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
- I’m back on trail, or am I? Days 83 – 97 (Miles 1505.2 – 1731.6)
- Day 71 – 81: Sierra Nevada & Yosemite National Park
- Day 63 – 70: 778.2 Forester Pass to 823.5 Palisade River
- Days 56 – 62: First days in the Sierra Nevada incl. Mt Whitney (Miles 707.8 – 778.2)
- Days 51 – 55: Ridgecrest to Bishop (Miles 652.5 to 789.7) – The end of the desert
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:
- I’m back on trail, or am I? Days 83 – 97 (Miles 1505.2 – 1731.6)
- Day 71 – 81: Sierra Nevada & Yosemite National Park
- Day 63 – 70: 778.2 Forester Pass to 823.5 Palisade River
- Days 56 – 62: First days in the Sierra Nevada incl. Mt Whitney (Miles 707.8 – 778.2)
- Days 51 – 55: Ridgecrest to Bishop (Miles 652.5 to 789.7) – The end of the desert