September 10, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1066.8) to Echo Summit trailhead (mile 1090)

Miles: 23.2

Our total miles: 2448.6

It was a warm, still night. We treasure these moments of complete silence. We imagine this may be one of the hardest parts of readjusting to city life – the constant noise.

We had friends meeting us at Echo Summit that evening so we wanted an early start. We were packed and walking by 6:30 am. 

We high-fived before we left camp because we were proud of how efficient we were.

The air was warm as we hiked up a ridge above Upper and Lower Blue Lakes. Smells of bacon and pancakes wafted into the air from the campground below. 

Throughout this thru hike Andy has refined his hiker forensic skills. While normally staring at the clouds, he occasionally looks down and is great at identifying shoe prints. He then links these prints to those hiking around us which helps us know who is ahead or behind. 

This morning Laurie, who always stares at the ground, noticed recent animal prints. They looked like cat prints and were accompanied by deer prints. We created a story about the wild chase that had occurred at dawn.

At one point in the quiet of the morning, the wind blew and rustled the dying mules ears leaves. Laurie jumped and squealed – thinking something was stalking her.

Oh the power of the mind!

We dropped down off the rocky ridge into a large green and yellow basin. The Aspen trees are starting to turn and the bright yellow leaves made us smile. We have walked through 3 seasons.

We switchbacked up toward Carson Pass, trying to guess where the trail would go next.

We stopped and chatted with 2 women at the junction of the PCT with the very popular Lake Winnemucca trail. They had hiked from Sonora Pass to Carson Pass and were curious about our adventure. We chatted for at least 15 minutes before continuing on.

We met again at the Carson Pass Visitor Center. This place was amazing. The log cabin is really cute, but what makes it amazing are the volunteers. 

There are over 60 volunteers who take turns providing information to day hikers and offering shelter and a little R&R to thru hikers. They gave us potable water and shared parts of their lunch with us. So incredibly sweet!

They had a scale and for the first time in over 6 months both of us weighed ourselves. 

Knowing that all scales are different and estimating our starting weights, we took these readings with a grain of salt.

Andy gained 4 lbs and Laurie lost 10. How did that happen? Men typically lose more weight than women. Must be the amount and kind of foods we eat. 

One of the volunteers told us that we were the healthiest looking thru hikers they had seen!

People also say we look clean… we guess our clothes hide the dirt well or they just don’t get close enough to us. We are pretty dirty!

It was 13.5 miles from Carson Pass to Echo Summit. It was hard to leave the comforts of the shady chairs and good conversation but we didn’t want to be late.

After an hour and a half, we unglued ourselves from our seats and walked into the afternoon heat. We gently climbed up to a ridge and then dropped down into a beautiful meadow with an old log cabin. 

Here the PCT joined the Tahoe Rim Trail. The trial continued on for 2 flat miles before climbing again to Showers Lake.

We got water at its outlet and continued climbing. We were so excited to see friends and take a shower that the miles seemed to fly by.

We got to the parking lot just after 6 pm. We changed into our “town clothes” and got comfy. 

Eric and Crissy had offered to pick up a “surprise dinner” for us too. We couldn’t say no to that!

We had pre soaked Laurie’s mac and cheese noodles before discussing dinner options so we decided to eat a first dinner and then a second dinner with them. 

This is one of the perks of doing this much walking – indulging with no remorse.

Crissy and Eric arrived right at 7:45 as planned, however we didn’t see them. We were sitting in a large empty parking lot but didn’t know that there was a closed gate up the road. 

It got darker and darker, and there we were, leaning up against our backpacks with our down jackets on, waiting.

Andy’s gut told him to go closer to the highway but we didn’t move. 

Luckily Andy had service and got a text saying they couldn’t find us. AT&T didn’t work but Verizon did. At this point we got up and walked toward Highway 50. Eric was outside the car calling for us. 

Andy heard him and yelled back. As we turned the corner we saw the gate. Oops! Next time we will walk a little further!

We were so happy to see great friends and ride in a warm car.

We got to the house, ate a delicious Thai dinner (thank you Eric and Crissy for the wonderful surprise), took showers and did laundry. 

