13 Miles
Our hostel roommates brought friends to our room last night to simply show them what a hostel room looks like inside. At about midnight they showed up for this tour when we had already been in bed with lights out. Then, they can back again at 4am to gather some things and leave. I think we’re done with hostels. We got up around 7 and went to breakfast again at Driftwood Cafe. We showered one last time and then packed up and headed to Flatstick Pub to meet Marie’s friend, Ashley, from Seattle who was now working there. She had offered to take us back to the trailhead and we just needed to wait for her to be done working. Ashley kindly dropped us off at Echo Lake where there is a general store and marina. We got snacks and then headed out. The sign at the trailhead said that Desolation Wilderness is the most used (per acre) wilderness area in the country. I believe it, because it took us about 45 minutes to walk a mile due to having to stop so many times to pass people. There are also lots of comments about bears in the area. Normally, I’d expect that near the lake-front campsites where weekenders like to setup. Bears learn that humans have food and return when they’re hungry, so they know where these campsites are located. Most of the sites are not “legal”, since they’re not 100 feet away from the water. We skipped those and tried to find better options, but ended up hiking an extra mile and a half before we found a site in the woods, well away from the lakes we had passed. We set up, started making dinner, and then I heard some noises from the rock pile behind us, just past the trail. I looked out the tent and sure enough, there was a bear about 20 yards away. I threw my shoes on and got out of the tent, Marie did the same. I grabbed some sticks and started shouting at the bear. He didn’t seem to care too much until I started moving toward it and throwing sticks. Marie joined me and we switched to throwing rocks. For about 10 minutes we kept yelling, throwing stuff, and slowly walking towards it before it finally left the area. I fully expected it to return, but he never did (as far as I know). I suspect he went down to the lake campsites for an easier meal option. We finished our dinners and then got ready for bed (with piles of rocks beside the tent, just in case).
PCT Hike 