June 14th-Back on the Trail
After hiking with Theresa (BSCM), Ruth, and Betsy the beautiful views continued. It was a nice day for hiking, and the blister repairs worked wonderfully!
It was great to be back on the trail.
There are numerous parts of the trail like this in the Sierras. I've heard granite like this referred to as Sierra Sidewalks. Note the cairn in the foreground to identify the route.
In the afternoon I had a late lunch and decided to take a little snooze next to the trail. As Glitter hiked up I awoke. We were soon joined by Mr. Sandals and his wife Princess. We all decided to call it a short day as there was a great camping spot just above us.
This chance meeting led to a fun week of camping. I would not be stealth camping on my own for the next week.
Princess and Mr. Sandals are from Germany, she's an Oncologyst, he's a computer programmer. Glitter works as a contractor in Seattle for the National Cancer Institute. There was fascinating campfire discussion. It was nice to have a campfire and good company.
We sat up a target mileage, 20 miles, and we would meet at around mile 970 for camping the next night.
June 15-Tough twenty- Benson Pass
A buck who was not terribly bothered by my presence.
I am slower than the other hikers (hence the appropriate trail name of Tortuga). They took off in the morning and I went at my Tortuga pace. Also, I visited with many of the south bound section hikers who all seemed to be interesting people. It was getting late and I didn't know if I would meet up with the group for the evening.
I saw two women, thru-hikers, in their sixties, with camp set up along a lake. I stopped by. It was Tidy Camper and Firecracker (previous name Dirty Girl). I had found a map along the trail, and they were so excited to get it back. They were characters.
As we talked they realized incredibly that they had met Hotshot, but never me. They were right behind me way back at Scissors Crossing when Staci carried my backpack for four miles (the ultimate slack packing day!). We have been hiking near each other for two and a half months but our paths hadn't crossed.
They also wanted to tie in with Mr. Sandals, Princess, and Glitter for the evening, but called it quits, tired, at a nice camp. I decided to go ahead and met up with the group. I arrived at the camp just as they were going to bed for the night.
Another nice sunset.
June 16-Another Tough Twenty
The blister repairs worked. The picture is of repaired heels, they were bad before doctoring. Moleskin pads, Neosporin, and duct tape worked incredibly. The only problem was with fords of rivers. Usually I could make it through one ford with the duct tape repairs intact, but by the second ford I had to replace the fixings.
An old PCT marker being grown over.
There were no passes over 10,000' today, so I assumed it would be a relatively easy day. There were, however, three tough climbs of lower passes which made another 20 mile day challenging.
I made it to the camp with Mr. Sandals, Princess, Glitter, Moxie (ER nurse), Tidy Camper (rock climber extraordinaire), and Firecracker (acupuncturist) at dark, right about 9:00 p.m.. I was even later than last night. The campfire was out and everyone was already in their tents. 9:00 p.m. is "hiker midnight," of course they would be down. I made dinner and was asleep quickly.
It was great they picked a campsite just before a ford. It would be easier to face the cold feet after food and rest than at the end of a long day in the dark.
June 17- One Thousand Miles
The PCT goes to the east side of the Sierra range and is in the Hoover Wilderness Area of the Toiyabe National Forest. This makes the seventh National Forest so far along the trail, along with numerous parks.
Another milestone along the trail, the one thousand mile mark!
The entertainment around the campfire was priceless. Eight people, all so different, bantering, singing, telling stories, and laughing, laughing, laughing. I wasn't the only one wiping away tears from laughing so hard and so long. I would guess Firecracker to be in her sixties, and she could make any hotshot or truck driver blush repeated with her language and choice of subject matter. Her singing voice is fabulous, and she plays the bear canister like a drum with aplomb. What a fun evening.
June 18-The Last Pass Over 10,000 Feet!
Glitter taking a little break from the action.
Princess developed a shin splint and was having trouble. Firecracker was working on her. When she was done I did my best attempt at taping her based on overhearing Theresa explain before how to tape shin splints. Princess was able to finish out the day's hike, which luckily was only about ten miles.
The goal for the day was to make it to Hwy 108, Sonora Pass, and then to hitchhike down to north Kennedy Meadows for dinner, resupply, and sleep in a real bed. It is confusing having two different stops called Kennedy Meadows along the PCT. Both Kennedy Meadows are in California, and they're only 320 miles apart.
All eight of us had the same plan. As usual I was the last one to make it to Sonora Pass. They did their obligatory cheering when I showed up. Today many of them were in sight for much of the hike, they weren't far ahead at all. It helped starting early today and seeing everyone along the trail as they passed me.
The other seven were still together trying to hitch the ten miles to the north Kennedy Meadows. We split up so we wouldn't be such an intimidating looking group, and all got rides quickly.
Ridgerunner passed me on the last stretch down to Sonora Pass. When she passed I saw an Appalacian Trail (AT) patch on her backpack. She had hiked the AT last year. She knew Hotshot from the AT, and had hiked with her quite a bit in Vermont. Hotshot and Roadrunner are hoping to be able to meet up in Northern California in four or five weeks.
The fun continued with the dormitory style sleeping accommodations at Kennedy Meadows, and everyone ate enormous amounts of food at the restaurant. Solitude, who just met up with the group the day before, fit in well. His name may need to change, he was having a lot of fun with the group.
A staged photo opportunity with the thousand mile banner.
June 19 and 20-Zero Days
June 19th was Theresa and my 32nd wedding anniversary. It was a good day for a zero (or two).
Theresa (BSCM), John and Debbie Mager picked me up at Kennedy Meadows. We rented a cabin for two nights at Twin Lakes near Bridgeport. What a nice break from the trail. I resupplied, tried to catch some fish, elevated and iced my feet, lost some card games, and just relaxed. We ate real food, nothing freeze dried or dehydrated, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
John and Debbie are celebrating their 25th Anniversary next Wednesday, it was a combined weekend anniversary escape. Debbie was Theresa's Maid of Honor 32 years ago, and Theresa was Debbie's Maid of Honor 25 years ago.
It was great taking a break at Sonora Pass, mile 1018.
