Month: June 2018

PCT 2018 Day 42, June 3, Sunday.

Start town of Mammoth Lakes

End town of Mammoth Lakes

Miles walked: ZERO

Got food at Von’s and packaged for bear cannister.

Did all the tasks required in town, and ate, and saw a movie, and talked to new friends around the hostel kitchen table. I had talks with Bible, a PCT hiker who ran into major trouble on the trail, caught in a snowstorm. It took him several extra days to hike out, so long that he was reported missing in local news stations. Read his own blog to find out what happened.

PCT 2018 Day 41, June 2, Saturday.

Start mile 882.9, campsite 2 miles from Silver Pass

End mile 903.9, then walk 3.2 miles on the Mammoth Pass Trail and Horseshoe Lake Trail to trailhead, and ask for a ride into town, Mammoth Lakes

Miles walked: 24.2

The walk up Silver Pass from my campsite went well in the early morning.

Coming down, the path along footprints was steep in places, requiring traction devices.

The snow on the trail-north side goes on for a good while, then appears to start to clear. Silver Pass is known for frequently having a lot of snow.

Suddenly snow reappears on the trail, playing hide-and-seek with small bits of trail showing all the way down a deep canyon, soft snow with post-holing.

Looking back after climbing the very dry opposite wall of the canyon, one can see the snow coverage, and make out the pass on the far right.

The orientation of the slope face, plus the deep and narrow canyon restricting sunlight, may contribute to the depth of snow.

Further along the route, after miles of clear pathway, snow again covers trail at Purple Lake. Could lake effect contribute?

After clear paths for a while, tho snow starts up yet again.

Finally, the route goes along the summit of a flat-ish ridge for a number of miles, and one can really stretch the legs with fast walking.

I take a route to the trailhead, and quickly (30 seconds) get a ride with Kevin around 6:30PM, when most cars are clearing out of the parking lot. He says the large die-off of trees near the trailhead is due to CO2.

I get a bunk at a hostel, one of two in town, and shower and get food. The rest will wait on the morrow.

PCT 2018 Day 40, June 1, Friday.

Start mile 862.4, campsite 3.2 miles from Selden Pass

End mile 882.9, campsite 2 miles from Silver Pass

Miles walked: 20.5

Climbing to the pass extra early, no traction devices on shoes were necessary going up. The night was cold and snow quite firm. The way down was steeper, with footprints going straight down the slope in places. The transition from partial snow coverage to clear was reasonably quick, so perhaps only a mile or two of post-holing and seeking alternate routes parallel to snow-covered trail.

Near the trail for Vermillion Valley Resort I meet Sunshine and two other hikers that were getting ATT cell signal, but no others cell providers. They were heading into the resort, like most hikers I have been talking to for three days, but I am skipping and will hike a day or two more to the trail for Mammoth Lakes, a town with many more supply and food options. The hikers were able to tell me that the store near the route to Mammoth was not open yet, so the shuttle from the store to town was not stopping at the store. They verified the correct trail exit for me to take of three options.

Down from the pass, let me say a word on lower altitudes. Water is omnipresent. Often the route is along a large stream, the roar of rapids a familiar presence. The trail is frequently soggy from snow-melt and swollen creeks, and much of the effort of the day is spent avoiding water hazards in the path by stepping on rocks, etc. Many creek an stream crossings are necessary, and several are fords, wet-foot crossings. One of the last fords of the day was next to a waterfall, the mist spraying on hikers. I could not zoom out for you to see how long the falls were. Here is another view.