Date: July 22, 2017
Miles: 8,3 miles (13.4km), from Echo Summit Trailhead to Lake Aloha at mile 1,098.4.
Health: Feeling happy to be back on the trail. Shoulder hurts a bit. 

After waking up and having a big breakfast, we head out to the Post Office as everyone has something they need to either pickup or ship out. After the Post Office, we head back to the car rental place to add another driver to the car and then go do some shopping. As the gear store in South Lake Tahoe exchanges Darn Tough socks, we all go and get brand new socks.

Then we head to the Basecamp pizzeria in town for free PCT pizzas. If you show your PCT permit, you get a free pizza. After the pizza, I do a quick stop at the Patagonia store. I’ve been struggling with the heat and my shirt feels like hiking with a trash bag. It simply doesn’t breath well enough so I need something that works better in the heat.

I find one shirt that would work and feels great on, but it’s white. And even with the discount would be over $50. I cheap out and hope to find a better shirt from the next town.

As I’m walking back to the car I get a message from Cannonball and Storyteller telling me that a bear ate Cannonballs food last night. Apparently, the bear had cut a hole in their tents mess and taken Cannonballs food bag from right next to her leg. They had woken up to the bear emptying the bag next to their tent.

We drop everyone else at the motel and Sunshine drives me up to the trailhead. After saying goodbye again, I head out and pick up my Houdini jacket that Cannonball had stashed for me behind one of the rocks.

The trail from Echo Summit trailhead is quite easy and there are more day hikers than usually. As soon as I get going I start to regret not getting that white Patagonia shirt. I’m sweating like a pig as my shirt is not breathing at all.

I cross few roads and then reach Echo Lake. As I get down to the lake I get to the store just as they’re closing. They let me in to quickly buy a soda and ice cream to help cool me in the heat. I eat the ice cream by the side of the lake, watching as the day hikers arrive back from the trail.

It’s already quite late so I’m not going to get very far today. I continue hiking while the sun is slowly starting to set behind the mountains. The trail wiggles around the lake and the views are quite nice. I stumble upon more day hikers and we talk a little about the PCT. A couple of people ask me how far I’m going and as I say “Canada” they get good laughs.

At the end of the Echo Lake, I reach the beginning of Desolation Wilderness. I hike alone from here on out. 

The sun is setting and it’s getting dark. I have to speed up as, like an idiot, I left my headlamp at the bottom of my pack. I check Guthooks and if I’m fast I should reach Lake Aloha before it gets really dark. The last mile I basically stumble in the dark forest guessing where the trail goes.

I find a nice spot along the lake and see others camping there too. Hoping to find other PCT hikers I approach them but they are weekend hikers. I find a spot little further in the woods and set up my tarp.

As I’m eating my dinner I watch as some of the hikers are doing bear hangs on a tree close by. As I see at least five food bags improperly hanging from the trees, I feel confident about sleeping with my food for tonight. No bear is going to come up to my tent when they can just easily pick all that food they want right from the trees.

As I’m about to go to bed I watch the stars above the lake and take few photos. This is a really beautiful spot! It feels good to be back on the trail!

Date: July 18 - 21, 2017
Miles: 8.1 miles (13km), from Clouds Lake to Echo Summit Trailhead.
Health: Town day, feeling awesome.

I woke up to the sound of Iced Tea packing his gear and leaving camp. I have been seeing him on and off since Sierra. We hike completely different rhythms: he wakes up and gets to camp early whereas I hate early mornings and enjoy hiking well into the darkness. This means we usually see each other while passing the other one having lunch. And early evening when he’s setting up camp.

A quick look at my watch and it’s 4-something-am, way too early for me to get out of my warm down haven. I quickly fall back to sleep.

Little later, after battling with the alarm for about a half an hour, I finally wake up. To my surprise, there’s a strong smell of smoke. Is someone having a bonfire this early in the morning? Or is there a wildfire close by? I get up and walk up to where Reroute and White Rabbit were camping. The air is smoky but I can’t see any flames. Must be winds pushing smoke from the wildfires towards us. We eat breakfast together and Reroute leaves soon, White Rabbit short time after her. We all agree to meet at the trailhead to go to South Lake Tahoe together.

It’s interesting to get to Tahoe as I’ve been in talks over email with Anthony, a trail angel from South Lake Tahoe. He sent me an email and said if we get to Tahoe when he’s there, he and his wife would like to arrange trail-magic for us. I messaged him when we left Sonora Pass to let him know our estimated arrival to South Lake Tahoe. Since the trail had been faster than we thought, I sent him an update yesterday saying we’d be at the Echo Summit trailhead a day earlier than we estimated. As I haven’t had reception since yesterday I don’t know if Anthony received my email or if he’d be able to make it to the trailhead a day earlier.

Right after leaving Clouds Lake and our camp spot, I can’t seem to find the trail. I know the direction it should lead to, but can’t see the actual trail anywhere. After hiking a while towards the general direction of where I think the trail should be heading, I find it.

As the views are blocked by the smoke, and since we only have about 8 miles to the Echo Summit trailhead, I put my head down and cruise while listening to music. The trail crosses multiple snowbanks and I’m again reminded of how frustrating trail finding in snow is. After a rather large batch of snow, I pick up the trail again and keep on hiking. 

Little later something feels off. I’ve been climbing for a long time but the trail is supposed to be heading down, not up. As I keep climbing the trail keeps getting steeper and steeper. I take out my phone to check Guthooks to see what’s going on. As the GPS finds my location I see I’m about a mile off, going up on a wrong trail, to the opposite direction and away from South Lake Tahoe. I must have missed a junction on that last snow batch and headed down the wrong trail.

Instead of backtracking, I decided to bushwhack my way back to the trail. I find a steep hill and after half an hour of bushwhacking, I’m back on the PCT. That episode cost me about an hour so I need to speed up. Going downhill I’m moving faster but there’s no way to catch up to the lost hour on such a short distance.

Meeting Anthony and Annie

Finally, I reach the Echo Summit trailhead and see a car with a bunch of hikers around it. Among the hikers, I see Reroute and White Rabbit. There’s a couple giving out trail magic. Could this be Anthony and Annie? As we’ve only talked over email, I have no idea what they look like.

As I get to the car I hear “Hey Isko, we’ve been waiting for you!”. It is Anthony and Annie. They’ve brought their two doggies and enough Starbucks coffee and breakfast burritos to feed an army of hikers. How awesome! Annie hands me a bacon burrito, my favorite, and Anthony and I start talking.

