Author Archives: Magic Mike

Next stop Snoqualamie Pass in ~4 days

August 27 — day 118
Camped mile 2293.3 hiked 24.1 miles today.
It was a day with the most fantastic views while traversing the Goat Rocks. I missed seeing the mountain goats that others had seen. I did see the tracks on the steep scree slopes.

August 26 — day 117
Camped mile 2269.2 hiked 28.3 miles today.
I was up early and was rewarded with spectacular views of Adams close up and the enormous Rainer off in the distance. It was a great day for walking. I camped by a small stream with little frogs.

August 25 — day 116
Camped mile 2240.9 hiked 11.5 miles today.
Had an OK chicken fried steak breakfast at the Station Cafe. Untoasted “toast,” way underdone over-easy eggs, but the chicken fried steak and sausage gravy were quite good. I got to the trailhead driven by a retired Boeing propulsion analyst engineer.

August 24 — day 115
Camped mile 2229.4 hiked 25.5 miles today.
I packed up my damp stuff and headed out earlier than usual. I’m hoping to get to Trout Lake today. Around lunchtime I come upon another trail angel Farmer preparing tacos. I have three and would have had more but I had just recently eaten. I made it to the road to Trout Lake and got a ride within a minute. The General Store is a hiker hangout and there are about a dozen here.

August 23 — day 114
Camped mile 2203.9 hiked 26.7 miles today.
Another long dry day. I climbed Big Huckleberry Mountain for the cell reception and views of Mt Hood. Later in the day I got trail magic from Cowboy who was feeding hikers hot dogs, beans, and doughnuts. I hiked late and cowboy camped which was a mistake as I got soaked from dew.

August 22 — day 113
Camped mile 2177.2 hiked 26.7 miles today.
It was a rainy evening but dry in the morning. Lots of chanterelles along the trail today. I hiked until almost dark.

August 21 — day 112
Camped mile 2150.5 hiked ~3.0 miles today.
I shopped at Trader Joe’s for my resupply and got way too much food. I took a local bus to get to the bus taking me out to Cascade Locks. There I see loads of thruhikers. I picked up my box at the Cascade Locks Ale House and had lunch. The prediction was for heavy rain for the evening so I camped early to avoid getting soaked on the trail. The trail was reminiscent of 2013 as it was lightly raining and misty.

August 20 — day 111
Stayed at the NW hostel in Portland, Oregon.
I’m up early for the 4:55 train to Portland. I’m tired for the train ride from waking up so early. After checking into the hostel I bus over to Toro Bravo a fantastic Spanish restaurant. I sit at the bar and proceed to stuff myself. Bread, olives, patatas bravas, fried anchovies with shaved fennel washed down with a bottle of Vichy Catalan mineral water was all I could do. I was really hoping to have the squid ink pasta but that will have to be another time.

August 19 — day 110
Continued staying off trail at Crossroads hostel mile 1501.2 hiked zero miles today.
I spent the day putting resupply packages together for Washington for the flip up to Cascade Locks. (Flip = PCT slang for changing sections/directions on the trail.) I rode the 2.5 miles on one of the share bicycles into town to shop at the Dollar General and local small grocery store as well as picking up boxes at the Post Office. I rode back fully loaded. I packed 4 boxes for WA. I got a local guy pick me up at the hostel, wait while I posted the parcels and took me back to the hostel.

August 18 — day 109
Continued staying off-trail at Crossroads hostel mile 1501.2 hiked zero miles today.
Crossroads has a Burning Man camp feel to it which is not surprising as the proprietress Kelly Fish is a long-time Burner. Eventually Sam and Andrew get up and we go into town for breakfast at the Wheel House. Sadly they have run out of sausage gravy for Chicken Fried Steak so I get the wonderful corned beef hash and eggs. We walk around this cute little town for a while and then go to the Brewery for some beer and root beer. It’s been such a treat to have my old buddies to hang out with. Eventually they have to head back home.

August 17 — day 108
Stayed off-trail at Crossroads hostel mile 1501.2 hiked 16.2 miles today.
I got a text in the morning letting me know that my friends Sam and Andrew were willing to drive up from the Bay Area to meet me in Dunsmuir. The trail afforded fantastic views of Shasta before dropping down to the Sacramento River. I hitched to the Brewery in Dunsmuir. Eventually all but the French girls showed up there. They of course had a wide selection of beer but also made their own root beer. Eventually we went to La Perla de Nayarit for dinner with margaritas. Met Andrew and Sam after the tramily have eaten and Sam drives them to Castle Crags. It’s bittersweet saying goodbye to the tramily at the same time hello to old friends. Round two at La Perla I ordered the chili verde which was surprisingly mediocre. After dinner we head over to Crossroads hostel. We catch up till about midnight when I have to go to sleep. My night owl buddies stayed up several more hours.

