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.

Thank you for reading my uncensored, honest account of my PCT adventure. 😄

Be well, until very soon.

Disco