This was the longest stretch without a shower for us the entire hike – 12 days!

We chatted until none of us could keep our eyes open. 

We go to bed tonight loving life, our friends and the delicious food we devoured.

Tonight we are grateful for patient and generous friends, warm water and soap!

September 9, 2016

Wolf Creek (mile 1039.3) to bushcamp (mile 1066.8)

Miles: 27.5 (Andy walked 28.5)

Our total miles: 2425.4

When we woke up the cows were still asleep. We packed up in silence under the light of the LuminAID that Joanna graciously gave us. 

We are using our headlamps more now than ever before on this hike. It gets dark around 7:50 pm and light around 6:30 am. On a regular day this means we are packing, cooking and eating in the dark. 

We want to save our extra batteries for the SPOT so although a few extra onces, the luminAID is quite handy. Plus, it provides a nice ambience for dinner rather than blinding one another with our headlights.

The resupply boxes for this section were the first ones we put together (in March). Apparently we forgot to include colloidal silver. Talk about missing something when it’s gone! Using our filters with our SmartWater bottles is cumbersome so we just boil water for 5 minutes.

We were up and moving by 6:30am. We climbed up toward Asa Lake in the cool morning air. Climbing hills in the early morning is our favorite. Our bodies feel fresh and we sweat less.

We stopped for water at the Asa Lake outlet and saw our first mosquito after returning to the trail. The clear blue skies, lack of mosquitoes and easy stream crossings have reinforced that our “jump” was a good thing. 

Although we did not experience a “pure” northbound thru hike, we were fortunate to experience cooler temps and wildflowers in Northern California and amazing weather in Washington.

Maybe someday we will return and do a southbound PCT hike or another northbound hike. Only time will tell. Andy doesn’t worry about these things though. Everyone has their ideas of what they want their hike to be, and for Andy, enjoying it and hiking together is more important than anything else. 

We crested a saddle and dropped down toward Noble Lake. We admired the beauty of the yellow meadows and lake. 

We appreciate that we have had the opportunity to walk through the seasons. We witnessed the spring blooms in the dessert and now the yellowing and death of plants in the fall. 

We continued to descend, past strange volcanic rock formations and weathered yet beautiful trees. 

We look forward to learning more about the geology of this region in the future. It has intrigued us both. 

Eventually we popped out on Highway 4, very close to Ebbets Pass. Together we have been here before, but both times on bicycles. 

We walked 5 minutes up the road and took a picture at the sign to replicate the one we have holding up our road bikes.

It was fun to be in a familiar area but walking on unfamiliar trails. Andy has purposefully avoided hiking any part of the PCT to allow for this thru hike to be 90% new (except for his JMT hike in 2012 and a hike up Mt. Baden Powell when he lived in L.A.). 

Laurie, however, has hiked a lot in the Desolation Wilderness but never here. She has biked many of these roads but never hiked these trails.

Boy were we in for a surprise!

We hiked about a mile before we ran into a group of 5 older women. They were from Arnold, a nearby town, and they mentioned they come here often to hike. 

They were all very curious about our hike and our experience. One woman mentioned she wished she had done something like this in her youth.

It was a nice reminder to appreciate this opportunity and treasure what time is left. With less than 2 weeks left on the trail we have found our minds frequently wandering to thoughts about jobs, apartments, family and other obligations. 

We have to consciously bring ourselves back to the present moment.

Conversations like the one we had with these women help ground us in the now. We walked away truly present, attempting to soak in every sight, smell and sensation.

Perhaps this is good practice for two weeks from now, when we return to city life!

We continued on through open grassy meadows, past volcanic rock spires, past glistening blue lakes and small cool creeks – all so pretty.

We stopped for a late lunch by a creek. Laurie washed her legs and feet while Andy gathered water. Together we demolished a log of salami and half a bag of crackers.

Again, the food we were eating was from some of our initial boxes. At the time we packed them we were more focused on calories than weight. The bags of trail mix and salami are calorically dense but heavy.

We ate it all, deciding it was better to carry salami in our bellies than on Andy’s back. 

