Day 42

Mile 790.1 to mile 805.3

PCT Miles: 15.2 (24.3km)

Total Miles: 805.3 (1288.5km)

The hiking days in the Sierra Nevada have a structure: you go over a pass as early as possible (because of the snow conditions, frozen = better), then go as close as you can to the next pass. That’s it.

The terrain is also much more complicated. It’s mostly snow, but it can be hard snow, soft snow, slushy snow. There are a lot of parts on the trail that are only rocks, and that’s super hard on ankles and knees. And it’s a lot of elevation.

For the past days I’ve been learning about hiking in conditions completely new to me. I’m also trying to enjoy my time here more (it’s truly beautiful) and to be chill with the fact that I’m doing less miles. That’s perfectly fine.

For a few reasons I decided today that I’m going for my plan B: in three or four days I’ll take the Bishop Pass to exit the Sierra to resupply. It’s all good, everything is fine! I’ll explain the reasons when I get to Bishop.

Well, today I woke up, wore frozen shoes and started my day early, heading to Glen Pass, my second pass in the Sierra. Everything was fine and for my surprise I saw two other hikes when I reached the top of the pass! It had been a while since I saw other human beings.

I briefly talked to them (Tangent and Bullfrog), but they were hiking too fast for me. So I kept going on my own pace. The way down from Glen Pass was a bit harsh in the knees and my right knee started complaining a bit. It doesn’t help much that I’ve been hiking with only one pole (that’s one reason that I’m going to Bishop)

A little before lunch I met another hiker, Fizz, who was still camped. He said that he was taking the day easy, because yesterday was too much for him. When I stopped for lunch, he showed up a few minutes later and we had lunch together.

While we were having lunch, a couple showed up. I talked to them and explained a bit that I was going to Bishop because I really need to resupply and I’m actually running low on food (that’s another reason that I need to go to Bishop).

They (Carson and Handstand) told me that they were not doing the PCT, but a different trail. They had planned to hike for a few days, but they were bailing out because of the amount of snow on their trail. “Do you want our food?”, they asked. Oh yeah!

In the end I got just food for one more day. Now I’m much more confident that I will make to Bishop and resupply. Good 👍!

After lunch I kept hiking (to as close as I can from the next pass, Pinchot Pass) and most of the trail was snow free, but it was very, very wet. Multiple stream crossings and wet feet for the whole afternoon. And that also means frozen shoes and socks tomorrow morning 🥶.

About one hour before I finished the day, I saw Fizz hiking a bit behind me. We hiked the rest of the day together and, in the end, we’re camping side by side tonight: there’s absolutely no other snow-free space nearby.