Days 105 – 118: 1912 – 2150 / End of Oregon
Day 105: Bingham Lakes (18.9 Miles)
We started hiking at 9.30am. We were tired. Haven’t done a zero since Ashland.
We took alternate route to cut 10 miles and some elevation to Shelter Cove. We will reach it tomorrow, 15 miles instead of 25.
I am very tired and will go to bed now (8:44pm)
Stats
Distance: 18.9 miles
Steps: 39.799
Ascent: 2124 ft
Descent: 2621 ft
Day 106: Shelter Cove & Lower Rosary Lake mile 1912.2 (21.94)
Breakfast at 7.30am by a beautiful lake. It’s completely quiet except for birds and the noises we make.
Granola and trail mix and coffee. 15 miles to Shelter Cove Resort where we can shower and eat a burger.
We haven’t had a day off in a while so we’re both feeling tired. Won’t have a bed for another 5 days till we reach the city of Bend.
We hiked through forest all day and it rained a little bit for the first time in a long time.
We made it by 2.30pm and had a burger – the burger was really good.
We took a shower and bought two dinners for trail and some snacks.
We ran into Fruit Loop and she told us Roadrash skipped to Washington. She also said Kate is ahead of us. We must catch her haha we thought she’s behind us!
We hiked out until it was almost dark and camped at Lower Rosary lake.
Miles hiked: 21.94
Steps: 49.985
Ascent: 2247 ft
Descent: 2020 ft
Day 107: 1912.2 Lower Rosary Lake to Jezebel Lake 1935.8 (longest day yet: 24.06 miles)
We left at 8.15am and hiked 7 miles to water. We continued hiking through beautiful forests.
We saw carpenter ants eating through a dead tree and throwing out sawdust (took a video) in a very efficient way. Nature is showing us fascinating things every single day!
Had lunch on some rocks – after finishing our “climb” for today. We have to ration lunch food a bit because we have a lot of snacks but only 6 tortillas and 5 chicken packets for 3 days – we would need 12 tortillas and 12 chicken packets. We have trail mix, and beef jerky to supplement with so it ll be fine.
Just as we were talking about rationing food, these beautiful colorful signs started showing up every 10 m. We thought we were hallucinating but it was real! trail Magic!!
Stats:
Miles hiked: 24.06
Ascent: 2929 ft
Descent: 2834 ft
Day 108: 1955.5 Elk Lake Resort (22.28 miles)
Alarm went off at 6am, we hiked out at 7.11am. I actually left without iceman for the first time because I was ready to go and the moskitos were so bad. We met at the next water.
It was hard today and we both felt sluggish. Time and miles weren’t passing. We talked a lot and eventually it started raining really hard and we got totally wet. But it was so much fun!! We jumped in the puddles and walked right through them, with water up to our ankles as the trail turned into a river. A kid again at last! We became a trail maintenance crew and wherever pine needles and other debris clogged up the flow of water we’d use both of our poles, dug them into the ground forcefully and destroyed the dams to build little canals for the water to flow off trail.
We did this as many times as necessary; until the water gained momentum and carried the remaining debris off trail. Sometimes raging rivers would form as the huge and deep puddles on trail were finally liberated to flow off trail down the hill. This activity slowed us down immensely but we didn’t care, it took a few hours, we were having the best time. Iceman was in front of me and kept looking back, shaking his head and laughing but eventually he joined in and we broke down dams together.
We got to Elk lake Resort around 5pm and everything hurt. We haven’t had a zero since Ashland- 10 days or so? We’re looking forward to reaching Bend in 1.5 days – 29 miles.
We had a good pizza there and some drinks and got back on trail – 1.8 miles back to the PCT.
We found camp just when the sun was setting at 7.57pm. Right next to the trail. But for free (not 20$/person like at Elk Lake Resort) and not 1.8 miles from trail but on trail! Yay!
21:15pm – exhausted but happy
Miles hiked: 22.25 miles
Steps: 46.523
Ascent: 2063 ft
Descent: 2683 ft
Day 109: Minnie Scott Spring 1977.7 (22.4 miles)
Left at 9.15am – took it slow. We hiked through beautiful forests and met “Grey Salamandar” – a section hiker – a few times who shared his snacks with us.
We had late lunch at 13.30 and after that hiked along the Three Sisters the rest of the day. It was rough on the feet – lots of volcanic rocks but really beautiful. We hiked into the evening and had the most amazing sunset.
Miles hiked: 22.4
Steps: 47.496
Ascent: 4014 ft
Descent: 2786 ft
Day 110: 1985.3 Bend! (7.5 miles)
Got up at 6am, left at 7am. It was really smoky. We hiked 7.5 miles through beautiful volcanic rocks and got to McKenzie Pass/Dee Wright Observatory at 11.00am.
A nice lady called Katie gave us a ride to Sisters and en route offered to bring us all the way to Bend.
We got to the hotel at 1pm. Iceman’s parents had booked a really nice hotel for us so we were in for a treat: right in downtown with a hot tub and pool
We took a shower and went to the post office and wallmart, to resupply for Washington, we bought 4 weeks of food so filled both our empty backpacks with food.
Day 111: Zero in Bend!
We sent our packages and then met Kate for lunch! it was so good catching up with her. We hadn’t seen her since Kennedy Meadows South as well, over 1200 miles ago but we kept in touch and almost saw each other almost, like in Ashland when she hitched a ride to the hotel with the lady that dropped us of at trail 5 min before.
