Day 183
Start: 2599 End: 2621 Total: 22
It was a beautiful sunrise at camp and an epic morning walking along the ridge line of the mountains. We walked along one of the edges then dipped back to the other side and continued to walk along the ridge until dipping down the other side. There then was a steep descent followed by a steep climb that I was not expecting.
Rocky, Mantis and I stopped for a coffee break 6 miles in the continued on a long descent. We then walked another 6 miles down the valley through the forest and thick brush before stopping near a river for lunch.
We took a nice break, filling waters and enjoying our food. After lunch we would have a very steep 7 mile climb. I set off before Rocky and Mantis, locking into my music so I could cruise up the mountain.
I took a break halfway up and waited for Mantis to catch up. We then hiked the second half together up to the top. The last stretch was a set of very steep switchbacks and we could see Rocky catching up to us from below. It looked like a vertical drop off the trail next to us as we made our way higher and higher.
We all made it to the top and briefly paused to soak in the panoramic sea of mountains all around us. We crossed to the other side of this mountain and went down to a small spring where we filled up for the night.
After filling our water we had one last little up. There was one small tent site at the top of this and we decided we’d call it a day and all cowboy camp right there. It was a breathtaking spot to have dinner and call home for the night.
Day 184 – (My 6 months on trail!)
Start: 2621 End: 2642 Total: 21
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise, it was so nice to just roll over in my sleeping bag and peak my head up and see it. I would look at it for a minute then rest my head back down. I was happy to see the sunrise as I awoke at 4am immersed in a thick cloud. The cloud was blowing gusts of wind right into my sleeping bag so it was hard to stay warm.
It was a beautiful 4 mile hike in the morning with low clouds hanging over some of the mountains and the morning light illuminating everything. We made it to Harts Pass where Mr. Ed had told us of someone coming there with a huge set up to do trip magic. We weren’t disappointed.
We showed up and were greeted by Worldclass, the trail angel and a huge white tent, with 3 full couches, two fridges, and an oven. There was an abundance of warm coffee and hot coco and we sat in the couches wrapped in blankets. It felt like paradise. We ended up hanging out there for three hours patiently waiting for Worldclass to make some breakfast. It was well worth the wait as we had eggs, potatoes, bread and sausage.
As we waited, more and more hikers came in. Some just now getting to Hart’s Pass, some coming back for the second time, having officially completed the PCT. Harts Pass is the last road in the U.S. After Harts Pass, hikers have 30 miles to go until the Canadian Border, the end of the PCT. In past years, hikers were allowed to apply for a permit that allowed them to hike 8 miles into Canada after arriving at the border and make arrangements to get home from there. However, hikers are no longer allowed to hike into Canada but must turn around and hike the 30 miles back to Harts Pass. It’s truly one of the most beautiful stretches on trail so not the worst to have to do it twice. It’s also nice because there is a constant stream of congratulations between hikers heading to the border and those that are done and heading back to Harts Pass. Every passing hiker is met with a high five or fist bump and a congrats!
Worldclass asked a group of hikers if anyone would carry this giant finish flag to the finish line. I was the only one who heard him and made eye contact so I felt obligated to oblige. It was a hard place to leave but after it hit noon, Rocky, Mantis and I got back on trail. I fastened the giant flag to my backpack and was off.
The stream of congratulations soon began as we made our way up and out of the pass along a narrow meadow like ridge with a sea of mountains surrounding.
We cruised 9 miles like this, fueled on the great breakfast and being so close to the finish. We stopped for a late lunch around 3 and Rocky volunteered to take the flag for the next stretch. We had a big down hill then a steep up. We passed Rainbow, Caramal, Doc, 100 grand, ass cactus and that whole gang going back to harts pass.
We camped at Rock Pass nearby to Tinder and his gang that we met at the High Sierra Music Festival. It was a beautiful sunset and final campsite. We would leave our tent up with most of our belongings in it and hike the 13 miles to the border in the morning. Then we would hike back to this campsite and sleep before hiking back to Harts Pass the next day.
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