Anthony tells me that he’d like to invite us to their house at Tahoe Keys for barbecue, showers, hot tub, laundry, resupply, post office runs, and wakeboarding on the lake. My jaw drops. When he messaged me saying he’d like to give us trail magic, I was thinking something like ice cold sodas and beer at the trailhead, and maybe a ride to town. But all this? I’m speechless. I look at Reroute and White Rabbit and we happily accept the awesome offer. 

After handing out coffee and burritos to more hungry hikers, Reroute, White Rabbit, and I hop in their car and start heading towards South Lake Tahoe. On the way, we hear that since we had arrived a day earlier than originally planned, Anthony and Annie had to change their plans to meet us and skip an NBA game. They had arrived at the trailhead the previous night and slept in their car waiting for us. We are blown away by their kindness and generosity.

South Lake Tahoe

After running some chores in town we arrive at Anthony and Annie's house and things get even more amazing. The house is absolutely beautiful, sitting on a canal, just a short distance from South Lake Tahoe. Anthony shows us where we can leave our dirty clothes for washing while Annie brings us loaner clothes to wear. After a quick tour of the house and the yard, Annie asks us if we’re hungry and what we’d like to eat. As we’ve only had hiker food since Sonora Pass, we’re up for anything that isn’t cold soaked or bars. When Anthony asks if we’d like to have BBQ tonight we just nod with our mouths open. I love barbecue and it’s one of the things I seem to miss the most on the trail.

After Reroute, White Rabbit, and I have finished showering, Annie comes back from the store with a car full of food. As there’s only three of us, Anthony asks if we have more friends in town who’d want to join us for the BBQ. I’ve messaged with Storyteller and Cannonball earlier and knew they were in town so I send them a message to ask if they’d like to join us. They quickly agree and Anthony and I drive to pick them up from their hostel.

Once back at the house we fill our bellies with sandwiches, BBQ, and beers while playing games. It’s hard to describe how good it feels to be in a big house, having clean clothes, having showered, eating well, and just relaxing. While in the “normal” life you take all these things for granted, after spending months on the trail, this feels like heaven. And while we are guests, and have just met Anthony and Annie, they make us feel right at home. It’s funny how quickly you can go from being complete strangers to feeling like you’ve known each other for a long time.

Anthony and Annie introduce us to Liar's dice, a game I’ve never played before but quickly fall in love with. After many rounds of dice, Anthony takes us all for a boat ride around the lake. The weather is nice and clear and there’s no sight of the smoke we saw earlier in the morning. We cruise around the lake as the sun sets, stopping over at the Emerald Bay to enjoy the spectacular views.

We head back to the house and after few more rounds of beer, food, and Liar’s Dice, we’re all pretty tuckered. Anthony shows us our beds and we make plans to head out in the morning for early morning wakeboarding sessions. Going from the monotony of hiking, to this, feels like a sensory overload. I’m smiling from ear to ear.

The next morning I wake up to the smell of breakfast. Annie and Anthony are in the kitchen making us pancakes, bacon, and fresh fruits. Sadly White Rabbit and Reroute can’t stay longer as White Rabbit needs to get to a wedding and has to get back on the trail. Anthony gives them a ride back to the trailhead while Cannonball, Storyteller, and I enjoy not having anywhere to rush to. Today is definitely going to be a zero!

Once Anthony gets back we all hop on the boat and head out to the lake. It’s still early enough that there are no waves – perfect weather for wakeboarding. But unlike yesterday, the air is now covered in so much smoke that you can barely see the mountains around the lake.

As Cannonball and Storyteller have never wakeboarded before, I’m the first one in the water. I can’t remember the last time I had been on a wakeboard. All I remember was that it ended with a really bad whiplash as my jump fell short and I caught the wave with the heel edge of the board. Not wanting to end my hike due to wakeboarding injury I keep repeating “DO NOT TRY ANY JUMPS” in my head as I get into the water.

I get pulled few laps and it’s as much fun as I remembered it to be. I’m definitely rusty and falling few times quickly remind me how hard the water is. But this is definitely fun! Then it’s time for the girls. They’ve never been on a wakeboard so Anthony gives them a crash course in “Wakeboarding 101”. I’m not sure if it’s the crash course or the talent of the girls, but they both get up pretty much on their first pulls, something I’ve never seen before. 

We do few more laps around the lake and I pull Anthony for a short while. He’s clearly been on a wakeboard before. But as the morning changes to midday, the waves appear and we all decide it’s time for something else. 

Anthony and Annie show us a cool spot to have some post-wakeboarding drinks and we drive to a place called Chambers Landing. We learn that it’s one of the oldest taverns on the lake and that their signature drink is absolutely delicious. We enjoy more rounds of Liar’s Dice on the deck while sipping ice cold drinks. All this feels like the furthest thing from thru-hiking and I feel so relaxed.

I have mentioned few times on trail that I’d love to do cliff jumping and Anthony tells me about a spot not far where I could do just that. After few more rounds of drinks and dice, we get back on the boat and drive to a rock face close by. It’s not very high, and there’s not much of a platform to get speed, but at this point, I’m just glad to have water and somewhere to jump from.

We anchor the boat as close to the rocks as we can and I jump in the water and swim the short distance to the rocks. With Anthony’s instructions, I try to find the spot to climb up from and soon I’m as high as I can climb. There’s no take-off so I just have to push myself off the rocks to get some clearance. The drop is not high, maybe 13-14 feet (4m), and without take-off, there’s not a lot of tricks I can do, so I go with the standard belly-first jump.

After hitting the water I know I need to go for another round. The girls also decide to join and they swim up to the rocks. We all climb up and they jump first without any hesitation. I do one more jump and then we all swim back to the boat. On the way back to the house we eat sandwiches Annie made us and drink few more beers. If someone would ask me to describe my perfect summer day, this would be pretty much spot-on!

Back at the house, I notice my shoulder starting to hurt a little. I felt it being pulled and dislocated a bit while I was wakeboarding and hit a small bump but it didn’t feel bad at all at the time. Both of my shoulders are pretty bad and dislocating them is nothing new.

For the evening we decide that we’d all like to eat some sushi so we head out to town. While we’re eating and having fun, I stop and look around me. I’m thousands of miles from home, in a foreign country, surrounded by friends I didn’t even know a few months ago, laughing and having the time of my life. I keep thinking of all the small decisions we’ve all made to end up here, at this exact moment, and how perfectly it all has happened.

