating. 

I had also noticed I was getting a bit of a sore back yesterday, which continued today. I thought it was just all the uphill and leaning forward putting more pressure on the shoulder straps. I went to check my straps in case they needed adjusting and discovered the aluminium support had snapped. It's job is to transfer the majority/all of the gear weight onto my hips. First major gear failure :( and 4 days from the nearest town with any kind of decent shops.... bugger.

Morning started pretty well with a few intricate creek crossings. One stream had 3 main flows and required you to double back across the middle stream to stay dry. Evolution creek had no way of crossing dry. I took (as did everyone else) the high water alternative... not sure I would have like to see the main crossing, the shallow one was already wast deep. Luckily through the meadow it had a pretty gentle flow, about as strong as Eli creek on Fraser Island. Where we passed close by down streams it was pretty fast rapids.

Another steep exit out of a valley for Selden pass. A lot more exposed today too, without the shade of the trees it felt quite hot. The big climb was only because the valley was so low. The pass itself still had its fair share of snow but was just under 11 thousand feet so a lot more than I was expecting! Even had to push on past a few potential campsites as I didn't want to set my tent up on snow.

The morning started out pretty reasonable. Got away from camp a little earlier as the sun rose in a gap in the mountains and actually managed to hit my tent early! About 2 miles on was the crossing of Bear creek. It was flowing pretty fast and was kind of deep. Andrew (pictured) is 6'3" . . . . . . it was a lot higher on me...

Further down the trail I took a side ridge trail into VVR, a little campsite with a small store, hot food, showers and beer. They have a ferry across the nearby lake that saves 4 miles but only runs twice a day. On the trail I came upon a group of Forest Rangers that stopped me and asked for my permit and to see my Bear can. They were friendly but it felt a lot more formal than my previous meetings with Rangers.

Shower was amazing after 6 days in the woods with only cold water. Hot food went really well too. Breakfast burrito in the morning before catching the 'ferry' back to the trail head. By ferry I mean fishing tinny, our ski boat could comfortably fit more people... but they squeezed in 5 hikers + gear and got us safely across.

Of course the trail started by immediately heading up. Silver pass took a long time to climb but didn't feel very difficult. Trail up the top was covered in snow, however I'm kinda glad that I got to do it on a relatively high snow year. So much water flowing down amazing falls almost every turn.

Camped near a great lake but the wind coming off was a bit cool. The next day was only a short 13 mile hike without too much climb but the day felt like it went so slow. Finally made it to Mammoth ski resort, heaps of downhill hike runs going about was cool to watch for a bit.

Caught the free shuttle down to Mammoth Lakes to arrive at a huge chateau hired by a fellow Hiker. Beds for 10 people and about $15 cheaper than the hostel. Taking a zero here to get a new pack sorted and get refreshed before hitting Yosemite!

Hiking - 2106 PCT - Day 46 to 53

Enjoyed a very large pancake breakfast in the morning and as the power is only on when the generators are going had to hang around a while to recharge devices. By the time that was done it was close enough to stay for lunch and then wait for the cool of the afternoon before making a start.

KM was a good place to hang around with card games and lots of other hikers to share stories with. Everyone busy for a while sorting out their resupply packages and gear for the next few days, trying (and falling short) to cram all their food into their Bear Canisters.


While the afternoon still wasn't quite cool a few of us set off around 230. We stopped by a good creek where I took the chance to soak my feet again and others jumped in. I'm not a fan of swimming before a long hike, too much... friction.

We aimed pretty high for a great site we were told about. With the late start, lots of elevation gain and the break for a swim we ended up hiking well into the night. It was great to see the sunset on an awesome cloud formation, but with ~2 hrs hiking by head torch to arrive at camp just before 10 I wonder how much other scenery we passed. Plenty more to see out here though!



Woke up to frost on my sleeping bag and sparrow poop on my bag. Still was a pretty good spot on the sandy shore of a river. The day started with a climb up to a pass almost as high as San Jacinto. The saddle between 2 mountains was as high as the highest mountain I have ever climbed...

It wasn't as scenic as San Jacinto because, thankfully, there wasn't any fresh snow fall. I did offer some amazing views and was still pretty special. Nice big pine trees also kept me in the shade all the way down.



Stopped for water at a fast flowing stream, Death Canyon, and came across an old nemesis, the mosquito. I was thinking it would have been a good camping spot. Lots of nice flat areas, water on hand to save carrying dinner/night water. However when one mozzie was biting me through my shirt I knew I had to move on. Pushed uphill a few more miles to find a suitable spot.

Despite a few more climbs the next morning felt really good. I spent most of the day walking above 10,000 ft and while I can still feel the effects of the altitude it's not as bad as other days. The trees are also getting bigger but with the foot traffic in front of me every time I've come across a fallen one there has been a track cut around it.



