The Adventures of...: Days 72-73

Day 72, 18 miles, endpoint PCT mile 987

I have to admit, sort of like yesterday, not a lot happened today other than hiking. Hard hiking, though. This was one of the hardest days I have had yet on the trip. The trail was either going steeply up or steeply down, for long stretches. My legs never got any type of reprieve on a flat surface. Today, flat surfaces did not exist.

The other issue for me was the heat. The transition we are currently in as we make our way down out of the High Sierras was palatable today. The temperature was warmer than it has been in a month, my chocolate candy bars melted, and sweat was my constant companion.

Despite all this, a tough day on the PCT is still better than a normal day in real life, so it wasn't all bad. We continued to hike through colossal granite formations and enjoyed some nice views of distant valleys and peaks. Plus, the wildflowers were in full bloom, and we saw more than we have the entire trip. 18 miles in, we were exhausted, and decided that was enough when we found a small unnamed lake that was perfect for Josh's sunset pictures. We have the spot to ourselves, and are listening to the frogs as our nighttime serenade.

Trail views

Big thunder heads developing to the east.

Trail views.

A marmot couple.

Trail views.

Camp views.

Crescent moon from camp.

Day 73, 25 miles, endpoint PCT mile 1012

This morning neither of us were very happy. For one, the mosquitos by our lakeside campsite were ferocious. We also got up later than planned and were upset that we were behind schedule on our hiking start time. Worst of all, breakfast was a huge disappointment. The last two mornings we had Entemann's donuts and amazing 700 calorie chocolate muffins. This morning all we had left was crappy oatmeal that left both of us still hungry. I think we were both just a little burned out and tired of hiking, especially with the hard hiking we had been doing the last couple of days.

We left our campsite running late and lacking motivation. Within a couple of miles we ran into Poison and ET, a pair of friends who met while hiking the Appalachian Trail last year. We had briefly met them the day before, and hiked off and on with them for the entire day today.

We left the Yosemite National Park boundary and entered the Hoover Wilderness. After a long day of hiking we made it to mile 1007, which was 20 miles into our day. This was the location of the last water for 11 miles. We originally planned to camp there and finish the 11 mile waterless stretch in the morning, but we scratched that idea. Instead, we packed up enough water for drinking and cooking dinner and headed onward.

The trail wound up 1,500 feet as we headed straight up towards a rigdgeline with dizzying views of mountains, lakes, and valleys. We entered the Emigrant wilderness and finally, after 25 long miles, found a camping spot of a million dollar view.

Tomorrow is a resupply stop in the town of Bridgeport, CA, about 30 miles from the PCT. We have less than seven miles to go to reach the highway at Sonora Pass, which is where we will hitch in. Hitching this time may be tricky, since there are two different highways you must take to get to Bridgeport. We are hoping to get in, go to the grocery store, and get back to the trail in the same day to avoid getting a hotel room. We will see if we can actually pull that off, or if we will get stuck there and have to spend the night!