The next morning Cannonball and Storyteller want to get back on the trail while I decide to stay in South Lake Tahoe for one more night. We’ve had so much fun that I haven’t had any time to work on my site. Anthony and Annie are also leaving town today.

We say our goodbyes at the house and take few photos. Anthony and I give the girls ride back to the trailhead. On the way, we stop at the post office to ship our ice axes back home. There’s no need for them anymore. While we’re driving back Cannonball calls me to tell me she accidentally took my wind jacket. They hide it behind a rock at the trailhead and send me extremely detailed instructions for finding it. 

Anthony drops me at the Motel 6 where I had reserved a room for the night and we say goodbyes. While the upside of the trail is that you get to meet a lot of awesome people, the downside is you often can’t spend enough time with them as you have to keep moving.

At the motel, I find out my room is not ready yet, so I walk along the main road to the Taco Bell to drink a milkshake and enjoy the air conditioner. It’s really hot outside and I don’t want to just sit in the sun waiting for my room to get ready.

Finally, my room is ready. As we’ve been just moving all the time, I hop on the bed and switch on the TV to enjoy the “not doing anything” for a while. The next thing I know is I wake up and it’s dark outside. I’ve fallen asleep and slept the entire day. The first thing I notice is that I’m starving and the only place still open is a pizza place about 20 minute walk down the main road.

Once back at the motel I finish the entire large pizza on one go and hop back to bed. I wake up and it’s morning. What just happened? Apparently, I needed to catch up on my sleep. The plan of working on my site fell through but at least I’m well rested now.

Getting sucked back into the vortex

The plan for today is to do a quick resupply and then get a ride back to the trailhead. I call the reception to ask for a late checkout and then run across the main road to the grocery store for a resupply. The selection isn’t the best but as I’m on foot and the better stores are miles away, I have to make due with what they have.

Back at the motel, I pack my pack and checkout. I’m hungry again so before starting to hitch, I do a quick stop at the Taco Bell. Not my favorite fast food restaurant but sadly the only quick and cheap one within walking distance.

After filling myself with “food” I head out to the side of the main road to try to get a hitch. It’s hot and while I try to do my best to not look homeless, I have no luck getting a ride. I walk down the main road few times trying to find a better spot but again no luck.

As I’m about to give up I get a message from Sunshine and others saying they’re on their way down from the trailhead. As I haven’t seen them for a while, I send them a message and we soon meet up in the Enterprise car rental shop down the road.

It’s so good to see everyone again. There’s Sunshine, Dandy, Fireant, Kendall, and Roadrunner and they quickly convince me to stay in town for a little longer. I agree to join them for an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch if they give me a ride to the trailhead later.

We head to the sushi place and catch up on all the trail news. They tell me Fyre quit the trail in Bishop when we left her at the hotel. I had no idea and didn’t even get to say proper goodbyes. For the next two hours, we all eat way too much sushi.

On the trail, ever since Casa De Luna, we’ve had this habit of playing or singing Phil Collins’ “One More Night” when some of us wanted to stay instead of getting back on the trail. This time the girls use the song to talk me out of getting back on the trail and instead stay for one more night. It doesn’t take a lot of convincing and we are soon trying to find a motel room big enough for all of us. Before that, we drop Kendall off as she’s spending the night with her mother who’s in town to see her. After way too much back and forth we find a massive family room that fits us all nicely.

Later we go out for some shopping and sightseeing around the South Lake Tahoe downtown. We buy way too much food and head back to the motel, eat, and eventually, I fall asleep sharing the bed with Roadrunner. It’s good seeing everyone again!

Date: July 17, 2017
Miles: 25.9 miles (41.7km), from mile 1,056 to Showers Lake at mile 1,081.9.
Health: Feeling great.

Today was a really epic day! Throughout the Sierra, we didn't see any trail puppies – mainly because dogs are not allowed there – and had barely any trail magic. So when you come out of Sierra and you have a day full of both, it's a good day!

We woke up late again. I had trouble falling asleep last night as I felt I hadn't spent enough of my energy during the day. After eating breakfast and watching the sun rise behind the mountains, White Rabbit was first out the camp. He said he had a meeting to attend to, something about sending faxes or papers. Reroute was next and I left last, thinking I'd catch them soon.

I didn't catch Reroute but I met White Rabbit shortly when he stumbled out of the woods. We hiked together for a while but then my mobile phone came alive on one of the ridgelines, I have cell reception! I needed to send and reply to few messages so I stopped on the ridgeline as White Rabbit pushed on. The quick break grew to about half an hour and suddenly I realized I had to keep hiking to make miles. 

Soon after the social media break I too had a meeting to attend to and diverted off trail, to the left, and into the woods. After both of these breaks I really needed to boogie down to catch up to White Rabbit and Reroute. I thought that if I’d hurry up, I’d catch them when they stop for lunch. 

There were only a few spots with snow at the beginning of the trail but other than that the trail was pretty clear. This meant I was moving fast. I soon reached a stream and while crossing it, noticed a pile of Coca-Cola and Sprite cans in the water. Trail magic!

Just last night we had talked about how we missed ice cold soda and now someone had hiked here and brought all these sodas to the ice cold stream. People and the trail community are so awesome! Thank you to whoever brought these here! I sat in the shade by the stream and drank a cola with a smile on my face. It was close to 100 degrees (39c) outside and an ice-cold soda tasted so good! I wanted to drink another one but thought about the other hikers behind me and instead crushed the can into my backpack and headed on. 

Not long from the sodas, I get startled by a large animal heading towards me on the trail. I had both of my earphones on, with music at full volume, so I was caught off guard. A big white dog? I look a little up the hill and see two more, and then two older ladies. Trail puppies!

I stop for a chat and the two ladies tell me they work as volunteers at the Carson Pass information center and were walking their dogs. They told me that the center was about 12 miles (19.3km) from here and that there's usually sodas and some food for PCT hikers at the center. Sounds good! I could definitely go for a second ice cold soda.

I played with the three dogs for awhile, talked about the trail with the ladies, but eventually, I needed to keep moving. I thought about making it to the information center for lunch, but that would be a total of 20 miles (32km) between breakfast and lunch. Might be pushing it a bit too far. 

