PCT SOBO DAY 100 – Mather and Pinchot in one day

Day 100

Start: Tentsite/Palisade Creek, mile 1830.1

End: Campground, mile 1853.1

Miles driven: 23 miles

It was another cold morning. The sun had just risen when I woke up and had not yet reached the canyon where I was camped. I began the journey warm and ready to face the Golden Staircase.

A series of stone steps leading to the ascent to Mather Pass, the Golden Staircase, had a reputation, but I hoped my legs were strong enough to scale them easily. As I started to climb, I realized that the stairs were not the problem, but the elevation. I still wasn’t fully acclimatized, so I took several breaks along the way.

Before long, the ladder was in the rearview mirror and in front of me were the beautiful Palisade Lakes. When I was here during the summer, I sat with my feet in the water and watched the fish swim. This morning, however, it was too cold for that. However, the sun was out and warming things up, so I took off a few layers by the lake and continued.

The climb to Mather was a slow and steady march. I stopped too often to catch my breath and thought I would never make it to the top. Snow wasn’t a big problem here, most of it had already melted. Despite feeling out of breath, I really enjoyed the climb. It was another beautiful day surrounded by stunning scenery. It couldn’t get any better than this!

At the top, I took a few moments to sit and take it all in. The air was still and silent. The only sounds I heard were the echoes of my shouts of victory. I saw very small figures descending, but otherwise, there was no one else around. It was perfect.

I couldn’t stay there all day, so I went down, moving much faster than when I had been going up. There was a little snow on the road around the lakes, soon everything was snow free. I stopped for lunch by a stream and once again marveled at the perfect day.

I had one more pass to tackle today: the Pinchot Pass. The approach to Pinchot was absolutely stunning. I wish I could have stopped and camped there for the night. On both sides of the path there were meadows and idyllic lakes abounded. This was another area where I had to stop and just look around to take it all in.

There were a few false summits on the way to the actual pass. I had to break into my Snickers bar to keep my energy up. The snow also got a little deep on the final stretch to the top, but I got there just as the sun was starting to sink behind the mountains.

Walking down as the sun set was impressive. The clouds and steep rocky slopes were painted soft pinks and oranges. The image changed with every minute. Soon, the sky darkened and I found myself among the trees. I took out my headlamp to continue walking, but the moon was so bright I almost didn’t need it.

I didn’t have to walk much further before I found my camp for the night. It was a perfectly flat area between the trees and right next to a stream. Excellent!

Surprisingly, it wasn’t too cold tonight. I took my time getting ready for bed and enjoyed my moonlit house before turning in for the night.

And that’s a day in the life of a PCT SOBO hiker!

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.