August 16 — day 107
Camped mile 1485 hiked 26.7 miles today.

August 15 — day 106
Camped mile 1458.1 hiked 25.4 miles today.

August 14 — day 105
Camped mile 1432.7 hiked 13.6 miles today.
Had a great breakfast with the tramily. We got a ride to the trail arranged by the lady at the church coordinating thruhikers. It was a hot day and I have too much food so I was struggling.

August 13 — day 104 
Camped off trail at the The Word of Life Church in Burney mile 1411.3 1393.6 hiked 17.7 miles today.
I was up early and continued along the Rim. There was some trail magic in the form of ice-cold cans of Coke around mile 1400. It was wonderful on such a hot day. I got to Highway 299 only to find that it was being repaved for the next two miles on the way to Burney. I walked to the crossroads with Highway 89 and was able to hitch from there. I stayed at the Word of Life Church’s gymnasium which they opened to thruhikers. I showered, did my laundry, and did my resupply at Dollar General and the adjacent Safeway pretty quickly as everything was close. It was a mistake to shop while hungry, but maybe I can put some weight on while hiking for once. Later in the evening the tramily, as well as Sweetie, showed up. It was a lovely reunion.

August 12 — day 103 
Camped mile 1393.6 hiked 25.9 miles today.
I walked into JJ’s Cafe in Old Station just off the trail. Had a wonderful breakfast of corned beast hash and eggs with Sweetie and Blacksquach. It was a hot day as I continued hiking along the Hat Creek Rim. Had wonderful views of Mount’s Lassen and Shasta. Near sunset, Sweetie caught up with me while I was texting and eating dinner. We both walked on to the water catch “22” well after dark. I cowboy camped which was a mistake as there were plenty of mosquitos.

August 11 — day 102 
Camped mile 1367.7 hiked 27 miles today.
It was a great hiking day walking completely thru Lassen NP. There was a “geyser” .3 off-trail. I think technically it was a fumarole continually spouting steam. A little later there was another short detour around Boiling Springs Lake. The highlight of the day was watching a creature which I believe was an American Marten running down the trail towards me. It jumped briefly on top of a log blocking the trail and saw me. It didn’t really hesitate but just continued on its way towards me. It got off the trail to go about four feet around me and then continued in its way down the trail. I was dumbfounded so only got a picture as it was well down the trail.

August 10 — day 101 
Camped mile 1340.7 on the N Fork of the Feather River hiked 9.4 miles today.
Had breakfast with 2Can and Safari at Cravings the local groovy coffee shop bakery book store. I had biscuits and gravy with a couple of eggs. It looked fantastic, but for a bakery the buttermilk biscuits were horrible and ultra dense. The gravy was too salty for me and that’s saying something. After finishing my resupply and packing up I luckily ducked out of a rain squall while still at the church before hitching back to the trailhead. The weather was threatening but only a few raindrops came of it. I had a nice campsite right by the river.

August 9 — day 100
Camped off trail mile 1331.3 in Chester at the Lutheran Church hiked 25.9 miles today.
It was a relatively easy day. Got a bit of trail magic in the form of three giant cinnamon rolls offered to me by two day-hikers I met mid-morning. Made it to the highway and had an easy hitch into Chester where I was dropped off at the train-themed Burger Depot. It was a short walk to the laundromat where I ran into Safari and 2Can. There was a public pay shower there so in no time I was all cleaned up. I walked over to the Lutheran church which offered free camping to PCT hikers and set up my tent at about 8:30. There were a surprisingly large number of thruhikers staying there.

August 8 — day 99
Camped mile 1305.4 hiked 25.1 miles today.
I dropped way down to Belden and ran into the French part of the tramily breaking camp there. Had breakfast with Sam and Safari. Belden was gearing up for a Funk festival that weekend so was super busy. I picked up a bit more super-expensive food there and snagged a partially-full fuel canister from the hiker box. It was another hard day for me with a steep hot climb out of town. I got to my campsite at Cold Springs at 8:30 exhausted. After a hot bowl of instant mashed potatoes with added cheese I slept like a baby.