At one point the trail took a turn up and I could see a large snow chute completely going across and blocking the entire trail high above. On the other side was a steep mountainside, on the other steep cliff down to a valley far below. Not a spot where you’d want the trail to be cut off.

I didn't see any steps on the snow, and it looked like getting on the steep snow would be a nasty spot to slip – especially being alone. As I got closer to the snow chute I saw that people had climbed down the rocky cliff below it and when I reached the snow chute I could see why. The snow chute looked like a ski jumping hill. If you'd slip, you'd have very little time to self-arrest before you'd slide and fly over the rocks and drop straight down to the valley far below. Not good!

To get to the rocks below the chute I had to climb straight down a steep rock face. This was super sketchy as there was nothing but two feet wide edge below to stop me if I slipped. I was going down on all fours, making sure I had a good grip with each step. Feeling the rocks loosening and seeing loose rocks constantly fall down into the ravine made me feel really uneasy. Once down on the small edge, I followed the narrow path under the snow chute and around it. Once on the other side I climbed back up on the trail and kept going. Not my favorite spot!

Soon I crossed a road and met a couple who were bouldering and talked with them while cuddling with their lovely dog. She just leaned against my legs as I scratched her legs and belly. I miss my dog so much but seeing all these trail puppies helps a lot!

I was almost 16 miles in and still hadn't caught up to White Rabbit or Reroute. How fast and far had they gone for lunch? I was getting hungry and my snack pocket was running low. Right then I see a large black dog running towards me in the snow. She runs around me, goofing around and just enjoying the snow. I climb up the snow face and soon see her owners up on the hill. 

As I get closer they ask if I'm a PCT hiker. I tell them yes and they ask me if I have everything I need with me. I tell them I'm all good without thinking too much and they ask me if I'd like a turkey sandwich. A turkey sandwich? Well yes, yes I would. 

They tell me that they're here trying to find a way to one of the lakes to go fly fishing but the snow had stopped them and they had brought the sandwiches for lunch. But as they had to turn back now, they'd be happy to give it to me. Random trail magic, how awesome!

As we get to their car little down the hill they hand me a big, 6-inch sandwich with all kinds of goodness inside. Even avocado. My lunch just got so much better! I don’t have to eat cold soaked Idahoan Potatoes. 

After thanking them for their kindness, I hike a little further until I find a nice spot by a small stream between towering mountains. I sit in the shade and eat the sandwich. Oh. My. God! It tastes so good! First the sodas, all the dogs, and now this? How epic has this day been!

After lunch, I keep going down the valley and after some time, start seeing other people. Day hikers. I must be getting close to the information center. I talk with some of the people and then reach the center. As I get there, there's a cute older dog that comes towards me and I have to pet him for a while. 

After some doggy time, I get to the center only to find it closed at 4 pm. It's 4:12 pm. As I'm standing there, two thru-hikers outside call my name and tell me they got me a set of goodies from the center. I go over and they have a soda, some cookies, and fruits. The center hands these out for free for PCT hikers. How nice!

The guys also have a ton of other food. They had met two ladies and they had given them a big pack full of town food. They had mini carrots, guacamole, berries, bananas, mandarins, and all kinds of other good stuff that hikers grave for but don't want to carry. We share all this food while sitting on the tables outside the visitor center.

As we're eating all this, a lady comes over and asks if we're thru-hikers. As we say yes, she opens her backpack and pulls out ice cold beers for all of us. What’s happening?!? Where getting trail magic over trail magic over trail magic. She tells us she hiked the PCT in 2011, another record snow year, and her trail name was Outlaw. Thank you, Outlaw! Now I’ve had both, ice cold beer and sodas.

Just a little after Outlaw left White Rabbit and Reroute appear. I thought they were ahead of me? Apparently, they had eaten lunch on one of the lakes and took a side trail and I hiked past them. We share our beers and food with them as there's plenty to go around. One of the things you learn on the trail is that there’s always enough to share with others, no matter how little you might have.

From here we have only five miles left to get to the Showers Lake, a good spot to camp. The trail climbs up from the pass, then leads through a large, beautiful meadow, and then climbs up for a while and finally reaches the lake. Such a beautiful spot!

We set up camp, eat dinner, although I'm still full from the goodies earlier, and go to sleep. What a day! Met so many doggies, got a ton of trail magic, and the trail was again relatively easy and snow free. It feels quite easy to do 25 mile days, which is a good sign. Once we clear all the snow, I want to start doing 30's to get some buffer between getting to Canada and the oncoming winter. 

Tomorrow we'll hit South Lake Tahoe for our next resupply. I'm already dreaming of all the all-you-can-eat buffets there. The trail feels really good!

Date: July 16, 2017
Miles: 25.3 miles (40.7km), from mile 1,030.7 to mile 1,056.
Health: Feeling great.

I woke up tired. I tried to sleep with just my Gossamer Gear Thinlight sleeping pad, which is 1/8 of an inch (0.3mm) thick, to see if I could ditch the heavier Z Lite pad and get my pack lighter. The Thinlight is so thin that I'm obviously not hardcore enough yet to sleep only on it. I had the Thinlight for the Sierra but I decided to carry it still as it weighs nothing and it’s a better pack pad for my frameless Simple Pack.

After a couple of hours of tossing and turning I had to put the Z Lite under me and only then I fell asleep. I had my alarm set to 5 am but I didn't feel like waking up so early so I moved it to 6 am. That meant I'd be getting a later start but that was okay. I'd just take fewer breaks during the day to make it up in mileage.

Just as I got my things packed and shouldered my pack, the Jew Grew woke up. They were taking even later start. I waved bye as I headed out and saw them getting ready for breakfast. Before leaving I filled my dirty water bottle from the stream and hiked on.

The trail has definitely changed since Sonora Pass and since we came down from Sierra. The climbs aren’t that big, although the trail still goes up and down, and the scenery has changed like it was cut with a knife. The granite, snow-topped, rock walls of Sierra have changed to darker, sandy mountains. We’re getting to Northern California.

The trail is also a lot easier to hike with less snow on it. I still end up climbing a lot of snowbanks and losing the trail every now and then, but it's nothing like the past month has been. I feel like we’re back in making big miles. And we definitely need to cover more ground now as we’re finally through the snow of Sierra as we need to get to Canada before the winter comes.

