Day 96&97 Miles 1018-1062

Day 96

Start: 1018.1 End: 1036.6 Total: 18.5

It was a late start to walking. I woke up and walked .5 down the road to the general store/diner and got breakfast. After breakfast I chatted on the porch to a trail angel called Oblivious who hiked the pct in 2016 and was back doing trail magic and helping shuttle hikers to and from the trail. Oblivious also hiked 900 miles of the AT but had to quit due to having a bad knee and needing a replacement. He was a carpenter all of his life, flipped a few houses and started his own company and retired at 51.

Oblivious brought me to the trailhead and I met another female hiker, Nitzae, from the UK. I got walking around 9:30 and had a good, steady climb up from the pass. There were some sketchy parts that were still covered in snow, the existing boot pack led higher than the trail was so I had to scramble back down to the trail over unstable mud and rocks.

I made it to the top and had an apple and Peanut butter and got service to do a couple last minute things I had forgotten. The descent was covered in snow, there was no trail to stay on but some footprints that I followed carefully down. There were some really muddy spots at the bottom where the snow ended and I had to bushwhack my way back to the trail.

After the snowy descent there was a nice long snow free descent through a pine forest. It was very relaxed and pretty to walk through. At the stream I planned on having lunch at before the next climb I ran into Nitzae doing the same thing. We chatted for a bit about our experiences on the trail so far. She went through the Sierras with a group but the guys would always be ahead of her and she hiked with this other lady who just went home. I suppose she didn’t really have what it takes to continue, didn’t want to do the trail for the right reasons and was disappointed about her lack of instagram engagement. Bombadil soon came up on us and joined us for a bit before trekking on, he was trying to go 16 more miles that day. I was only planning on going 9 more.

I ate lunch, filtered water and left soon after Nikae and Bombadil. I put on some music and despite the steep climb, had a great time. It was much steeper than I anticipated and there were a lot of steep ups & downs. There were so many different species of wildflowers surrounding the trail. I did a long 4.3 miles by 5pm and still had 4.7 to go I felt so tired but pushed on.

There was a bit of a climb after getting water, and still lots of patches of snow. The miles passed quickly and I eventually saw Nitzae, .3 before where I planned on camping. I would’ve joined her but didn’t love my tent options so pushed on a bit. Lost was camped at the spot I had in mind and I set up a ways from him but joined him for dinner. I learned that he was a 2nd mate on a big shipping boat that goes around the world. I also learned that 2nd mate is in charge of navigation which I thought ironic with his trail name “Lost”. His zipper on his tent broke and I had a spare I gave him and told him loose instructions on how to fix it then went to bed.

Day 97

Start: 1036.6 End: 1062.7 Total: 26.1

I woke up around 5:30 but then fell back asleep until 6:20. I then packed up everything and left camp, Lost was already long gone.

There were some snowy patches on the trail but nothing to crazy. There were good foot tracks on the snowy part and it wasn’t too steep. The trail traversed the pine forest and mountains.

There were again a lot of wildflowers surrounding the trail all day.

I had a big downhill followed by a climb overlooking a small lake for the first 8miles. When I got up there I saw Nitzae and to my surprise, Bombadil. Bombadil ended up stopping around 8pm the night before and would make up for it by doing big days today and tomorrow. Although he started around 10 am this morning and had only gone a mile by the time I saw him.

I hiked with Nitzae and Bombadil for a couple miles until I had to break off to get some more water.

After I got water I powered up the next climb, eventually catching up to Nitzae but Bombadil had already gone. I noticed there was a road approaching on the map and secretly hoped for trail magic. Coming into Kennedy Meadows North was the first time I really got that kind of trail magic so I was hoping the trend would continue. One should never expect trail magic but it is totally reasonable to always hope. But sure enough when I approached the road I saw a small note on a black car to the right. I couldn’t quite read it but as I approached I saw those sweet words…. “Trail Magic”

I got even closer and saw Lost and the trail angel Lawrence who brought cold drinks, bananas, candy, chips and other small treats for hikers. As we sat there, Nitzae soon arrived and then a few new hikers (to me): Side Trail, from Switzerland, and Jetpack and Tangent, a couple from France/ England.