Day 112: 2012.5 27 Miles out of Bend & 2000 miles marker (longest day yet)
We got up at 7am, packed and had breakfast at the hotel. We arranged a ride to McKenzie pass with trail angels Angelique and Adrian at 10.15 from Thump coffee downtown Bend. Kate met us there. We dropped her at Sisters where she planned to hitch a ride to Santiam pass, 17 miles up trail.
We got to the trailhead around 11.00 and there was trail Magic by Tracy and Caroline. We had a soda and a quick chat and hiked off, 11.30ish.
We hiked through burn areas and beautiful scenery and felt strong. Our goal was to hike 30 miles but with such a late start that meant hiking until 11.00pm. We had a warm lunch at the Big Lake Youth Camp, which has a great PCT building with an electric cattle, and I made 4 tortillas with cheese and pepperoni for dinner.
Shortly after leaving BLYC, we passed the 2000 mile marker. Wohoooo
We hiked till it was dark and some more. We ate the tortillas while hiking around 9.00pm and stopped hiking at a lake around 10.30pm at mile 2012.5.
Stats
Miles hiked: 27.01
Steps: 57.945 phew
Ascent: 3812 ft (lots of elevation for such a long day)
Descent: 3667 ft
Day 113: Mile 2031.7 (19.38)
We left at 8.15am and hiked through beautiful sceneries.
Got to Shae Lake at 14.45 with Great views of Mt Jefferson. It’s a beautiful pointy mountain, listening to Player of Games, a sci fi book.
We got to camp at 6.30pm, a bit early, as all campsites the next 10 miles are in dead fall zones, so we decided to camp here. Because we were also tired from the previous 27-mile day.
Stats
Miles hiked: 19.38
Steps: 40.333
Ascent: 2785 ft
Descent: 3369 ft
Day 114: 2061.4 First 30 mile day (29.81)
We hiked through Mt Jefferson Wilderness area which is really beautiful – I love it. Since it was a long weekend, there were many day hikers and even hunters here
Camped on top of hill, got there when it was dark.
Miles hiked: 29.81
Steps: 60.864
Ascent: 4468 ft
Descent: 4363 ft
Day 115: 2089.7 Frog Lake (29.65 miles)
Left at 6.42am. We hiked 15 miles before 1pm. Good to get half the days miles out of the way before lunch.
A lovely lady at the horse camp gave us 2 apples and three bananas – fresh fruit on trail is always a highlight since we’re eating only dehydrated or processed foods.
Second day doing 30 miles. Saw Mount Hood for the first time. Beautiful! Since we needed water, we had to camp at a campground. We got there in the dark. Price is 26$ per site. Wowsy! Some section hikers offered us to stay at their site for free which was really nice but we prefer to camp away from other hikers to get a good night of sleep. We didn’t pay.
Had dinner with “Meat Brick”, a nice guy from Olympia, WA we’ve been running into the last few days.
My feet really hurt today.
Excited for the iconic Timberline Lodge tomorrow.
29.65 Miles hiked
61.375 steps
Ascent 2845 ft
Day 116: 2117.3 Lolo pass (29 miles)
Left at 6.30am today. Got to Timberline Lodge at 10.45, just to learn the famous Buffett is closed from 11-12. We waited an hour to get the lunch buffet and it was well worth the wait.
Got to camp at 21.00, very tired. It was dark.
Did 28.97 miles
65242 steps
Ascent 5673 ft
Descent 6138 ft
Loooong steeeeeeep day. not sure how long I can keep this mileage up! But we have to get to Canada!! Ahh!!
Day 117: Tunnel Falls / Cascade Locks / End of Oregon 2150 (27.3 miles)
Alarm at 5, woke up very tired, didn’t sleep well. Since we dry camped, we packed up and left at 6.30am without breakfast. Hiked 0.4 miles to the next water, filtered 4l and had breakfast there.
Took Eagle Creek alternate route to see Tunnel Falls. It was extremely steep at the top but it was worth it – we hiked behind a waterfall. Next to the trail a steep cliff – if you slip and fall it would surely be the end.
Made it to Cascade Locks around 6.30 and went straight to Whiskey Flats Tavern pub to get dinner, even though we usually like to shower and change first due to how filthy we are after 6h on trail. Kate had made it to Cascade Earlier that day and met us for dinner. Yay!!
Miles hiked: 26.44
Steps: 55001
Ascent: 2420 ft
Descent: 5716 ft (yup, we felt this)
Cascade Locks is the lowest point on the PCT with 120 ft of elevation. This also means we gotta climb back up after crossing the infamous Bridge of the Gods and crossing into Washington state.
Day 118: Zero in Cascade Locks
We slept in, which is 7am nowadays and met Kate for breakfast at the wonderful Bridgeside cafe, overlooking the iconic Bridge of the Gods, the border to Washington State. We were planning to hike it today but decided to take a zero as we felt so beat. Our bodies needed a rest after 5 dates of 30 miles a day.
