Day 13 on the PCT

Our friend and trail angel Glenn Fry drove us back up to Sonora Pass, we also had Eleanor Hammond join us! Once we were 2 now we are 3! Started off strong at 9633 ft around 2 pm, hiked till 7 pm. On the initial uphill grind we met

a former executive director of the PCTA. He was reviewing trail work recently completed by volunteers. On our downhill leg Eleanor twisted and injured her ankle. She handled it well and kept on trucking till we set up camp at mile 1025 and elevation 8902 ft in the Carson Iceberg National forest. We hit the hay early as it is cold and we are tired.

Road trip

After dusting off our boots and pack we jumped in Glenn's car and headed down to Galt. We will resume our hike at Sonora Pass in 2 weeks. Rented a car and headed north. Did a quick day trip to Crater Lake, spent a night in Union Creek. Rolled into Corvallis to visit Luki and Wayne Hammond. Luki took us blueberry picking and we made fresh jam! Thanks Luki❤!

We then dropped in on Heather and Ryan McGrady in Gig Harbor, wonderful visit. Second stop was in Issaquah to visit Ray and Karen Skoff. We did a day trip into Seattle, had great street food and a fun evening in the adult "tree house" a crazy beautiful creation of Ray's! Back on the road headed to Astoria, beautiful drive to the Columbia River.

Fantastic dinner of seafood and if ever in Astoria check out 8 street Coffee for breakfast! Next port of call was Port Townsend! Explored town, checked out the marina and seagulls. Had delicious crab cakes and a comfortable overnighter at a renovated brothel. We made our way down the coast, a one nighter in Westport, almost one night too many! We dropped back in to visit Luki and Wayne Hammond in Corvallis and invited their daughter Eleanor to join us for the last leg of our hike, to our delight she agreed! We then called on our friends in Fairfax, Tim and Beth Sasan. Had such a wonderful visit with their family and truly appreciated their aloha.  We did a day in the city visiting Chinatown and of course the wharf. Love the bread!! Made our way back to Galt and Glenn so graciously drove us back up to Sonora Pass. Thank-you to Glenn and Sabrina for all their aloha and hospitality.

Day 12 on the PCT

We slept in till 7:30 am, bags are quite cozy. Several early morning hikers cruise by our tent, greeting us with morning cheer! We only have 6 miles ahead of us to Sonora Pass. We head out with a short uphill push to 1100 ft and then meander to Sonora Pass at 9643 ft. We hike along a ridge line with generous fields of snow covering the trail. Leavitt Lake lays below us with Leavitt Peak under our feet. As we near Sonora Pass we encounter groups of day hikers. "Rock" a thru hiker blazes past us, with bounce in his sandal clad feet. We arrive at the pass on Hwy 108 around 2:45 pm. There are several hikers huddled under a shady tree, a cooler of ice cold water and snacks for all. A trail angel "Mac" is running a shuttle to Kennedy Meadows which is 9 miles down the curvy mountain road. She provides refreshments and transportation to the resupply spot of Kennedy Meadows. We take her up on her offer and climb into her SUV. Rock joins us. We arrive at KM which is teeming with RV campers, cabin dwellers and PCT hikers. Bill gives Glenn Fry our personal trail angel a call (ever used a pay phone??) we required some instruction! Glenn arrives from Galt, a +2 hour one way trek for him. Mahalo to Glenn! In the excitement of having Bill and I safely in his care, the car takes a wrong turn! We finally arrive in Galt safe and sound. Time to rest the feet, wash some rags and plan the next leg.

Day 11 on the PCT

Challenge today is to decide on our plan of action! Our last water resupply is +10 miles ahead of us. We decide to hike to mile 1001, have an early dinner (we ate at 2 pm) and trek as far as we can laden with 7 liters of water. Off we go, easy walking with a gradual climb from 9100 ft to 1050 ft, so the map says! We climb out of the forest into a landscape of volcanic vastness, no vegetation or boulders. Actually reminded me of Haleakala Crater. Quite stunning. The Z trail is a bit intimidating, incline is comfortable. We pass a hiker who gently reminds us that there are no campable spots for several miles. "You can bivey your tent in the strand of scrub trees at the top". The sky is clear, sun is out and the wind is gusting between 25-30 MPH. Burrrrry! I shift into high gear and bee line it for the "trees". We arrive at the top at 7 pm, pitch the tent, put on every stitch of clothing we have and have a snack of snickers, peanut butter and a cup tea. 12 miles under our boots! We climb into our fluffy down bags and drift off to sleep with the Milky Way above us. Incrediblely beautiful night sky.