After I had my share I kept hiking, soon passing a beautiful blue lake that I could not pass without taking a little dip. I went for a quick swim before continuing on my way.

I then walked along the lake and ascended a bit. Soon I could see the lake from the other side and above it.

It seemed I was walking through an area of old volcanic activity leading to the current formation of the rocks around me. There were still plentiful wild flowers.

There were some more ups and downs before really going down and then across a steeper mountain on a traverse. The guidebook map has an icon warning about this area being potentially dangerous if snow covered. Most the snow had melted but there were still 3 parts covered in snow with a very steep and long way down to the bottom. Luckily you could bypass the snow on all three parts. The first one requires a steep descent then ascent around the snowy part but traversing the slippery mud and rocks. The second one I could also bypass without going on the snow and the third I was able to walk above it but had to navigate down some mud and rocks to get back to the trail.

I was nearing the end of my day and really feeling it. My legs and hips and muscles just felt so sore and tired. I had one more mile downhill to my planned camping spot, that would put me at 25 for the day.

I hiked the mile downhill and the lower I got, the thicker the trees around me became and so the clouds of mosquitos. It was a mosquito paradise down there, wet, low in elevation, dark and covered in trees. Walking through the trail in this area I became to be worried, no way could I stop there if there was this many mosquitos. I looked at the map and if I kept going I would have to hike another mile uphill, I really didn’t have the energy to do that. I was being swarmed while hiking on the trail, clouds of mosquitos surrounded me. I looked at my arms and there had to be ten landed on my sleeves. I got to the campsite and paused for a moment before once again being swarmed by 50-100 mosquitos. I knew I couldn’t stay there.

I kept pushing to get out of that hell hole and slowly climbed the next mile. As I got higher the mosquitos thinned out but then I started dropping back lower. I was worried that the next stop would be just as bad. I passed a trickle of a stream that was breeding grounds for hundreds of mosquitos, the tents site was supposed to be another .3 away.

I got up there and there was a rock clearing higher up with not many trees. It seemed to be pretty mosquito free. I saw Lost and his tent set up and went to find my own little nook with a good view. While scouting I noticed a giant lake nearby and went to see if there were any good spots by the shore. I didn’t see any but I figured I might as well go for a swim since I walked down there.

I walked back up and Jetpack, Side Trail and Tangent were all getting to camp as well. They started 5/6 miles before me that day and had also wanted to stop at the previous site but were forced to keep going because of the mosquitos. They set up more on the lower tier by Lost while I set up a bit higher up on a different level. They ended up making their dinner spot near my tent and I joined them for dinner.

They had been with a bigger group in the sierras but were always trying to do bigger miles and days then the rest of the group. They started mid April and were doing high 20s everyday. Jetpack was extremely ultralight with a base weight of 8lbs and a high ambition for big days and his partner, Tangent, is doing the best she can to keep up. They compromise between him doing less miles than he would like and Tangent doing more than she’d like. Jetpack is a big gear junky who likes making his own gear. Something happened with their tent and they were now cowboy camping. Tangent said she would just wear her bug net and be in her sleeping bag and it was fine for now.

I told them my boyfriend, Nick, will be joining me in Truckee for the 1500 miles of trail that remain. They talked to me of some of the joys and hardships of hiking with a partner. How you really get to see each other at their worst. You get to see how you treat one another when you both are tired, sore & cranky. You get to see how one another reacts to stress and challenges. They said it is not always easy or fun but you also get to lean on one another through those hard times. “And” Jetpack added “I get to wake up every morning with the best view” smiling and winking at Tangent, “Unless she’s grumpy or hasn’t slept well”.

Near the end of dinner the mosquitos started to come out in full force. I said goodnight and wished everyone happy trails, convinced I would not see them again as I was going to stay with a friend in San Francisco and they are doing big days. I hid in my tent, watching many mosquitos try to get in but being blocked by my big net. I thought about Tangent & Jetpack out there cowboy camping and was amazed anyone could put up with that. I was able to see a cool sunset from my tent and was soon asleep.