12 Miles
The sun hit our tent around 6. The goal for the day was hiking the 12 miles to Sonora Pass/Highway 108 to catch the 3pm shuttle to Kennedy Meadows (North). The climb today included the longest water carry we’ve had since the desert, 10 miles. Not crazy, but I’ve enjoyed only carrying around a liter or so at a time. So, the first stop on the way up was a stream to collect water. On the way, the mosquitos swarmed. We put on rain jackets, headnets, and picaridin lotion, and then hiked on. The trail goes above treeline on these rock pile mountains and then just cruises around up there. Lots of great, new views all around. Eventually we descended to Sonora Pass where we met Coach, Uncle Possum, Retro, and Cheryl. The latter two were there doing trail magic. They had a pot of chili, ambrosia salad, beer, pop, snacks, and American flag bandanas for any thru-hiker. Happy 4th of July! We hung out with them for awhile until they were ready to leave. We helped them pack up, and then piled into their campervan. They dropped us off at the resort and then gave all the leftover snacks and drinks to the hiker box. Very fun to chat with and super generous. The resort is packed, so we camped in the designated “PCT Hikers” area. We setup the tent, changed into rain clothes, and then went over to take showers and start laundry. All machines in use, we had to wait. We grabbed beers and chips and sat down with the other hikers. We met Bearslayer, Juevos, Mr. Bright side, and Rogue. Also, FedEx was there, who we haven’t seen in a long time. He had to take 3 weeks off because of leg issues. We did get clothes in a washer around the time of our reservation at the restaurant. Coach and Juevos also had a table at 6, but neither of our tables were ready. So, we got drinks at the saloon. Eventually we got to sit and order. Overall, it took 2.5 hours and we never got the dessert that was supposed to be included. The staff was crazy busy, so it’s okay, but I didn’t expect to spend most of my evening waiting for our server. The prime rib was great though. When we walked out we saw it was getting dark so we got into the tent. We were the only people in a tent; most hikers were in the dorms, cabins, or teepees. A man that appears to be living out of his car sort of shared the PCT area with us. He started his car around 3 in the morning, I assume to warm it back up.
PCT Hike 