Thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016!
We left Chester in a tow truck! We were hitchhiking on Main Street when a tow truck driver at a nearby mechanic shop asked if we were trying to get to the trailhead. He was heading to Chico to drop off a car, so he gave us a lift on the way. Continue reading “Days 88 to 91 (Miles 1328.8 to 1416.5)”
From our campsite at Lookout Rock, we hiked 26.9 miles to a strange little place called Belden Town. This was record mileage for us! With the trail getting less rocky and somewhat flatter, we’re averaging well over 20 miles per day. The bad news is we are now sore like we were when we first started this trail. Continue reading “Days 85 to 87 (Miles 1257.5 to 1328.8)”
We got a late start out of Sierra City. We were expecting a resupply box, but the post office there doesn’t open until 10am. I still woke up at sunrise and it was nice to relax all morning. We took our time making coffee and breakfast. Continue reading “Days 82 to 84 (Miles 1195.4 to 1257.5)”
Now that we’re north of Tahoe, and mostly out of the snow, we’re starting to see a lot of other hikers! Continue reading “Days 80 & 81 (Miles 1153.4 to 1195.4)”
Day 76 started at 1:30am when a gust of wind ripped one of our tent stakes out of the ground. The tent partially collapsed, waking us up. Wind gusts shook the tent violently for the rest of the night. It didn’t let up once we were on the trail. Continue reading “Days 76 to 79 (Miles 1114.7 to 1153.4)”
After spending the night at the mostly deserted Kirkwood ski area, we packed up and made our way back to the trail. As we left the hotel, Rob said “I hope whoever gives us a ride has donuts for us.” I laughed at his optimism. I was expecting a difficult hitchhike back to the trail. It didn’t seem like Highway 88 on a weekday morning would be an easy place to catch a ride, but it took all of about five minutes before somebody stopped. We made it to the Carson Pass trailhead in no time! Continue reading “Days 74 & 75 (Miles 1076.8 to 1114.7)”
Kennedy Meadows Resort was a great place to relax. With no cell service or wifi, we spent most of the day sitting on the front porch of our little cabin, watching people come and go, and consuming large quantities of soft serve ice cream from the resort’s store. Continue reading “Days 71 to 73 (Miles 1016.9 to 1076.8)”
Glen Aulin to Sonora Pass: this was the toughest section of the PCT so far. Every day felt like the most difficult day on the trail. This was the section of treacherous creek crossings, sun cups, post-holing, and water everywhere, especially in the 18 inch rut that is the trail. Continue reading “Days 65 to 70 (Miles 948.3 to 1016.9)”
After a zero day in Mammoth, we took the free trolley back to the Horseshoe Lake trailhead. We were a little wiser this time, and took a slightly different route back to the PCT. We went over Mammoth Pass which was actually a maintained trail with significantly less downed trees and slightly less snow. Continue reading “Days 61 to 64 (Miles 903.2 to 948.3)”