After breakfast, we went to the room to relax and fix some gear. We got a burger and milk shake for lunch across the street at Eastwind Drive in
Thanks for stopping by and happy trails,
Disco
- Days 105 – 118: 1912 – 2150 / End of Oregon
- Days 103 & 104 (1849.3 – 1867.3)
- Day 102: Crater Lake 1824.6 then Rim Trail
- Day 101: Mile 1812.4 (21.66 miles)
- Day 100: Deer Lake mile 1791.9 (18 miles)
Days 103 & 104 (1849.3 – 1867.3)
Day 103: Crater Lake Sunrise Breakfast, 2 months anniversary & Diamond Lake Resort (1849.3)
We got up at 5:35 a.m. and packed up. At 6:05 a.m we set off for the Crater Lake Rim Trail to catch the sunrise. We made coffee and ate granola with dried fruit overlooking the sunrise over Crater Lake which was incredibly beautiful. We are celebrating our 2-months anniversary, what better way than a sunrise breakfast in nature and a hike? ☺️
Afterwards, we hiked 8km along the Rim Trail, enjoying the views of Crater Lake. On the way, some lovely guys gifted us 2 cans of Coke and offered a yar of peanut Butter which we gratefully declined (way too heavy – we’re ultralight 🤣 (inside joke, we are not ultralight at all, we pack out beer and whiskey sometimes – many hikers take ultra light way too far and leave their tent or backpack at home, so we joke about it.)
Then we hiked another 8 km through a very flat forest, and reached Highway 138. From here we hitched 15 minutes to Diamond Lake Resort, which is a less common spot for PCT hikers to stop because there are no supply stores close by. We chose to stop here to celebrate our 2 months anniversary. A lovely couple in their awesome RV picked us up and gave us a ride even though they were going the other way. Turns out they were visiting Crater Lake to celebrate their 3 year anniversary. 🥰
We got to Diamond Lake and instantly loved the “rustic” vibe. It’s described as antique or something on FarOut, turns out it’s just a little run down and could use some love. But that didn’t smaller the awesome 70s vibe – the marina and lake access from the open air restaurant porch is one of a kind and we loved watching all the families relaxing and hanging out which looked like a scene from the 70s.
We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed American classics – roast beef and chicken pot pie with salad.
Day 104: Maidu Lake 1867.5 3000km!! Marker
I woke up at 7ish and went to Diamond Lake to have a coffee and stretch. When I got back to the room, Iceman was up. I showered, we packed up and went to breakfast. I had scrambled eggs with toast and hashbrowns, nothing special but not bad.
After getting a ride at 9.45am with Elaine back to the trailhead, we hiked 0.57 Miles and got the most incredible trail magic. Barbara and Roy, with dog Clover, had brought a pickup truck with at least 6 ice chests full of cold drinks and food, a bbq, built a shower and bucket laundry and set up chairs in the middle of the forest. Everything a thru-hiker needs. Their son “Triple Thread” is hiking the PCT and told them the things most important: shower, laundry, food and his parents delivered. They are meeting him there on trail for a few days and bright large amounts of food for other hikers too. What a shame we ate. Roy made double cheeseburgers for everyone but I was too full to eat from breakfast. Meh! I had two sodas, a banana for potassium and grapes and plums from their garden.
The kindness of trail angels does not cease to amaze me. It’s not just the money, surely hundreds of dollars for food and drink but the energy, time and love that goes into preparing, building and hosting. Just incredible. These experiences not only make our day but also restore my faith in humanity. People are good, this trail has proven that over and over again.
We got vortexed into trail magic and didn’t really start our day till 11.20am or so. We had a cruisy 8mile hike to the next water, a beautiful creek where we had a late lunch, at 2.30pm.
Another 11 miles to the next water, cruisy again, mostly forest and some nice views around Mt Thiesen.
We passed the highest point on the PCT in Oregon and Washington – it’s downhill from here haha.
There are silver markers on the trees and people have been writing fun sayings on them – and Iceman marked a few of them with our names.
The next water is either 16 miles away which would’ve meant arriving in the dark after 9pm or taking 1mile off trail to Maidu lake so we did the latter. We still didn’t arrive until 7.30pm but managed to do 19 miles. And the lake is super beautiful! We got here just in time.
To get to Canada by the 25th of September we would have to do 23miles on average every single day the next 35 days. Today we did 19 Miles so we are currently 4 Miles short actually 5 Miles (because of 1 mile blue blaze).
Stats:
Distance: 19.42 miles
Steps: 44.427
Ascent: 2370 ft
Descent: 2349 ft
Highlight: 3000km!! mark & highest point on PCT of OR & WA
Thanks for reading,
Happy trails!
Disco
- Days 105 – 118: 1912 – 2150 / End of Oregon
- Days 103 & 104 (1849.3 – 1867.3)
- Day 102: Crater Lake 1824.6 then Rim Trail
- Day 101: Mile 1812.4 (21.66 miles)
- Day 100: Deer Lake mile 1791.9 (18 miles)
Day 102: Crater Lake 1824.6 then Rim Trail
Woke up at 5.38am and started hiking at 7.15am.
Slept on my mattress all the way inflated and it was comfortable!! Maybe that’s why my back has been hurting? Cause I’ve been only inflating it half way?!
Heard elk roars all night which was cool but we didn’t see any.
We hitched into mazama village and got 3 boxes, one huge one from Iceman’s sister, Christina, and two I sent. Christina‘s box had so much good food in it! And the best part were drawings and letters Iceman’s nieces draw and wrote. 🥰 We unpacked it and packed it in our packs which got very heavy and then went inside Annie Creek Restaurant to eat a pizza and fish and chips. They brought chicken strips instead so we informed them about their mistake and then they brought fish and chips too so – we had lots of food and packed out 3 big slices of pizza. Hitched back to the PCT and now stoked to see Crater Lake in 1.5 miles!!
