Day 51

VVR (mile 875.7) to mile 883.6

PCT Miles: 3.7 (5.9km) plus 6.7 miles on Lake Edison Trail

Total Miles: 883.6 (1413.8km)

I absolute cannot complain about hiking the wrong trail to VVR. I slept very well and had an enormous breakfast burrito, a big bowl of melons 🍉🍈 and freshly brewed hot coffee ☕️🤤. I could also call Maike 💜, recharge my batteries, uploaded the last posts here to Polarsteps and use a flush toilet 🚽. I didn’t take a shower 😅 nor resupplied at VVR. I’ll do both in 2-3 days when I arrive in Mammoth Lakes 🦣.

Hiking back to the PCT was super chill. The trail was very well maintained and the view around the lake was beautiful all along the way. All of a sudden I was, again, hiking north!

After rejoining the PCT I continued for a few more miles to set up for the next pass, Silver Pass. I’m now camped on top of a boulder, right before the trail gets totally covered by snow. The days have been warm and the temperature at night hasn’t dropped to below freezing for a few days. Tomorrow’s pass will probably be challenging with slushy, soft snow.

There were two very difficult stream crossings today. The last one was almost under a waterfall and I for completely soaked after crossing it. I almost didn’t cross that stream today, but I saw one hiker crossing and it gave me confidence to do it. Glad that I did, so now I’m camping closer to the pass. Also, all my clothes are already dry (besides my shoes…).

In the end, I think the detour to VVR was good. I had to hike additional miles but I divided those miles in two days. A short day like today is always better for the muscles (my right leg still feels sore, both the knee and the achilles) and for the coming days I feel more relaxed to hike on my own pace, since my group (ex-group?) is now probably one day ahead of me. If no big surprises show up, I should arrive in town (Mammoth Lakes) in two days!