PCT Week 7: mile 613-720

Day 43: 613-635

After a hard night’s sleep with the chatting group, I was able to witness one of my first great PCT sunrises. We camped on top of the mountain, overlooking the flat desert. I love being able to capture the moment when the sun rises over the mountains in the distance. Today felt more like the desert than any other so far. There was a 15 mile water haul from 617-632 between water tanks, over sand and surrounded by Joshua trees. Difficult climbs in the sand, where each step feels like it sinks halfway. Fortunately it wasn’t scorching, but it still made me thirstier. The 3.5 liters were barely enough to get me to the next water tank. Another climb into the mountains and I found a great spot at the top, surrounded by trees on Skinner Peak. But happy to be back in the mountains after a long hot day in the Mojave.

Day 44: 635-658

Another great sunrise on a mountain top and I feel like my luck is changing. I met another hiker the day before and actually had a good connection and shared experiences on the trail, my first positive interaction since my original trail family split up. We hiked to Walker Pass and I had enough to keep going to Kennedy Meadows, but he needed to resupply at Ridgecrest. So I went ahead and camped on a beautiful saddle near Mount Jenkins. I finally had the PCT moment I had dreamed of, with beautiful views to the east and west and a campsite completely to myself. I watched the sunset with no surrounding conversations, just me and nature. Maybe I’m privileged and selfish, but I felt calm and well-deserved after a 24-mile day. There was even a trail log on this peak touting the history of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

Day 45: 658-682

I had another great day with a plan of 24 miles and over 4,500 feet of elevation gain to reach Chimney Camp, 21 miles outside of Kennedy Meadows. The long graded trail conditions made the morning fly by. Ration water to reach Spanish Needle Creek to limit water transportation. By the afternoon some clouds had finally formed which helped protect us from the sun. I even had a couple drops of rain, not enough to put on my rain jacket, but this was the first rain I’d seen on the trail since week 1 and I was happy to get relief from the sun. I was really struggling towards the end of the day. Mosquitoes constantly on my face, my ankles and Achilles tendon hurt. The views were fantastic but my mood was sour. When I arrived at Chimney Camp, Strider greeted me with a wonderfully magical trail for Memorial Day weekend. The cheese dogs and salad helped sweeten my demeanor. However, I was still exhausted and couldn’t stay awake much longer after the sun went down.

Day 46: 682-703

After filling up on water at Fox Mill Spring, I continued on what appeared to be an old burn scar. It seemed that what was once a beautiful forest was now just an exposed ridge for many kilometers. As I descended into the prairie, the landscape changed again to a high desert with many pine trees. Finally he crossed the south fork of the Kern River. This was the fastest flowing river yet on the PCT and seemed to mark the end of the desert. I was only a few miles from Kennedy Meadows and when I finally found the road I looked south and reflected on the distance I had traveled. An achievement that I always wondered if was in the cards and I had completed. I was also excited to have another chance to see my girlfriend when we met at the general store in town. We stopped by Grumpy’s for a burger and beer to celebrate and headed to Ridgecrest for two zero days.

Day 47 and 48: Zeros at Ridgecrest

Day 49: 703-720

The day began with an unfortunate setback. As I was buckling the top strap of my Durston bag over my bear canister, the buckle completely broke. This started an ‘oh shit’ moment because I no longer had a way to tie my bear can to the top of my bag. I ended up having to change the buckle on the sternum strap by cutting the seams, changing the buckles, and re-stitching. But now he had no sternum strap and was carrying a very heavy backpack. At the Kennedy Meadows store I got an extra rope in case it breaks again. This didn’t seem like a great start to me in the Sierra, but rather a small setback. After fixing my straps, I got back on the trail and the day turned cold and windy. I found a place to camp because my back and shoulders hurt so much they kept telling me to stop. As I was getting ready for bed, I found a gaping hole in my damn sturdy socks next to my toe that I hadn’t noticed. All of this was starting to overwhelm me. Planning for bears, the next snow storm, equipment failure, back pain. Not how I expected to start, I was finally able to realize my Sierra dreams, following the John Muir Trail and the possible summit of Mount Whitney. I will need to live with everything I have for the next six days.

Overall, I’m excited to be done with the desert and take on the next challenge.

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