Steps: 42.869
Miles: 18.05
Ascent: 3211 ft
Descent: 2522 ft
Thanks for reading and happy trails,
Disco
Day 101: Mile 1812.4 (21.66 miles)
Woke up at 6am and since I fell asleep at 8.30pm the night before, I felt well rested. Not really loving my air mattress. We had breakfast and two coffees in the tent and enjoyed the beautiful Deer Lake with the lake mist, and left at 8am.
It’s been a beautiful morning with nice views. I had service on top of a hill to call my mom. Good news from home, so I feel good. But generally just feel strong today, because we had 1.5 dinners last night. I think I haven’t been eating enough calories so we gotta change that.
Now at water and drying the tent, it’s been wet from condensation.
Also talked to Lisa, Theo, my brother and Tati. Feels good!
It’s sunny again and my solar panel is charging my watch and power bank. The watch charges so fast on the solar panel it’s crazy.
We hiked all day till around 7pm and then found a lovely campsite and had a nice sunset.
Thanks for reading and happy trails!
Disco
Day 100: Deer Lake mile 1791.9 (18 miles)
We didn’t start till 10am this morning.
We mostly hiked through forest and had some nice views of a lake, nothing too crazy.
There were some long water carries which is always annoying because it makes the pack heavy.
We stopped after 18 miles because we both felt super tired and my feet hurt and Iceman’s back hurt.
We took a little side trail at Sky Lakes Trail Junction .5 miles to a beautiful little lake, Deer Lake, in Sky Lakes Wilderness. We’re the only people here. We found a perfectly flat camp spot by the lake and had 1.5 portions of our beloved rice-bean-bone broth dinner because we’ve been hungry. Sadly, we had no unhealthy calorie dense dessert. The only thing you hear are bees and some wood packers and occasionally skeeters.
The scenery has changed alot since entering Oregon: it’s always green! It’s beautiful. We mostly hike through the forest now and get occasional views of blue lakes and volcanos.
We’re now 30.5 miles from Mazama village at Crater Lake, a beautiful extremely blue lake that is inside a former volcano. I’ve been there exactly 20 years ago with my mom and brother and am excited to go back there. If we feel good, we’ll push our first 30+ mile day, for a pizza and a beer, if not, we’ll get there in the morning the next day.
Today we talked all day which was super nice. My feet and neck hurts, my right knee feels stiff and swollen but doesn’t really hurt.
Day 99: Fish Lake Resort 1774.9 (23 miles)
Longest day yet?
Left at 7.30am.
Was still wet, mostly in clouds and forest, had lunch at brown cabin and dried our things, met lovely couple from France hiking South Bound and exchanged best places to eat and stay up and down the trail, hiked around vulcano and then got really lucky with trail magic: someone just dropped off an ice chest filled with fruit and homemade muffins and soda and we just sat down right next to it with another hiker – it was wonderful! Fruit tastes so good after hiking for days and not having fresh produce!
At night, we got a hitch from trail to resort from Idaho couple and had shower and meal at Fish Lake Resort. Also took shower and camped there.
Day 98: Mile 1752.7 (22 Miles)
We were going to get up at 6am to hike 25 miles but we were both tired and slept till 7am. Plus it was raining for the first time in a long time so we didn’t want to leave the tent. We were in a cloud and the tent was wet, although the big beautiful tree we were under protected us a bit from the rain. Our new breakfast mix was good, and plenty.
We hiked mostly through forest all day and didn’t see any views that might have been there because of the clouds.
We had lunch under a big tree that gave us a dry spot to sit overlooking a field and it was very nice.
We did a little over 22 miles and the last 4 were though, my feet hurt and I was tired. But we kept going.
We should be averaging 25 miles. To make it to Canada in time but today we couldn’t. More miles another day.
Thanks for reading and happy trails!
Disco
I’m back on trail, or am I? Days 83 – 97 (Miles 1505.2 – 1731.6)
I’ve been back on trail for almost a month now. For a while, I didn’t know how to write my blog anymore. All my routines were gone, including my journaling / blogging at the end of each day. It felt like starting the thru-hike (definition to follow shortly) all over again: all my routines were gone, hiking was hard as my trail legs were gone, and in addition there was a lot of uncertainty about things at home in Germany.
I met Iceman where he was, as he kept hiking while I was in Germany, so I got back on to the PCT at mile 1505.2 near Bobs Hat Trail Junction. I got off at mile 943.7 in Yosemite National Park / Tuolumne Meadows. This means I skipped 561.5 miles. What? This doesn’t fit with my goal to thru-hike the PCT let alone my purist mindset to hike every mile of it and not skip parts like most hikers do these days (no judgement, hike your own hike, just not my thing).
Deciding to thru-hike 2655 miles is a big decision and I knew that many things could potentially get in my way of reaching that goal and get me off trail. I mentally prepared by answering questions of why I am doing it, in which cases I would get off and what I wanted to learn. In my mind there were ever only two reasons to abandon the PCT: a) if I get injured and can’t physically hike anymore or if b) a family emergency demands it. I thought, if at all, case a) was more likely so I prepared for that: I got another life insurance, international health insurance, got a Garmin SOS PLB (Personal Location Beacon) and my Deutsche Alpenverein Membership also includes world wide mountain Search & Rescue.
