Miles Hiked: 19.1
Total Mileage: 891.3
This morning I woke up around 6am feeling totally exhausted. I did not want to hike today I was so sore. I packed up my tent so slowly. For breakfast I ate a ton of junk food snacks I sent myself because I knew I had too much food for the next section and didn’t want to pay for breakfast. It turns out I made a good choice because according to everyone else the breakfast wasn’t worth it. I had a lot of anxiety about hiking until I finally left around 9:30am with Fry. I was just so sore and didn’t want to make miles today. Once I started moving I felt better of course. All the other hikers took a Ferry across the lake for $20. It would have been cool to take the ferry but I am happy to keep my connected footpath going and save money.
The trail back to the PCT was super easy and nice. It was through a pine forest. I hiked with Fry a little bit before I fell behind. I was hoping to make it a total of 21 miles to camp with Vulture but I was feeling so tired I didn’t know if I could make it there. I was glad when I joined back up with the PCT around noon. The trail went through an absolutely gorgeous valley with gushing creeks, green meadows, and white granite everywhere. I tried to keep my feet dry but eventually I had to get everything soaked at a deeper stream crossing. One of my favorite parts of the climb up to Silver Pass was a really long waterfall. I took a break to eat some snacks and filter some water before continuing up to the top of Silver Pass. I assumed everyone was over the pass hours ago. At this point I just didn’t care, I was so tired I realized I probably wouldn’t make it to camp with everyone else tonight.
I was shocked when I saw Vulture, Eager Beaver, and Food Bag at the top of the pass. Turns out they had been sitting there for well over an hour. I also turns out Fry was right behind me as well. I just thought everyone would be miles in front of me. I was happy to see everyone and to take the time to relax at the top of the pass. It was chilly. I left the pass shortly after Vulture and started going downhill through some snow. Luckily there was a boot pack so I didn’t post hole. It was easy to follow until the snow ended. After that I was way off the trail and didn’t know where to go. I saw Vulture on a trail down below me so I just started hiking cross country until I got down to the trail. My knees were achy so I was moving slow. I caught up to Vulture and we hiked the rest of the day together. The last part before camp wan an uphill that felt like it would never end. I was so happy to hike with Vulture because I probably would have made it to camp way later if I was on my own. The company made it easier to hike. We got to Virginia Lake around 6:00pm. Everyone else caught up to us and we decided to set up camp. I was so happy for a short easy day after the 30 mile push yesterday.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 