We had a fairly uneventful morning today. The mosquitos were swarming as has been the norm these past few days, but as usual they weren’t biting too badly as we packed up. We started off down the trail for an easy 9 miles with very little climbing. We navigated around a few creek crossings and over the ever-present rocks and boulders. With no fanfare and not even a marker, we passed the 1,000 mile mark of the PCT. Only 1,650 more to go!
Mid-morning we passed a ranger going the other way and got our permits checked again. She didn’t ask about our bear canisters, which I thought was strange until I realized that we had left Yosemite yesterday night and were no longer required to carry them. We chatted for a few minutes about MN and the BWCA before going our separate ways.
We are approaching Sonora Pass, the start of the northern Sierra, and the landscape is already starting to change. As we neared our lunch spot at the creek in Kennedy Canyon the ridges around us turned to weathered red volcanic rock instead of the white craggy granite we’ve become used to. It was nice to have a change in scenery. We are both dragging a little bit today – last night was a late one, we’re in the middle of a difficult section with a much-anticipated town stop ahead of us, and we’re worn out from being at high altitude for weeks. After the pass we have one more trip to 10,000 feet before we drop below it for the rest of the trail.
After lunch we started on a long climb up through the pines. The sun was hot but the grade was gentle at first and on good gravel trail. We put our heads down and slowly worked our way up. Before long we had hiked above the treeline to the base of a ridge and reached an abandoned jeep road. After heading up one switchback the hiker PCT split off from the stock route and headed across and up the ridge. The stock PCT followed the jeep road up the rest of the switchbacks to reach the top. We decided to take the hiker route for some reason and set off across the faint trail, hardly more than a mark in the side of the ridge. We made it to the top with no incident after crossing some dicey sections, but in the end it probably didn’t save us any time over the other route.
At the top of the ridge the scenery behind us was spectacular. The pines of Kennedy Canyon were spread out below us, flanked by dark, weathered ridges that looked odd after weeks of granite cliffs. Beyond the southern ridge we could see a landscape of Sierra peaks, contrasting bright white and dotted with snow. From this viewpoint it’s hard to imagine that we hiked all the way through them.
The amazing scenery continued as we hiked on towards Sonora Pass. Once we reached a saddle on the ridge we could see down into the Emigrant Wilderness on the other side. We hiked along the ridge, fighting the gusting wind, for the next 6 miles. Along the way we crossed small snowfields (probably dangerous in a normal year) and one hairy rock scramble where the gravel started to give way under Keith’s feet. The entire character of the landscape had changed so quickly. Being up on a ridge meant no water sources, but it also meant that the mosquitos were gone.
Eventually we reached the start of the descent towards the highway pass. The trail plunged down over 2 miles, winding back and forth across the hillsides. Now we started to see flowers and a few trickles of water, but still no bugs. Soon we were back in the trees and then we were at the highway. The pass was a little disappointing – no water or trash, but we hadn’t expected much. We debated hitching to a nearby resort with a restaurant, but they were full for the night and we knew leaving the trail would mean a late start tomorrow.
The trailhead didn’t allow overnight camping and we didn’t want to camp right next to the highway anyhow. After some discussion we headed backwards up the trail (blasphemy!) a few tenths of a mile to a flat spot in the trees. The bugs were still gone so we eased our disappointment over not having a real bed to sleep in by cowboy camping for the first time since before Muir Pass. It might not sound like much consolation but we were excited to sleep out under the stars again. I set up camp while Keith backtracked further to get water. We were both very glad to crawl into our bags. It was a long day and we’re both exhausted, but glad to be one day closer to town and to have had such an incredible afternoon.
– Posted from the PCT
Location:Pct mile 1018