After some time I ran into White Rabbit and Reroute again. They had camped few miles back from where the Jew Crew and I had camped and past us in the morning while we slept. We walked together for a while and then got separated again. Then I saw them again down on a river, way off trail, as I was walking up on some switchbacks. It looked like they had gotten off trail at one point and it would take some time for them to catch up again. 

I climbed over a ridgeline, and then started descending down on long, windy switchbacks. After some time I reached the valley floor and got to a stream to fill my empty water bottles. What on earth? White Rabbit and Reroute where there already?!? How did they get ahead of me? After me scratching my head for awhile, they revealed that they had seen me on the switchbacks going down and had decided to cut them to save time. Sneaky!

Reroute and White Rabbit stayed back to filter water and eat lunch. I wanted to hike a little bit before stopping for lunch. I was holding out for a possible trail magic at Ebbetts Pass. We had heard rumors about epic all-you-can-eat pizza offerings, and the pass wasn't that far away, so I calculated I could make it there with only snacks. Anything for on-trail pizza!

I hiked on alone and finally reached the Ebbetts Pass. I was anxiously trying to see if there were any signs of trail magic. A car! I get closer but there's not a single soul around. Other than the lonely car the whole place is empty, no trail magic. Bummer!  

Now hungry and disheartened I move a little off trail and start making my lunch, Idahoan Potatoes and pepperoni. Not as good as pizzas and burgers but will have to do. After eating I feel so tired that I doze off for a second in the warmth of the sun. 

Next thing I know I hear someone asking me if I'm ok. I wake up and open my eyes to see four people and two dogs looking at me while I’m sleeping on the ground. Day hikers. I assure them I'm ok and that I’m just resting. They ask me about the hike and we do the usual PCT talk after which they wish me good luck. As we're talking their two dogs, Aussies, keep me company. It's so awesome to see trail puppies again. I try to get as much puppy love as I possibly can as I miss Fire immensely.

Before they all leave they hand me some fresh berries. I thank them and eat all the berries at once. Hiker hunger is real! The berries were good but they barely register in my stomach. Oh, how I could go for some pizza right about now!

Soon after that White Rabbit and Reroute arrive. Sadly I have to inform them that there's no trail magic here today. We sit for a while and watch the cars drive by on the small mountain road on the pass. Seems to be pretty busy for such a small road. 

We talk about trail magic, getting to town from here, and how we would love to have some ice cold sodas. Then we see another family approaching us. They have two mules and two border collie puppies. After talking with them for awhile they give us some of their leftover bars. We happily accept. 

After the family heads on, White Rabbit tries to yogi sodas from a car full of people who stop at the pass to play in the snow. No luck with the sodas this time. We head back on the trail as we still have miles to do today. 

After couple more hours of hiking, I reach my 25 mile goal and we stop for the day at a beautiful saddle with lots of room for camping. As we haven't seen any mosquitoes all day I set up my cowboy camp behind a nice rock that should shield me from any wind. 

We eat dinner, drink some of Reroute's whiskey, and watch what looks like a wildfire far in the distance. As we watch the huge pillar of smoke rise to the sky, we hope it's not spreading, or on the trail. So far we haven't had any trouble with fire closures on trail. We keep our fingers crossed for that to continue. 

We also talk how we miss just a few things from the real world. We all agree that ice cold sodas, beer, and pizzas are the things we miss the most. If we could somehow get them here, this would be pretty epic night!

The sun starts to set and it's time to go to bed. As soon as I get inside my sleeping bag the mosquitoes appear. Damn. I'm not going to battle them tonight. I need my sleep so I quickly set up my tarp and head into my little mosquito free cuben fiber heaven.

As I'm setting up my shelter I notice the stars and the milky-way up above us. I take out my camera and lay halfway outside my shelter door and take photos. It's so beautiful out here!

Date: July 15, 2017
Miles: 13.8 miles (22.2km), from Sonora Pass to mile 1,030.7. 
Health: Feeling great. 

Now that we are done with the Sierra, it's time to start moving again. From today I have exactly two and a half months until the end of September and when I'd like to be at the Canadian border – the Northern terminus of PCT. Which means I have to do about 1,620 miles (2,607km) in that time. That means some seriously long days. 

While we're done with the Sierra, it doesn't mean we're done with the mountains and the snow. I feel like it's going to be a really tight run to the border to make it before the winter sets in. 

I woke up in my hotel room a little later than on the trail, but I was still up before 7 am. Why do I have to wake up so early when I could sleep late? I try to use the shared bathrooms but they are all occupied so I go back to my room. I go through my food and make a list of things to buy. I also start packing my pack. While I really liked the MLD Prophet, I love the Pa'lante Packs Simple Pack. 

I try to use the bathrooms again but no luck so I head down for the breakfast. It's nice to eat breakfast inside, by the table, without any hurry. And freshly squeezed orange juice. Yummy!

After the breakfast, I go back up to the room and finally one of the bathrooms is available. After a quick shower, I head out to get the groceries for the resupply and to get more bug spray. On the way, I run into Airplane Mode. She's going to get breakfast and as I wonder why she didn't eat the breakfast included in her room, she notices that she completely forgot that. 

I get the bug spray from the sporting goods store and try to resupply from the General Store but the options are very limited. Unless you're looking to eat a lot of canned goods. After a lot of back and forth, I manage to scramble something together. Luckily it's only four days in South Lake Tahoe. 

I cross the street back to my hotel and go finish with my packing. Everything fits easily inside the 32 liter pack. I'm excited to get back out without the bear can and microspikes. Even though I still have the ice axe my pack is so much lighter.

After checking out from the hostel I head to the Jolly Kone for one more taco salad before heading out. I'm still full from the breakfast so I only manage to eat about half. White Rabbit and Reroute join me and we start hitching out of town together. 

We walk to the end of the Main Street, put our packs down and stick our thumbs up. It's hot in the sun and none of the cars stop. To make the time go by faster we make a game of hitching. We each get ten cars to try to get a ride and the first one to succeed wins. We try our best moves – I lift up my short sleeves to show a little leg, Reroute tries dancing, and White Rabbit goes for the good old looking happy. But to no avail. 

White Rabbit tries to yogi a ride from the gas station across the street but again nothing. We notice a large white cardboard close to us and think about writing on it, but as none of has markers, we skip that plan. I go get the sign and suggest that if we just hold the empty sign, maybe people will stop to just ask what our sign says, or why it's empty. It’s as good of a plan as any, as it seems we're not getting a ride anytime soon. I get the sign, get to the side of the road, lift up the sign, and literally, the first car stops to pick us up. Epic!

