The lower in elevation I went, the more vegetation there was. This caused some concern about poison oak in the area.
Read MoreDay 70 - Sonora Pass to Northern Kennedy Meadows. 1018.2 (8.5)
Mileage Breakdown: 7.5 PCT Miles + 1.0 Mile road walk from Northern Kennedy Meadows (NKM) to Highway 108 = 8.5 Total.
The view this morning was just as magnificent as last night. I did not have the greatest night sleep, partly because of the near full moon (bright) as well as the constant roar of the wind which never let up.
I was on trail around 7:30 am, shortly after the rest of the group, and I was feeling very good. Almost as though nothing could bring me down. I was really enjoying the epic ridge walk that leads to Highway 108 at Sonora Pass.
After a couple miles, a snow field became a rather steep slope. I had two choices: one to glissade (slide on my butt) or, two, I could walk around it which would take much longer. I decided to glissade and paid a painful price for it. The snow was soft enough that my micro spikes wouldn't grip the snow, but frozen enough that the lumps didn't give way as I slid very quickly down the short slope.
It felt like the worst rug burn I'd ever had for the next two hours and to make it worse, the affected area was on my upper thigh / lower butt.
As the rawness began to feel better, I arrived at a very steep snow slop that I couldn't imagine sliding down, let alone walk down (I would have surely fallen on my butt and slid down anyways). I figured out a way down via a rock scramble that too nearly 30 minutes to travel 50-100 feet. Covered with jagged and lose rocks, the foot and hand holds were few and far between. There were many moments of feeling stuck (unable to go back up and no way to continue down). But I eventually made it down where I waited for, and watched, the rest of the group work their way down..
Some fell or slipped but everyone made it down safely. The group walked to Sonora Pass together and the feeling of seeing the Highway was a bit of elation. I had just completed the most technical and physically demanding section of the trail. This doesn't mean the rest of the trail is easy, anything but. It means DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY wont loom over every hill or valley I past though.
Hitching into Northern Kennedy Meadows took some time. NKM is a small resort along Highway 108 which is quite popular in the summer time. There is a general store, cafe and a large campground positioned right along the river.
I really enjoyed my time there, which I spent most of it eating and organizing my resupply, I wanted to get back to the trail today. A bunch of us started to look for a hitch around 5:00 pm figuring if we couldn't get one this late, we could find a spot at the campground and try again in the morning.
After a half hour of watching the few cars on road fly by us, a young man pulled over with a smile and gladly stuffed 6 of us in his old Toyota Tacoma. A little ways up the road, we caught a Brazilian Downhill Skateboarder and he road he board while holding onto the back of the truck. It was pretty insane!
At Sonora Pass, a trail angel had a cooler of beer, soda and snacks. It was totally unexpected but greatly appreciated. We sat around and talked with a few other hikers who had just made it to the Highway and planned to go into town tomorrow if they couldn't get a hitch this late in the day.
After hike a little over a mile from the Highway, some of us stopped and setup camp. THis was around 7:00 pm... just in time to make some dinner and watch another breathtaking sunset.
Day 65 - The Last Pass on the JMT, Donahue. 942.5 (16.4)
An absolutely stunning day. With Donahue Pass being the last pass for a couple days, I woke up with a little extra vigor. It's easier to pack up knowing town is waiting for you as well.
Donahue Pass is the beginning of the Yosemite Wilderness (where National Park rules start to take effect). On the decent down from the pass, I passed a lot of JMT hikers. Most of them were on day 3 or 4 of their 25 to 30 day journey. The Yosemite Valley is the most popular starting point for the JMT mainly because everyone wants to finish at the top of Mount Whitney rather than having to climb it at the very start.
The valley after Donahue Pass is some of the flattest trail thus far on the PCT. The aqua duct walk after Hiker Town (Day 32) may be the only section similar in flatness.
As I got closer to Tuolumne Meadows, it became apparent we were in a national park and it was summer! Lots of people visiting from all over the world. It felt a little strange, after having spent nearly 3 weeks in remote areas and small mountain resorts, to be surrounded with people in a hurry to go see the next thing in the park.
I relaxed with the group at the general store and bought lots of snacks and some beer before wandering over to the camp ground. There were a few people already set up in camp when I arrived. By the time it was sunset, there were easily 30+ people setup and we had a huge campfire in one of the pits.
Day 64 - JMT Alternate Part 2 and Island Pass. PCT 926.1 (17.8)
Mileage Breakdown: 11.3mi JMT Alternate + 3.2mi PCT + 3.0mi Unplanned Detour = 17.8 miles.
Very challenging day. Though very beautiful, the terrain mainly consisted of steep incline followed by steep decent. The snow, slush, water and mud added a nice touch to the whole experience.
About half way into the day, I missed a crucial turn at a fork in the trail. Instead of leading on toward the PCT and Island pass, I wandered 1.5 miles in the wrong direction. It was very disheartening, but I had an even longer ways to go before the end of the day, so all I could do was turn around and move on.
About 100 yards after turning around, I found Butterfingers had followed me down the wrong trail. The look on her face screamed, "NOOOOO, don't tell me we went the wrong way". But we had, so together we hiked as quickly as we could to avoid getting into camp before dark. This also meant we didn't take very many breaks.
The views were gorgeous. The wind and cooler tempuratures kept me from stopping to take them all in, so I took a ton of pictures which I could appreciate from the comfort of my sleeping bag.
Island Pass is nothing like the other passes along the PCT/JMT. more of a rolling hill, I never really knew when I had passed it. It's shallower slopes held a lot more snow which caused the end of the day to be mainly post holing in the slushy mess.
In camp, we had a large group. Primarily due to the fact this was the last good campsite before tomorrows pass. I'll plan on being up bright and early one more time. Hopefully it will be the last early morning for a while.
Day 62 - Zero Day in Mammoth 895.7 (0.0)
It rained today on and off. Viet, Butterfingers and I hung out in the campgrounds laundry room where we ate, drank and waited out the damp rainy conditions which would improve as the day went on.
As with any Zero day, chores are many and there never seems to be enough time to get it all done. Fortunately as evening came around, all chore were done and I could go hang out with everyone at a local pizza shop.