Never in the world did I expect case b) to happen as it had never happened to my family before and so I wasn’t prepared for it at all. Reality slapped me in the face with a chair. I suppose most people who get off the trail for a month don’t return the same year. How do you return? What is a thru-hike if it isn’t “thru” anymore – meaning after skipping over 500 miles?
The definition of a thru-hike from google is:
“A thru-hike is the act of hiking a long-distance trail from end to end, typically within a single hiking season. It’s characterized by continuous travel on the trail, often involving weeks or months of hiking. While popular long trails like the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail are common examples, any trail can be thru-hiked if completed from one terminus to the other in a continuous journey.”
I knew what to do to make sure I don’t injure myself for e.g. overuse injury by starting slowly, stretching several times a day etc and I was mentally prepared for the hard and bad days, I knew how to get over those days and made sure I could keep hiking. What I didn’t know was how to get back on trail after 27 days off trail.
To add insult to injury, I was sick from the flight back to Reno, so the first two weeks of hiking were horrible and my memory is blurry. it was a drag. But I knew it would be hard so I kept hiking and kept pushing. Iceman was there to lighten my load (literally).
Now, after almost a month, I have recovered physically and mentally and got back into a routine of hiking 25 miles a day and got to terms with “only” hiking 2100 miles this calendar year. I am actually in my prime physically now and think soon I can hike 30 miles daily.
Iceman will accompany me in making up the 561 miles I had to skip July 2026.
So now that that’s done, my mind is focused on the goal again. Making it to Canada before September 25th and the first snow in the cascades. Can we make it? It is a time crunch. But not impossible.
Here are some pictures from my first 2 weeks back:
Ashland was our first trail town in Oregon and our favorite trail town on the entire PCT yet: the vibe is amazing and everything is in walking distance, the people are so nice and the town is just so cute.
Off to hike through the rest of Oregon!
Thanks for your patience and thanks for tagging along.
Happy trails,
Disco
- Days 105 – 118: 1912 – 2150 / End of Oregon
- Days 103 & 104 (1849.3 – 1867.3)
- Day 102: Crater Lake 1824.6 then Rim Trail
- Day 101: Mile 1812.4 (21.66 miles)
- Day 100: Deer Lake mile 1791.9 (18 miles)
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Day 71 – 81: Sierra Nevada & Yosemite National Park
Welcome again 🙂 This is a longer post, covering multiple days.
Day 71: 823.5 Palisade River to 834.5 Kings River
Didn’t get up till 9AM, had a beautiful campsite so had a slow morning – now that we have two days of extra food, we can slow down and enjoy this beautiful piece of earth fully. Body battery and sleep score (Garmin watch) still bad, feeling weak.
Ran into “Vacuum” (he inhales food despite being a skinny small guy) – we had met him before at the Kearsarge Pass Trailhead, going into Bishop! He’s fast!
We hiked down 4 miles along Palisade River which was gorgeous, endless streams and waterfalls.
Then, we took a break and swam in a beautiful stream and had lunch and dried off in the sun.
Got to camp around 7pm, 5.3 miles below Muir Pass. It’ll be uphill all the way so we did a large part of the climb today. Now at kings river all by ourselves with a fire and many mosquitos.
Left knee hurt a bit but not too bad. Still got a bit of a cold. Glorious views of dramatic raw mountains all around.
Steps: 26.416
Miles: 13
At 9397 feet
Ascent: 1626 feet
Acclimated to 8858 feet
Day 72: 834.5 to 847.7 McGee Canyon /Evolution Creek
Ran out of battery – so I could not write a lot in my diary today. Iceman took many pictures with his phone which I may kindly use here.
Highlights:
Tough but very beautiful 14 mile day.
We climbed Muir pass & enjoyed Muir hut and came across many lakes afterwards.
Got a gorgeous campsite by the river at Evolution Creek, on a little peninsula, with lots of pink flowers by the shore.
Stats:
Distance: 13.88 miles
Steps: 23.900
Ascent: 925m
Descent: 796m
Day 73: Miles 847.7 to 869.4
Woke up at 6am, left at 8am.
We hiked down through a forest most of the morning until we got to Evolution creek crossing, the biggest crossing on the PCT so far.
Then we entered a canyon with incredible views of rapids – turquoise water, red rocks, beautiful.
Lunch on the river, Ice saved his last 10% of battery for me so I can write my diary and take videos and pictures. So nice!
We want to make the 9.45am ferry to VVR (Vermillion Valley Resort) tomorrow to have a Nero there to chill. So we hiked 21.7 miles and my feet and hips hurt. It was another “one step in front of the other”-day.
🤩Alarm tomorrow at 4am.
Stats:
Distance: 21.7 miles – longest day in a month
Steps: my Garmin watch died so I don’t know exactly, on 20 mile days I have more than 46.000 steps
Ascent: 3717.8 feet
Descent: 3533.8 feet
Day 74: to Vermillion Valley Resort mile 879.9
We got up at 4AM and it was cold – one of the biggest river crossings – Big Bear Creek – was coming up after 1 mile and it was still dark and I was sleepy, but it wasn’t too bad but a bit scary.
We hiked 12 miles – to get to the VVR ferry – through beautiful forests. VVR is one of the iconic stops on the PCT – you take a ferry across a gorgeous lake, they have some cabins, wash house, cafe, porch, charging. Camping, bit of resupply, very hiker friendly.