Our savior can only give us a ride to the Sonora Pass junction as he's continuing to Tahoe. We happily accept as it takes us a lot closer to the pass. Once at the junction it's time to stick out our thumbs again. After about 15 minutes we're picked up again and make it all the way up to the pass. 

On the way to the trail, we run into James who's getting his resupply package deliver here. We chat for a while and then head out. The trail climbs instantly and we spend the next hour climbing. There's some snow on the trail and few of the stream crossing on top of the snow are a bit sketchy and I fall through on a couple of them. 

On one part the trail is washed away and under a vertical snow wall. I decide to climb upwards to drop down from there, while White Rabbit and Reroute decide to take the lower path. As I’m dropping down the steep snow and sand face, the rocks beneath my feet slip off and I lose my footing and tumble down towards the deep canyon beneath the trail. I manage to grab a couple of bigger rocks and gain my balance long enough to stop my slide. This was stupid! Luckily I got out of that with just a few scrapes and a bruised ego.

After climbing the southern facing side we get on the northern side and we’re back on snow.  As it’s already late in the day so we slip and slide on the slushy snow. I travel faster in snow and soon White Rabbit and Reroute are so far behind that I don’t see them anymore. I boot ski down the slope, towards the valley where I think the trail leads to. I can’t see the trail but there’s really no other way the trail could go. 

Right before I reach the end of the snow I stumble upon the Jew Crew having a break on a snowless patch of grass. As I haven’t seen them for a while I stop over for a short chat and we head out the same time. They keep asking me all these questions about snow and hiking in it. It’s funny how granted I’ve taken the snow hiking skills. 

I soon leave the guys behind too and reach the dry trail. I pass couple obvious camp spots as I want to still get more miles in. Finally, I reach a small stream and it’s getting dark. I don’t see anyone around but a quick glance at Guthooks tells me there aren’t any other spots to camp ahead so I stop here. 

I set up my camp, filter water from the stream, and make my dinner. I keep my eye on the trail hoping to see either the Jew Crew or White Rabbit and Reroute. Just as I’m about to call it a night the Jew Crew comes up. 

We sit on the rocks next to my shelter and talk as they quickly start making their dinner. We end up talking late into the night eating some of their resupply as they had sent too much food. Who can say no to sugar covered donuts after a day of hiking? As it gets dark we call it a night and I fall asleep listening to the soothing sound of the stream next to my shelter. 

Date: July 14, 2017
Miles: 11 miles (17.7km), from mile 1,005.9 to Sonora Pass.
Health: Feeling great. Thanks to the later start I got more sleep last night.

Today we have a short 11 mile hike to Sonora Pass which marks the end of Sierra, and it means we don't have to carry the bear canister anymore. From Sonora Pass, you can either hitch to Kennedy Meadows North or Bridgeport. I’ve shipped my Pa’lante Pack to Bridgeport so that’s where I’m heading. 

As today is Friday, and the Post Office is closed for the weekend, I need to get to town early so that I can first get my new pack and then sort out my gear to see what I want to send home with my bear can and what to keep. I’m so happy to get rid of the heavy canister, but I’m also wondering if I should get rid of all the other Sierra gear. We keep hearing that there are still some sections from here to Tahoe where people have needed ice axes and microspikes. 

We wake up later than usual, which feels nice as we get to sleep longer, and then quickly get on the trail. Knowing today is a town day makes waking up and getting back on trail a lot easier. 

I’ve forgotten to filter water last night so I have to drop down back to the stream as the others head out. Most of the trail we’ll hike today follows along the top of the mountain range so there’s no water available. After filling my bottles I head after the others. 

The trail is covered in snow but it’s easy to follow. I soon reach the water crossing for the small creek I got my water from earlier and cross it using a snow bridge. From here the trail is dry and I reach the switchbacks that climb up to the top of the ridgeline. 

As I’m approaching the junction I hear the girls yelling my name from somewhere behind me. I try to yell back but feel like they can’t hear me. I run back towards the sound to find the others back on the other side of the stream, climbing up the steep mountainside. They signal me to get there as well. I look up and the path they’ve chosen doesn’t look good. It’s steep and covered in scree. I’d much rather follow along the trail as it looks much easier. But everyone keeps motioning me to come over and I can't hear what they're saying because of the sound of the water.

I start thinking there’s something that I don’t know, like maybe the trail is broken ahead and we need to go around, so I cross over and join the others. Once on the other side, I hear that we’re just trying to cut trail miles by going up the steep mountainside. I open up the map again and do some quick math – we’re cutting 0,7 miles. This doesn’t make any sense?

I climb up with the others and it takes me an hour and twenty minutes to get to the top and back on the trail. So to cut 0,7 miles, or about 15-20 minutes of hiking, I just wasted over an hour. As I’m already in a hurry to make it to town before the Post Office closes I’m not happy about wasting all that time and start speeding towards the Sonora Pass while others are still climbing up the steep scree slope.

From here on, the trail follows along a beautiful ridgeline, but I can’t really enjoy the scenery as I have to make up the lost time. Soon I reach the part where I can see the road down in the Pass, I’m not far. I know that there’s an epic glissade down from the Pass but as I reach the top, I can’t see around the edge of the slope. Not being able to see what lays ahead, I don’t really want to try my luck. So I decide to follow the trail and hike down.

Soon the trail switches back to the slope and I can see the slope I would’ve glissaded down and it’s steep! I’m happy I didn’t go at it alone. But now the trail is covered in snow and the only way down is in the snow. There’s an established glissading path so I traverse up to it and glissade a good way down. Having nothing but thin shorts on makes for an interesting feeling on your buttocks. I hobble on with a smile and stinging, cold feeling on my buttocks. Little longer and I'm pretty sure I would've gotten snow burned.

Eventually, I get all the way down to the Pass and find a setup of tables, chairs, breakfast cereal, and beverages there. A trail angel has been in the Pass providing breakfast for all the hungry hikers coming down from the Pass. There are only two hikers there as Chipmunk, the trail angel, is giving other hikers a ride down to town. From the Pass, you can either go down to Kennedy Meadows North, or the other way to Bridgeport. As receiving packages in Kennedy Meadows North costs money, I’ve sent my package to Bridgeport.