It's really scenic here but it's strange as I haven't really seen any one view/location that had had me stop and think "wow that's awesome" but every time I stop to catch my breath, rest my feet, collect water or water a tree I look around and think how beautiful it is. That was until I reached Chicken Lake. Too cold to swim though...



After the lake it seemed like I was stopping every 0.5 miles to take in the scenery and take a picture. Views of mountains through amazing trees.



Just after I set up camp some friends walked past with news from people just out of Lone Pine. Possible storm on Mt Whitney tomorrow night... which I had planned to summit the morning after... Might make the climb up a little interesting with a fresh coating of snow.

More amazing views throughout the day. Meadows, Mountains and brilliant pine trees. I also got to see quite a few Marmot which apparently aren't that rare... was also deer in the fields and lots of other critters.



The day started out really easy with the first 1/2 mostly down hill. At the bottom of a valley I came across my first alpine stream. Some people were walking through, others removing shoes or putting on crocs etc. I ventured a little bit up stream to find a large log. Little high off the water but I didn't plan to fall.



Later in the day there were more streams some easier to hop across than others. One stream I carefully went over some rocks and a small log. Didn't seem too bad. Another hiker saw me and tried to follow but bailed when he lost his balance on the first rock. Luckily didn't fall into the snow melt water, but then had to walk though shin deep anyway... I'm not looking forward to the places I can't find a suitable crossing.

Got to the ranger station to get the low down on he weather. "You can't tell in the mountains... but more like today probably" Awesome... chance of a late storm and probably overcast. They might get fresh snow but probably not much. Clouds closed in by 630 am, so unless I want to start at 2am I might not get the best views.

Went to quickly set up the tent before the impending rain... but it turned out to be tiny tiny hail instead. Still annoying and the bits that got in my tent quickly melted to water anyway. Everything else bounced off and managed to stay dry.

With the impending bad weather I took my first trail zero day. I could think of worse places to be forced to stop... The day went by pretty slowly,  had to hide in my tent a few times to avoid the snow.





Awoke to a dark but clear sky. Wanted an early start. The first river crossing just outside of came was sketchy as the logs were icy. Managed to stay dry and start the ascent to the summit. It was a pretty hard hike but awesome views the whole way up. All the way there were only 2 small bits that gave me a bit of pause.  Snow sliding away under foot with nothing to grab and a long way to fall.







Also had to make sure that it was indeed the tallest mountain in the continental USA, sitting pretty at 14,505 ft. You can take the man away from Surveying but not Surveying away from the man!



The trip back down was much quicker. Taking it slow for the afore mentioned sections but otherwise booking it down. Much easier to hike fast when 80% of your gear can be left at camp. I got back around 2pm and packed down camp to push on just a little bit further to make sure I could start the Forrester Pass climb, the highest point on the PCT as Whitney is a side trail, fresh in the morning.

I had been going really well finding places to skip across creeks but this afternoon didn't go as smoothly. It was partially because I wanted to move a bit faster and partially because my shoes were already mostly wet due to snow. There were 4 big creeks that I ended up just walking through, socks and all. I think I might need either crossing shoes like crocs or dry camp shoes because standing around camp in cold wet shoes wasn't ideal.

 



Wasn't in a rush in the morning after yesterday's climb but knew I had another big day. I had to head over Forrester Pass before the snow got slushy. Despite its dire reputation I actually found it fairly reasonable. Climb was tough with the full pack but over fairly quickly. The snow chute was a little intimidating at first sight but only a very short segment.

 



Made it down the other side and with the snow melt most of the path was already a mini-stream. There were some snow banks within the switchbacks that hikers create snow slippery slides which made the trip down a lot faster!



With the exception of the climb in the morning most of the rest of he day was downhill... until I reached the next pass. Kersarge Pass. The plan was to camp in the valley and make the trip over, out to the town of Independence, the following day. I arrived a little earlier than expected and decided to push on... a decision I regretted about 5 min into the climb...

Once I reached the top though it felt great. I was rewarded with awesome views and a feeling of achievement. Plus I knew I was closer to a hot shower! Got to the trail head about 1815 and by 1850 had a ride down to town. After getting sorted in my room having a shower and putting the laundry it was too late to head out for dinner so I had a Hiker meal in my room. Plenty of chance for town food tomorrow.

The 40 mile drive to Bishop ended up easier than expected, the owner of the Inn needed to head to the bigger town and offered me a lift! Checked into the hostel and saw some old friends before getting down to chores.

My bounce bucket is here which means backing up photos, more Milo and sending off a package or 2. I also needed some grocery shopping and to seek out new tips for my trekking poles. I've managed to grind down the old tips from about 100 mm in length to 20 mm.

After the chores I was finally able to settle down with a beer and enjoy the backdrop of the mountains.