The resort is way off the beaten track and we met nice people on the way there and relaxed all day and had some beers and really good food. Taking a shower and doing laundry was great. Meeting my friend Jonathan again and hanging out with him, Smooth, Goldfish, Slider, Ice and later Gummy Bear and Possum was so fun!
Stats:
Distance: 15.9 miles
Steps: 26.688
Ascent: 1490m
Day 75: VVR to mile 893 Virginia Lake
We got up at 7am, had breakfast – burrito – really good – paid 220$ 😳per person for drinks and food, shower, laundry and ferry ($20 each way) and took the 9.00am ferry back to trail.
“Paint” the boat captain gave us whiskey because Ice met him last year on AZT. Paint gave him a ride and said he would do the PCT this year and visit Paint. Paint remembered. 🙂
On the ferry, we met a lovely couple from Belsen, close to the PCT – Portia and Dean – who were at VVR for a fishing vacation. We exchanged numbers and I shared this blog. Greetings to you, Portia and Dean, if you’re reading this, hope to see you soon!
We hiked up an ascent and later another one to Virginia Lake. Really beautiful.
Stats:
Steps: 26.688
Miles: 15.9
Ascent: 1490 m
Day 76: 16 miles into Mammoth past the 900 mile marker 🥳
Started hiking at 9AM so the sun would reach out tents and dry them and the sleeping bags. We expected to do only 13 miles but the trail to get to the trail head was marked incorrectly on FarOut (navigation app) – it doesn’t go all the way to Horseshoe Lake so in the end we had to do 16 miles and we were tired. We circumnavigated a few mountains and it was an uninspiring view most day.
Got into the parking lot at 3pm and -tada- Kitty picked us up.
Went to a bar to have burgers and to the hostel at 6.30pm.
Later got dinner with Slider at the clockwork cellar and had amazing burgers and IPAs for his birthday 🙂 🤩
Stats:
Miles: 15.9
Steps: 33.282
Ascent: 642 m
Day 77: Zero in Mammoth Lakes
A full zero – how I’ve longed for a day off – not hiking and doing nothing – well, no no! We had so many chores to do haha. But first, drop laundry at laundromat and get a good breakfast at a super cute breakfast place 😍
Then we went to several gear shops, trying to fix my backpack and our poles, which were missing tips, grocery shopping, got all our packages (I ordered new Xero sandals and a solar panel here), including a very special package from Lisa, got our laundry and went back to the hostel for a healthy lunch.
Remember Lisa, the lovely lady who saved me in Tehachapi, when I had to cross a highway and got scared and asked her in a Starbucks if she could help me? We stayed in touch and she wanted to send a resupply box, so sweet! Thank you so much!
I worked on the blog later but had technical issues and it took hours to write one day and upload a few photos because of caching issues 🙁
Day 78: 12.95 miles to 914.6 Middle Fork San Joaquin River
We left Mammoth Lakes on the shuttle at 10.30AM and started hiking at 11.00AM.
Had a detour due to the destroyed bridge – made it almost 13 miles. Slow, hard and boring uninspiring day (Except a few highlights, see photos) due to the heavy packs with 5 days of food and walking on forest roads (detour).
Day 79: 914.6 to mile 932.4 Lyell Fork
It was a tough and really beautiful day. We didn’t leave camp till 9AM. It was a beautiful spot by the river so it’s nice to take time for breakfast and coffee.
We walked through the forest most morning and saw many day hikers because it was 4th of July, a national holiday. We took a wrong turn and walked in parallel to the PCT for a few miles. To get back to the PCT, we had to climb straight up for 0.8 miles.
We had lunch by a beautiful little lake, it was chilly in the shade under our tree, but my new Solar panel was charging my powerbank in the sun – yay it works – no more dead devices after 3 days and no way to charge let alone take pictures.
Back on the PCT, we got to Thousand Island Lakes, where the JMT and PCT split up. We walked through gorgeous alpine meadows with crystal clear water, green grass, grey boulders and prime flowers.
We took a right towards Donahue Pass, 11.200 feet, and reached the top at 6.40 PM.
I usually get tired around 4 or 5 pm but we had to keep going because I have to pick up a package at the post office in Tuolumne Meadows tomorrow before noon.
We climbed down 1000 feet on the other side of the pass and found camp next to River Lyell Fork. Set up camp, got water and filtered it, made dinner, stored all the food in the bear cans, brushed teeth, and crawled into our sleeping bags because it was freezing, below 10 c.
My feet hurt and I’m exhausted. We will get up at 5.30 AM tomorrow to get to the post office in time😴
Stats:
- Distance: 16.68 miles
- Ascent: 4543 feet (damn – I feel it today
- Steps: 31.496
Day 80: Lembert Dome & Hwy 120 (943.7)
We got up at 4AM and hiked quietly through the cold dark morning. It was beautiful in Yosemite, one of my favorite NPs. I had visited 10 years ago but didn’t do any hiking but swore back then that I would come back to do just that and here I am.
Green lush grass, crystal clear rivers and uninterrupted beauty and nature all day! We had to hike fast and only took one short break to filter water and it felt too rushed. But we had to make it to the post office in time as not to wait till Monday.
We got to the cut off for the PO and saw trail magic on the parking lot! We said we would be back after getting the package.
