PCT SOBO DAY 97 – Company!

Day 97

Start: Virginia Lake, mile 1763.0

End: Bear Creek Campground, mile 1785.5

Miles Traveled: 22.5 miles

Lake Virginia was as beautiful in the morning as it was last night. Despite the cold afternoon, it was relatively warm when I packed up and hit the road. However, according to the forecast, this was my last day before it snowed. My plan was to get as close to Selden Pass as possible while time permitted. I wanted to avoid getting soaked in the cold snow.

When I started, I enjoyed the beautiful views of the Sierra. I still wasn’t in the mood to walk, especially knowing that cold snow was ahead along with another 5 days or so in the countryside, but I tried to cheer myself up more. Every day in this section of the Sierra brings with it another step, and today that step was Paso Plata. As I got closer, I realized I had no memory of this section of the trail. It was like I was seeing it for the first time. I remembered reaching the top of Silver Pass, but I guess everything after that had faded from my memory. I walked along Fish Creek for a while and watched the trout move in the slow, rolling water. This would have been a perfect swimming spot if the weather had been a little warmer.

Once I got to the climb, it was kind of fun. There were a few other backpackers around, but it wasn’t long before I caught up to them. The trail wasn’t strenuous, but it meandered through wooded areas before opening up to reveal crystal-clear alpine lakes. Ahhh, it felt good to be above the tree line. Soon, the rocky expanse of Silver Pass opened up and the wind blew harder. Despite the cold, the sun and the climbing kept me warm.

It really was a beautiful and sunny day. Once again, I wished I wasn’t in a hurry so I could spend a couple of hours sunbathing by the lake. But I had to keep moving.

On the way down, I smelled what I thought was fresh horse poop. There was so much horse poop on the trail in this section that the smell didn’t really surprise me. However, when I got to the source of the smell, I realized it wasn’t horse poop at all. It was a freshly gutted deer carcass! I’m not going to post the photo, but the deer was torn apart except for the head and legs. The ruby ​​red ribcage only had a few pieces of meat left. Whoever left it ate very well! I looked around cautiously, sure I didn’t want to stay in case the predator wanted to come back, and got out of there.

I had a long, rocky descent before reaching my lunch spot. I remembered going up this section of trail and hating it when I did the JMT, and I felt the same going down it. I stopped at the creek at the end and found a few other hikers gathered around, eating lunch.

“Can I join you?”

Turns out they were SOBO too! I hadn’t met them yet, although I think I had heard their names mentioned a few times by other hikers. We sat and chatted; I asked them if they had seen the deer carcass, and one of them walked past it without noticing anything! They were doing 20 miles a day in the Sierra and leaving a few days later to resupply.

After lunch we said goodbye and I moved on. I had one last climb of the day and I was eager to get it out of the way. As I climbed, I noticed the sky getting darker. Snow was definitely on the way. The temperature had dropped, but the climbing still kept me warm. Despite the dreary weather, the fall colors remained bright and vibrant.

I had a few miles left in the day when I stopped for a snack. I had to choose between walking 3 more miles or walking 5 more miles. A big part of me didn’t want to go far, but the other part of me knew that the further I went, the better. Just then Shotput, one of the hikers I had met, passed by. He had told her about the snow at lunch and now he had just checked his Garmin for weather updates.

“My Garmin says we’re going to get 2 feet of snow tonight!”

Uh-oh, I wasn’t prepared for so much snow! We chatted about plans. He and his group were going to camp at a lower elevation about 3 miles from where we were and I could join them. That was a no-brainer for me. 3 miles, lower elevation and company at the campground? Count on me!

He kept going, but I caught up with him in the last kilometer. We walked together along Bear Creek and found the perfect campsite for all of us. Two minutes later, Goldie and Three Bucks appeared and completed the team. We set up our tents, got water and had dinner together. The sun had set just after we arrived at camp, so we could only see each other by the light of our flashlights.

It was fun joking and eating with people, since I hadn’t camped with anyone else in a long time. It was a little cold outside, but the company kept me warm. It wasn’t long before everyone was sleepy and ready to get into their tents. Just as I was zipping up my tent, I heard the patter of rain. Guess we’ll see what the storm will bring tomorrow morning!

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

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