I drink two glasses of orange juice and then hop on the road to hitch to town. As soon as I stick my thumb up, a pickup climbs up the steep road and stops. The nice couple in the car offers to drive me down to the junction to Bridgeport. Getting even halfway to town sounds good and I hop on board.

As we drive down the winding road we talk about the PCT and I tell them all the general things about the trail. Soon I notice we’ve passed the junction they were supposed to leave me at. As I ask about this they just smile and say they can easily give an hour of their time to get me to town faster. The kindness of complete strangers out here never ceases to amaze me!

Thanks to getting a ride all the way to town I make it to the Post Office in time and get my package with my Pa’lante Pack inside. As I need to explode my entire pack and decide what I still need and don’t need, I’ll get the cheapest motel room I can find and spread all my gear on the floor. I go through everything and sort them into two piles: things I still need, and things I can get rid of.

I’m sending home some of my warm gear, the bear canister, microspikes, and some other small stuff. I’m still keeping my ice axe as we’ve heard rumors about deep snow all the way up to Tahoe. I take all the gear I don’t need anymore and stuff it into the bear canister, close it, and run back to the Post Office. Weighting the bear can in my hand I’m super happy to get rid of all this weight. After shipping the gear to San Diego, I go back to the hostel to take a shower, do some laundry, do an inventory of my food and what I need to buy, and work on the blog for the rest of night.

I can’t believe we’re done with the Sierra! It was physically challenging, hard on the body, and some of the most epic hiking I’ve ever done. Looking back we were so lucky! We timed our Sierra entry perfectly, the weather was absolutely stunning the whole time and the heat wave that hit us right before Kennedy Meadows South melted the snow just enough to make getting through easier for us. A week earlier, or few weeks later, and it would’ve been completely different beast. 

I’m happy to start Northern California, which, as I’ve heard, is a different kind of a challenge. Where the desert and Sierra were more of a physical challenge, NorCal is going to be a mental one. That’s where most people end up quitting. That's going to be hard for me as I can take the physical beating for ages, but I’m not good with boring, mentally challenging tasks. There are still over 600 miles to the California – Oregon border, and it’s going to be hot, dusty, and boring. This is the section I’m worried the most! I just need to put my head down, grind the miles, and pray that my head and motivation can make it to Oregon.

Footloose’s notes about his experience with us

Sonora Pass is also where Footloose, Indigo's dad, ends his hike with us. A few days ago I asked if he’d like to write a short text about his experiences on the trail with us and he happily agreed. I felt it would be interesting to hear the perspective of someone who joined us mid-hike, with fresh legs, hiked through the Tuolumne meat grinder, and had to keep up with a group of trail hardened thru-hikers.

Here’s what he had to say:

I had idealistic visions of joining my daughter one month into her PCT journey. Beauty, bonding, and nature were all that was on my mind. As I’m in good “gym” condition, I was just worried about the logistics of meeting up with her due to minimal cell connection and unpredictable trail times. 

I met Indigo's trail family (her trail name is Koala...hugs) after 400 miles of driving, 4 hitches and a bus trip, little did I know that was going to be the easy part. It started off gently enough with an 8 mile hike late in the afternoon. The next morning hell hit in full force. Due to the need to arrive at the post office before the weekend closure, I learned that we’d be shortening the 5.5 day trip into 3 full and 2 half days, averaging 18 miles a day on the trail tenderly known as the “meat-grinder,” which half the PCT trekkers were skipping this year due to snow and water levels. 

That day the truth hit, PCT hikers are not just outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers, they are warriors, and I was completely out of my league. They are hardened mentally and physically by the pounding on the trail. They have hiked with hunger, thirst, bloody feet, sprains, broken bones, lacerations, illness and constant stiffness. They have blistered through layers of skin to grow thick calluses, their bodies have adapted to elevation with increased vascularity and blood supply and they have gained animal-like senses of the terrain and trail tracking.

Over the five days, between my fatigue, awe, and bonding with the group, I noticed some unique dynamics among the PCT population.

FAMILY: While each hiker is capable and independent, the formation of families is important for survival in the Sierra. Each hiker naturally assumes familial roles to allow the group to function. In the HERPES family (an acronym of honorable traits, and... it never goes away) Isko was Dad; Airplane Mode- Mom; Bliss- Big brother; Koala and LL Cool Jay- twin sisters; and Happy Feet- wise, quiet brother. Each voice equally important, requiring constant communication, confrontation, honesty, vulnerability, leadership, and consensus… and of course natural family drama.

HUMOR: I have never been around a funnier group of people. I think it is the drug that keeps them going. Jokes and punch lines were strung together like Christmas ornaments, every member seamlessly adding a deeper dimension and texture, never missing a beat, allowing the joke to morph into something new and then unexpectedly coming full circle until it could rest in perfection.

POSITIVITY: Each morning and night I heard personal mantras about “loving to wake early”, “looking forward to the cold and soreness” and the gifts of all the hard things.

BEAUTY: A persistent awe and unwavering appreciation for nature.

MAGIC: At Sonora Pass (76 miles), Chipmunk brought tears to several of our eyes. He had a spread of fruits, drinks, and vittles hot of the griddle for the hikers. For 7 years, 3 times a month, he has driven 200-300 miles to grace PCT hikers with his trail magic.

FUN: With no commercial entertainment, creativity flourishes. Sing-alongs, dance sessions, glissading competitions, parades, freestyle rapping. Endless fun.

I seriously did not think I could make it the second day, but when my plea bargain for suicide brought no compromise, I took the lead from the night's mantras and accepted that I could make it one step and then another. Walking meditation on the tough parts saved me and DEET provided salvation from the mosquito swarms.

On day three I earned my PCT name, “Footloose” in affection for my commitment to remove my boots at every river crossing and my love of dancing. (In my defense, my waterproof boots kept water in as well as it kept water out, so I rationalized that 50 shoe changes were better than 50 blisters).

On day four, I had a brief feeling of mastery of the trail then within an hour I had a crippling calf muscle cramp. The cramp didn’t go away, but I learned that I could master my body by hiking through the pain.

On the last day, I have to admit that I was really, really glad to be finishing. Even while I had a creeping sense of regret for all the trail hardening I would be wasting, my thoughts were monopolized by ideations of massage and a hot tub once home. Still, saying goodbye brought me to tears, as I hadn’t realized how over the week I had become a part of the family.