Next to the PO was a shop and take out place and since it was lunch time, we ordered burgers and beer. We met out friend Slider again 🙂 I got my package and then we got a ride with Cinderella and his gf back to the trail magic, even though it’s less than a mile, but: no off trail miles haha
We went to meet Click & Yichin who had set up a table full of food, ribs, chicken, curry, lentil salad, ice cold drinks, fruit, veggies wow! Even though we had just eaten, we could eat again and enjoyed curry, salad, ribs and chicken.
Everything was home made and incredibly delicious! You guys rock! Thank you so much!
I had service for a second and saw a message from my brother asking to call him. Then from my mother. I got nervous and tried calling but didn’t have enough signal. We texted. I will not go into details, but it wasn’t good and I knew I had to get off trail and go back home to Germany immediately.
A normal and beautiful day, until it wasn’t.
Panic and disbelief. Where is the closest airport, how do I get there? Without a car or even internet to check ? More panic. A very attentive ranger noticed my distress; I got very lucky. This legend ranger, Anika, brought me and Iceman to the Ranger station Tuolumne Meadows and shared their Starlink password so I could communicate with my family and do research.
Her boss later kindly offered to drive us 2h to Yosemite valley – a courtesy trip. From here, we could get a bus or hitch to Merced. Then a train to San Francisco. Then a plane to Germany. In theory.
It was a long weekend and Saturday night, so most people weren’t leaving the park at 7pm on a Saturday. After 30 min, we got lucky and 5 students stopped and took us in. They had to sit on each other’s laps for 2 hours – so kind of them. They asked many questions about the motivations to get on trail, it was a great ride. But I was very sad and worried. They were going to Oakhurst though, hmm. We googled once we had service. 5 min after we would reach their hotel, a bus would leave to Fresno, we would get there at 11.30pm. Ok, we did that instead of going to Merced. So I booked a cheap motel in Fresno.
Day 81: Off trail, back to Germany via San Francisco
The train to San Francisco left at 6am the next morning … Short night, but I made the 4.40pm flight to Germany.
Iceman came with me and dropped me off at the airport, although I asked him to keep hiking. It felt good not doing this alone.
We had 2h in the city, which we spent walking around San Francisco and getting lunch.
It was nice to be back after 20 years – I visited in 2005 with my mom and brother. I had clam chowder for lunch at the pier, it was nice. But it was a sad day of course. A lot of uncertainty about news from home and if and when I would be able to return to trail.
I went through security with my entire pack after Iceman kindly took my knife, poles and stakes, even though it was probably too big and too heavy. But I couldn’t care less. I just had to get home asap.
We said our sad farewell, and off we went; me on a plane to Germany, Iceman back to trail, somehow making the complicated trip back to Tuolumne Meadows in the backcountry, where we got off the PCT at mile 943.7 2 days before.
This is the last post for now.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’re all well. 🤗 Congrats you’ve made it this far! You must really like the blog 🤗 You can subscribe to get an email notification with each new post.
Disco
Curious how I got here? Check out previous posts:
Day 63 – 70: 778.2 Forester Pass to 823.5 Palisade River
Day 63: Forester Pass (Miles 778.2 to 787.9)
I didn’t sleep all night – well let’s say from 2-5am I just tried to rest – awake in my tent. We made coffee and left at 6am for the big climb up Forester Pass, one of the iconic and feared passes on the PCT, right after Mt. Whitney. The landscape looked like we were on the moon. There were rocks, and frozen lakes and rivers and snow. The climb was steep but I love climbing on steep edges and ridges so it was exciting for me but not too scary. After the pass, we got into this beautiful valley with views all around. Easily one of my favorite days so far if not the favorite one!
Day 64: Nero down Kearsarge Pass to Bishop 787.9 to 789.7 + Blue Blaze to trailhead
I felt very sick and we didn’t have fuel left to cook our coffee. It was very beautiful on the PCT but I was so sick, it was the hardest day so far. The lakes on the blue blaze towards Kearsarge pass were incredibly out of this world beautiful.
Due to a lack of cold medicine, I took Ibuprofen for the first time in this trail to get me up Kearsarge Pass. Not a good idea, then I had diarrhea … and had to go in the woods several times with all the day-hikers and JMTers (John Muir Trail Hikers – PCT and JMT overlap in the Sierra for 270 miles) flooding the trail so that sucked. Impossible to find a quiet place away from real close to a pass. It felt like forever to get down to the trail head – I literally ran down a few miles to use the privy – and then there were 10 hikers waiting for a hitch right in front of it 😆. Oh well.
We got a hitch into Bishop – 1h ride – quickly with “Tall Mike”, who was there dropping off PCT hikers, which was awesome and then went to the brewery to eat burgers and salad. We booked 3 nights at motel 6, for 550$ but what are you going to do? They increase prices in hiker season. I need to rest and recover from my cold!! I also need to update my gear, return things and send things back to Seattle so I need time and space.
We ran into our friend Shredded again in Bishop, which was nice.
We went to Vons and bought lots of fruit and vegetables, salad for dinner and fresh juice.
Bishop is beautiful.
Day 65 & 66: 2 zeros in Bishop and 2 dates 😍
Ice and I met April 18th, second day on trail. We didn’t see each other again till May 13th, when we ran into each other on the bridge after the hot springs, at mile 304. We spent 38 consecutive days hiking 600 miles / 965km together at this point (except the two days after Tehachapi where he decided to sleep in😆). We shared 36 breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and aren’t tired of each other yet. Well, quite the contrary. It’s been incredible hiking with him and getting to know this wonderful human being. When he asked me on a date in Bishop, I was delighted 🙌 We went to the movies and saw “How to train your dragon”.