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 36 to 45

Went into town for the last chance at a real meal. On the way back Redhawk decided to get in some extra training by carrying She Bear. I think he lasted about 50 meters. Apparently she wiggled... In the morning I got a lift back to the trail from a local Trail Angel, Dog Bite. This guy runs hikers around town most of the season and will pretty much pick you up and drop you off anywhere. With 8 days of food and plenty of water in my pack it was feeling pretty heavy.

The day started off with a pretty decent climb and as I was leaving town it was already pretty warm. It was glorious. So much better than the cold winds out from Wrightwood. I think I'm the only one appreciating it though...

Came across a section of dirt road walk trail that reminded me a lot of Ormeau. Lots of dust rocks and step ups. There was also the tell tail signs of slippage with rubber left behind on the rocks. I spent about 3 hours picking lines I would take in the Jeep. It was pretty clear what lines the hikers took though.

Made it to Golden Oaks springs, which was little more than a trickle. With over a dozen hikers there it took a long time to collect water. By the time I was done I figured I may as well camp the night. There was a nice little spot about 50m away up hill.

Started off with a nice downhill stretch in the morning to get into it before once again heading up hill. Near the top reached a great pine forest providing excellent shade making he hike fairly cool.

Made it to my planned stop, another spring, with time to spare and decided to push on. Made it my longest day yet, 25.9 miles. I certainly felt it by the end and it was actually dark by the time I went to bed for once.

The next stretch was a 42 mile stretch without any natural water sources. I filled up to my full capacity, 6.5 lt, with the knowledge that there should be a few well maintained water caches along the way. Before today I thought that 8 days of food was heavy...

Planned an early start with a 4 am alarm... but still barely made it out of camp by 6am. Only 7 miles out of camp I found my first water cache. Still had plenty on me but drank a bit before I got moving again. Well and truly in the desert section at the moment.



Passed a few people that pulled up stumps at 10am because it was too hot but I kept going until about noon. By 230pm I was bored and ready to get moving again. 330 I passed some friends that told me I was mad hiking in "this heat" ... it wasn't even 30°c today and only like 12% humidity!

Made it to the next likely water cache to not only find heaps of water but also an esky full of goodies. Chocolate, protein bars, Nutella and lollies. Great find. Was late in the day so it was also topped off with an amazing sunset.



Another early - ish morning start to get up a very steep and tall hill. Almost full of water again so another heavy pack. Luckily I was heading up the western side of the mountain so I was in the shade the entire way.

It was really good walking along ridges for a while enjoying the views. When I had stopped to take a break a SOBO (south bound) Hiker brought by some bad news. There was currently a bushfire raging just north of Walker Pass. Currently closing and potentially threatening the trail.

Made it to the Walker Pass campgrounds mid afternoon to see a few other hikers. There was also a guy from the fire service giving out information. Fire was mostly contained already and all was going well with the fight. About 2 hrs later he came back with a massive smile on his face happy to bring the news that it's a 99% chance to be reopened 6pm tomorrow.

It was already late in the day so I decided to bed down there for the night. Turns out it was a good call because I woke to the most amazing smell, bacon! A couple of trail angels were cooking up breakfast. They also had a big box of softdrink and beer. Being 7am in the morning I of course opted for the cold beer with a Gatorade chaser.



Not wanting to spend an entire day in the fairly desolate Walker Pass camp I decided to make my way into Lake Isabella. Met up again with T-Bird who was organising a 'cookout' (BBQ) so I bought some steak to throw on and potato salad to share.

I had planned for an early morning but by the time I rolled out of the comfy bed, had another shower and finished a fruit breakfast I was looking for a hitch after the time I would normally be hiking out of camp. Took a while to flag a ride and the first to stop was only going to Weldon,  about 1/2 way. As it was better than nothing I took it. At Weldon it was another long wait until a SUV full of fellow hikers finally stopped to take me the rest of the way.

The first climb was on the eastern side if the mountain and due to the late start was already quite warm. Bit of a breeze kept it reasonable but even I sought out the shade for breaks.

Made it to the top of a ridge for a great place to camp. Thought I would start the day down hill but the PCT took me up along a ridge and over a mountain before heading back down. Went past the burn area that temporarily closed the trail. It was at a camp site 0.2 East of the trail but luckily the wind was blowing away and it didn't touch the trail.

A few miles later there was another section that got hit by fire a few years ago. There was no shade for a 7 mile stretch, it wasn't that great. I eventually made it to a stream with a very slow flow. It was enough to get some water and a good place to camp for the night.

The next day it was a gentle 9.6 miles into Kennedy Meadows. This is the doorstep to the Sierra Mountains, said to be the most scenic, fun and difficult section of the entire PCT.

KM is a town with 1 bar/restaurant and 1 servo/store. There was about 70-80 hikers all hanging around collecting boxes and enjoying civilisation/power for the last time in many days. No phone signal and the wifi is so slow that even sending a 2 sentence email took a few minutes. That's why you're getting this post a little late.