Around 6:15 we got to a dry creek bed. We had mixed up our water sources, thinking the reliable outlet to Tamarack Lake was after the seasonal stream. Turns out the puddles of water we had seen half a mile prior was the outlet. 

Rats!

It was getting late but we didn’t have enough water to cook dinner. After a moment of frustration we took off our packs and Andy ran back the half mile to gather water from the puddles.

In the meantime Laurie sat near the trail and worked on the blog. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and the wind whistled through the trees and plants. 

It was quiet and peaceful but Laurie couldn’t help but wonder what animals were around. We had heard stories about cougars stalking hikers and here she was sitting as prey.

After 20 minutes Laurie heard a familiar whistle. This is how we communicate when apart – by whistling (although neither of us are good whistlers and often make noise by sucking in rather than blowing out). She was relieved, ready to get to camp and make home.

With an hour until dark we hurriedly hiked uphill. The air was warm and the trail traveled in and out of trees. We lingered on granite slabs and watched as the sky turned colors.

We got to camp around 7:30 and cooked dinner. Andy laid his hiking shirt on branches to dry it as it was drenched in sweat. We enjoyed looking at the stars while eating.

Laurie was asleep before 9pm while Andy stayed up working on the blog and pictures. The temperature was dropping and he didn’t want to get out of the tent, but alas, he got up, brushed his teeth and hung the Ursacks in a tree. 

He drifted off to sleep to the hoo-ing of owls. 

Tonight we are grateful for sub alpine hiking and warm nights.

September 8, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1018.2) to Wolf Creek (mile 1039.2)

Miles: 21

Our total miles: 2397.9

We enjoyed a leisurely morning. We didn’t set an alarm and let our bodies wake up naturally. It was a surprisingly warm night and all 4 of us were cozy, if not hot at times. 

After enjoying hot chocolate and tea, we packed up and hit the trail. 

Joanna and Daniel hiked about 2 miles with us to a high point. It was a beautiful, cloudless morning. The brown rocks contrasted with the yellow dying plants and few remaining wildflowers. 

The trail did what it does best – wind around. This winding offered beautiful sweeping views of the valley to the west of Sonora Pass.

Daniel was curious about our packs and took a turn carrying each of them for at least 15 minutes. We noted how we felt significantly lighter but naked without our packs, they have become part of us. 

Around 10 am we parted ways. We really enjoyed our 24 hours together and it felt extra special to spend a night on the trail together. 

We traversed and then dropped down in a valley. A granite mountain stood tall on our right. The rest of the day the trail felt like a roller coaster. We climbed steeply and then descended, only to do it again. And it was hot and dusty too. 

It was pretty but neither of us felt particularly excited. We slogged on, hoping to make it to Wolf Creek by nightfall.

We passed some beautiful creeks with clear cool water, stopping to splash water on our faces at each of them. But soon after, another layer of dust and sweat covered our skin.

We turned a corner after passing a small creek, ascended a near vertical 30 foot wall and literally almost walked into So Far and So Good. 

They are a couple from Oakland whom we first met walking southbound near Chester. They had flipped up north and were walking south to Truckee. 

From there they hiked north and we crossed paths at least 4 more times. We hugged, exchanged info and recommendations of what was to come and made plans to reconnect once settled back in the Bay Area.

We continued to hike some short but steep up and downs. It was hot and dry and we did not feel very motivated. But, we kept walking.
The mountains glowed as the sun began to sink toward the horizon. The hills around us were golden brown, exaggerated by the setting sun.

Around 7:00 we got to Wolf Creek. We hadn’t decided on where to camp but decided that this was far enough. We were tired.

We set up our tent and went to clean off our filthy feet and legs in the puddles of water that comprised the creek. All the while listening to the clang of cow bells nearby. Surprisingly we didn’t see a cow all day.

Laurie was convinced the creek smelled like cow poop but water was water. We were happy we had collected cooking water at an earlier stream. Plus, in the desert we would have been thrilled to have come across even this little water. It’s all relative.

We ate dinner while scheming how far we would need to hike to arrive at Highway 50 two days later.

With a loose plan and a long day ahead we fell asleep to the jingle of bells.

Tonight we are grateful for lazy mornings on the trail and seeing old mountains with new eyes.