The next day, he took me out to the bowling alley. It was a Friday and a good band was playing so after our steak dinner, which was delicious, we just watched the band and danced a little and never bowled. Great to be in town doing “normal” things, not feeling like a dirty hiker for a day. Wonderful to go on a lovely date 😍
Day 67: Nero out of Bishop
We didn’t leave till noon – we had lunch at the Chinese place across the street. They were interested in our trip and were very nice. Food was great! We waited 2h for a hitch and finally the sweetest girl picked us up – a thru hiker – she recognized us as fellow thru-hikers and knew Bishop is a popular resupply stop for PCT hikers. Her trail name is “Shimmer” and she hiked the Arizona Trail 4 years ago, and that’s how long she has been dating her boyfriend she met on trail. We counted that as a good omen. “Shimmer” was driving from her boyfriend’s place to LA, where she is doing a PhD, so she was driving through Independence but not our trail head. She quickly offered to take the 45 min detour up to the trail head for us. How kind of her! We stopped in Independence for ice cream.
We didn’t hike far that day and met up with Kitty on trail.
Day 68: Blue blaze back up Kearsarge Pass
We left at 8.30am. It was really cold, and Ice and I both felt sick. I took two knock-off DayQuils but they didn’t work. I felt weak.
We climbed up Kearsarge Pass before 11am and it was fine and then we did Glen Pass, it was steep and nice on the top, lots of snow and so many lakes, hardly could see the trail, we descended mostly off trail and on snow. Then I broke my pole. Again. 3rd time. I am returning these ultra light non stable poles. I need them to pitch my trekking-pole tent, so they need to be reliable . But Durston, I bought them from, are a great company and will surely issue the refund. But it will suck to do 6 passes with only one pole.
After that beautiful meadows and lakes, Mountains and creeks, we camped at Dollar Lake above 10.000 feet. It’s super cold. But very beautiful, it feels like hiking in a dream.
Distance: 12.7 miles
Steps: 29.249
Ascent: 3212 feet
Day 69: Day 69: Pinchot Pass (797.1 – 809.9 Lake Marjorie)
The Sierra – she is kicking my butt. Today we did Pinchot Pass, at 12.127 feet and it was tough. I’m still feeling sick from the cold I got before climbing Mt Whitney and so I wasn’t sure I would make it up there. I took cold medicine in the morning and after lunch but it didn’t make me feel as good as the original DayQuil did 😆 they must out some secret ingredient in there.
I woke up at this beautiful lake and it was really cold, below 10 degrees Celsius 😍 we had coffee and breakfast, and left around 9.00AM.
We had to hike down 4 miles to the bottom of the valley at around 8500 feet, and then started to ascent 7.7 miles up to Pinchot Pass. Left and right we had dramatic mountain ranges all day in grey, black and later red colors. We saw several grouse with little ones, many marmots, a deer, pikas and chipmunks. At 7PM, the fish in the alpine lakes eat dinner and you can see them jump up making little rings on the surface. Ice got fishing gear from a guy at Kearsarge Pass Trailhead, but we’ve been getting to camp so late that he hasn’t had time to fish yet.
It is so cold in the Sierra that I can keep my sleeping bag closed for the first time. I had to leave it open the first 700 miles in the desert. And now I wear my merino long John’s, merino socks and two merino longsleeve shirts to sleep and it’s only comfortable. I have a 20 degree F sleeping bag, the Panyam 600, by Polish outdoor brand Cumulus, and it’s great. It kept me warm on Mt Whitney too, while the rest of the Overnight Crew was freezing.
Today was tough and beautiful: one of those days where you just put one foot in front of the other and see how far you get. I didn’t think I would make it up Pinchot Pass. But I did and I was excited when we were finally up there. We went down a few miles to Lake Marjorie at mile 809.8.
I texted Kitty our location but he didn’t respond. He had fallen behind a bit and we didn’t see him all afternoon.
We set up camp and made dinner and then there he was – Kitty made it. Wohooo. It was almost dark.
We had fresh ginger tea and gazed at the incredible sunset over the next mountains we would cross tomorrow, and soon crawled into our sleeping bags, exhausted and blissful from the brutal ups and gorgeous views of the High Sierra.
Stats:
Distance: 13.78 miles
Steps: 38.749
Ascent: 3955 feet
Day 70: 809.9 Lake Marjorie via Mather Pass to 823.5 Palisade River and the most beautiful valley ever
Left at 7AM, because we wanted to make it over Mather Pass early, it’s notorious to be snow covered late in the season. Walked through green meadows with English grass and grey boulders most morning.
Three river crossings before 9.00AM, non too sketchy.
Stopped at 9.18AM to dry our tents and sleeping bags – they were wet / frosty this morning – and to filter water.
We made it up Mather Pass – it was tough. We got there at 12:30 and had lunch. First lunch break on a pass!! Blue skies and mountains all around.
Next we will go down for 10miles.
We stopped in the middle of the climb down to Muir pass. We had the most incredible view of the valley before Muir Pass, sadly I don’t know the name of it.
Mather Pass
Thank you for reading my uncensored, honest account of my PCT adventure. 😄
Be well, until very soon.
Disco