Day 10 on the PCT

Cruise day today, up early and in the trail by 8 am. At 8000 ft and heading through Jack Main Canyon in Grace Meadow. We  will soon be leaving Yosemite National Park and will enter Toiyabe National Forest via Dorothy Lake Pass at 9544 ft. Dorothy Lake is incredible, the trail hugs the shoreline and we are able to surround our selves with the raw beauty. As we pass into Toiyabe National Forest and descend to 9000 ft the landscape transitions to more open space, less trees and granite. The trees are windswept and the trail is dusty! We make our way to PCT mile 1000 and set up camp just past the Cascade Creek footbridge. I had to do the butt scoot to get across, or risk a dunk in the creek. Bugs are on the rampage, we have a passing shower and a 12 miler day ends for us. 

Day 9 on the PCT

Up early this morning and on the trail by 7 am. Bill brings me hot coffee in bed😍😍. We head up a few hundred feet and begin our descent into Kerrick Canyon, lots of water and the ford in Kerrick Canyon can be difficult. We managed!! Made great mileage today, got 13 miles behind us. Set up camp at the shores of Wilma Lake.  Fellow backpacker came over to visit, he planned to depart at 4:30 am the following morning. He slept in! The lake was quite comfortable, not cold! Took a swim and freshened up, felt so fabulous. We decided to build a fire as we were running low on fuel for the pocket rocket. Bill has great pyro skills and I collect a mean stack of kindling. BUGS are intense so the smoke helps keep them agitated and at a slight distance from us. Beef stew for dinner😃.

Day 8 on the PCT

Today our goal was up and through Benson Pass 10150 ft. A challenging roller coaster trek. The downhill slide from   Benson Pass was 2500 ft over 5 miles. Again we needed to load up with maximum water as we would be camping with no natural water source at mile # 0975 PCT. Having to do at least a daily dressing change on the blister situation, grateful for the fancy first aide foot gear available. Terrain is rocky, granite boulders to say the least with all eyes on the trail least I do a face plant! Did a short 1 mile grind up 1000 ft to our campsite. Has we came through a narrow passage the trail opens onto a serene vista of small lakes, home sweet home for the night! Again the mosquitoes are in full force. Our freeze dried dinners are satisfying and appreciate the ease of the preparation. Left our rain fly off, beautiful night sky.

Day 5 on the PCT

 We started our morning with oatmeal and coffee, repacked and hit the trail early. Goal is 11 miles and still have time to smell the wild flowers! The steady climb to Donohue Pass 11,000 ft takes us by many streams and small lakes. We enjoy rest stops to refill with stream water and chew on some jerky. Due to the heat wave in the area the afternoon weather takes a turn into a hail storm with lightening and thunder😁. We decide to hunker under a large rock shelter, get our rain gear on and brew a cup of coffee. Waited out the rumble and hail for an hour and resumed our climb to the pass. The 2000 ft descending z trail was a killer , approximately 3 miles of zigzagging. Had a couple challenging water crossing after which I had wet, soggy shoes and of course the swarm of mosquitoes guiding us to camp. We finally hit a level meadow in Lyell Canyon and  set up camp. After 12 miles of trekking I was pooped and made a head first slip "splash" into the river while collecting water for dinner. My first concern was for our water bottles which I was grabbing for in the moving water. Got out of ALL my wet clothes, hung them up and got dinner going. Bed felt good that night.

Day 4 on the PCT

Late entry due to lack of Internet service! We departed Mammoth lakes via a bus ride to the  Agnew Meadow trailhead, 8387 ft. Our packs feel heavy, a day of rest will do that. We made our way up to 1000 Island Lake, a steady uphill grind where we set up camp. We were at 10,000 ft and shared the beauty with at least +1000 mosquitoes. Bill used DEET and I slipped on my net hat. Bill set up the tent as I readied our dinner menu. After a quick rinse in the lake we were refreshed and eager for a hot meal. We rolled into our bags early and drifted off to sleep to the distant howls of coyotes.

A day of rest aka "zero day" on the PCT

Today we picked up our resupply box and made some hard decisions about what we really need! Have discovered that we are not consuming as much food as anticipated, really do not want to carry  unnecessary weight. But we do need additional first aide gear. Blister remedies, softer shoes for Bill and  salamis  & cheese in place of snickers! We did some shopping and then shipped a box of extras back home to Hilo! Will be ready to hop back on the trail in the morning. The summer flowers are such a delight, enjoy the yellow and purple blooms!