The PCT is not a vacation, it is a kick-ass, exhausting, deeply challenging beautiful voyage that is not well served by expectations. My deepest respect for all the brothers and sisters on the trail.

-Jack “Footloose” Catton

Thank you Footloose for being part of our adventure! Not many people could have done what you did with us!

Date: July 13, 2017
Miles: 18.5 miles (29.8km), from Wide Creek to mile 1,005.9.
Health: Feeling great. Knee bothers a little but it's getting better.

Getting to sleep until 5:15am felt so good, it was like a luxury. Getting up from my sleeping bag and knowing that I would have to jump into an ice cold river in few minutes felt like less of an luxury. I tried to listen to the sound of the river in hopes of hearing less water going through, but to no luck. It sounded just as forceful as it did last night.

I got out and went down to the river to see if the water level had decreased during the night and it looked like it had dropped maybe a feet (30cm) which might not sound like much, but it also looked like the current wasn't as strong as it was last night.

I got back up to the camp and packed everything in my pack watertight and made sure all my electronics were double protected. Blis divided us to two five person groups with him leading the other, and me the other. We did few practice runs of i-formation on dry land and went through all the different calls needed to move as a single unit. 

It was time to get into the water. We all moved down to the river and Blis and I looked at the river and the current. I asked which team should go first and Blis pulled out his hand in rock-paper-scissors style. I lost on the second go so we were the first ones to go in.

I felt good about everything else except the landing on the other side. The creek was so wide that I couldn’t see how deep it was, and if we would even be able to climb up from the spot we’ve chosen. But we were the first to go over so we would soon see.

I told everyone that I'd steer us towards the small rock on the other side and then starting from the back people would climb on it, and I'd then lower myself down stream to get on it too. As a line, we were so long that I’d have to position myself way above the landing site for others to get on it.

I was wearing my rain gear as I knew I'd spend the most time in the stream, first waiting for others to get behind me, and then for them to climb out of the water. I jumped in and took my position waiting for others to get behind me. The current was strong but nothing too bad. As soon as everyone was in position we started moving. Midstream the water got so deep that my hands and poles were under the water and the water went up my sleeves and up to my chest. Sure wakes you up!

As we reached the position I was aiming for, the water before the small rock was so deep, and the current so strong, that people couldn't get up on the rock. Plan B. I moved us up towards the larger rock. I didn't want to go there first as the rock face was so steep it looked really hard to climb up on to.

As we got to the second rock the current got stronger and people behind had no change to climb the rock face from such a deep water. Jack, or Foot Loose, gave me a push and I used my poles to push myself up on the rock. This meant that I wasn’t in the front with poles, taking the current for the others, so we had to get everyone out quickly. I pulled Jack up, and then we pulled everyone quickly up.

We were all cold and shivering but we needed to stay here and help the other team up. Blis had watched what we did so he could avoid the mistakes we made. They got into the water and made their way over the stream and we pulled them up starting from behind. Lastly we pulled Blis up. Now everyone was over and we had crossed the Wide Creek.

As everyone was completely soaked and cold, we needed to get moving immediately. We just got on the trail and started walking as fast as we could. It took me a good hour and a half to dry up.

Finally the sun came up and we found a nice little rock spot were we stopped to remove our wet gear and dry off a little. It didn't take long for everyone to arrive. Everyone was in high spirits as the river crossings had been kind of daunting.

Today looked pretty easy on the elevation map, not much climbing and relatively "flat" sections. But like on previous days, the miles were hard to come by. We, again, climbed snowbanks, hopped streams, and navigated the ever disappearing trail. All this takes so much time and energy, and makes the progress so slow.

My shoes have been constantly wet. When ever they happen to have a moment to dry, there's a new stream or something muddy that we need to jump into and they're completely soaked again. Or if it’s not the water, then it's just the snow melting on them.  I've already gotten so used to putting wet socks and shoes on in the morning that I don't even notice it anymore.

At one point I leapfrogged with Cannonball for a while and as we both got frustrated with the snowy forest, we just hiked together. It was fun to hike with her again as it's been almost a month since we hiked together the last time.

It's funny how we spend a month hiking with all these people through the desert. You meet a lot of cool people and you kind of take it for granted that you're going to meet them at the next water source or town. You get to know them and think you're going to hike with them all the way to Canada. And then bam, Sierra comes along and our trail family breaks up and our whole bubble disappears. All these people suddenly disappear from around you and for most of them you didn't even have a change to say goodbye.

Most people either got off trail, or skipped somewhere north over Sierra, or flipped and are now coming south. I really miss so many of the awesome people we hiked together at the desert. I'm hoping to catch up to them, but it seems kind of impossible as they're almost 500 miles ahead.

After covering couple more snowfields and climbing a little, we meet Storyteller who has been waiting for us. We hike on together, talking, and soon reach the pass we were climbing. This was super easy.

As there's no spot on the top to stay, we hike a little down and then break for lunch on some rocks that are out of snow. Others soon arrive but Foot Loose and Indigo take a little longer. Foot Loose is having some trouble with his leg cramping.

We have a long lunch and I fall asleep for awhile. Soon it's time to move again. From here we want to get off trail for awhile. By going around a lake from the other side we can skip three river crossings. We pass the Dorothy lake from the non trail side and it's rather easy in the snow. Soon we're back on the trail, having skipped three river crossings. Awesome!

Today we cross a big milestone, 1,000 miles (1,600km). Soon after the lake reroute we reach the marker and spend a good half an hour celebrating and taking photos. Cannonball and Storyteller do a proper streaking to celebrate the achievement. It feels awesome to be here but I'm already waiting for tomorrow and being able to get rid of all the heavy Sierra gear. Things are getting serious as we soon have "only" Northern California, Oregon, and Washington left.

For the last part of the day we hike to a spot where we setup for tomorrow's waterless section and getting to town. We have little over 10 miles to go to Sonora Pass from where we need to hitch down to town. We're in a hurry because I need to get to the Post Office in Bridgeport before it closes as tomorrow is Friday and the PO isn't open during the weekend.

We camp on a nice little meadow next to a river and make a small fire to dry our wet gear. We decide to sleep late again and leave at 6am tomorrow morning. I'm hoping the trail is easy so we can still make it to Bridgeport in time. As I go to sleep, I keep thinking about the trail so far, and how I can’t believe we’ve walked over thousand miles. While it feels like an achievement, we still over 1,600 miles to go. Not even halfway yet. That feels so daunting.