August 7 — day 98
Camped mile 1280.3 hiked 21.8 miles today.
Got to Lookout Rock early in the morning. Great views from there and for a while heading north. Hitched out to the Lakeshore Resort on Bucks Lake. Since I had got there before the restaurant opened at 11:00, I had a beer while waiting. It wasn’t the easiest hitch back to the trail. It was hot climbing out of Bucks Summit. The trail was really beautiful walking along ridges with fantastic views. Had an excellent cowboy campsite for the night.

August 6 — day 97
Camped mile 1258.5 hiked 28.7 miles today.
It was another hard day for me. The highlight was a swim and rinsing clothes in the Middle Fork of the Feather River. I finally caught up to the whole tramily there. It was a very hard climb out of the canyon compounded by running out of fuel before I could cook my dinner. I was a little behind the tramily where I camped.

August 5 — day 96
Camped mile 1229.8 hiked 24.5 miles today.
We had heard great things about the Packer Lake Lodge so when I caught up with the tramily in the morning Safari, 2Can and I walked over there only to find that they were closed. Crestfallen I had a PB sandwich for breakfast instead. It was a hard day for me and I camped behind the others at a road crossing with a trail crew I had met just before camping. I was super exhausted and went to bed immediately.

August 4 — day 95
Camped mile 1205.4 hiked 10 miles today.
Had another mediocre meal of a breakfast burrito at the Red Moose. There was no fuel available at the General Store so I had to pick out mostly food not requiring cooking. There was a poor section of expensive food to choose from. In the early afternoon I tried unsuccessfully to eat another “gut buster.” Back on the trail I hiked till the early evening. After I set up the others decided to press on a bit further in the dark.

August 3 — day 94
Stayed off-trail in Sierra City mile 1192.7 hiked 24.2 miles today.
Hiked hard in other to get to Sierra City in time to pick up two packages at the General Store before they closed for the day. One with new Altra Lone Peak 4’s and another with miscellaneous stuff including maps and paper guides till Ashland and socks. Managed to also order their famous one pound “gut buster” burger with fries. Met the French Ninja who had arrived a few hours earlier. Used the free shower at the community center. The rest of the tramily eventually showed up and all went to eat at the Buckhorn with its lovely patio and mediocre food. We all camped in a local’s parking lot.

August 2 — day 93
Camped mile 1168.5 hiked 21.9 miles today.
Descended steeply down to Donner Pass Road and then walked over to the Donner Ski Ranch for breakfast. Unfortunately they didn’t open till 11:00 so I was there a couple of hours early. Eventually the tramily all showed up. We decided to hitch to Donner Lake but there was no traffic so we ended up waiting for the Ranch to open up. They offer a free 40-ounce malt liquor to thruhikers so of course we took them up on that and all ordered lunch. I certainly didn’t finish mine but it made the next few miles extra challenging. Nonetheless we made good progress. There were tremendous numbers of mosquitos towards the end of the day including at camp.

August 1 — day 92
Camped mile 1146.6 hiked 24.5 miles today.
There were spectacular views hiking today of Lake Tahoe. Camped just north of Tinker Nob.

July 31 — day 91
Camped mile 1122.1 hiked 24.8 miles today.
It was a beautiful climb up to Dick’s Pass. The snow was surprisingly slippery. My shoes are worn out and torn up. I’m fortunately getting new ones in Sierra City. I hiked quickly ahead of the others and got to camp at about 4:30.

July 30 — day 90
Camped mile 1098.5 hiked 6.2 miles today.
We had a going-away breakfast at Bert’s for Cheesus. I again had CFS and it was excellent. We hitched out to the Echo Lake and Chalet. It was a short beautiful hike to Aloha Lake where all except French Ninja camped.

July 29 — day 89
Continued staying off-trail in S. Lake Tahoe at the High Country Lodge zero PCT miles today.
I had my best Chicken Fried Steak breakfast at Bert’s. I did a resupply and then spent most of the day resting. We all went out to Artemis restaurant for a fantastic Mediterranean dinner.

July 28 — day 88
Stayed off-trail in S. Lake Tahoe mile 1090.0 hiked 13.1 miles today.
We woke at 4:00 in order to get into town early. It was a beautiful morning walking. I passed several campsites that were crowded with tents. We are really passing lots of thruhikers who have flipped. I met Cheesus and French Ninja at the Echo Summit Trailhead. We were unsuccessful in contacting trail angels due to lack of phone service but were super lucky in getting a free ride into S. Lake Tahoe with an Uber driver after he had dropped off people at the trailhead. We were dropped off at McDonalds (at Cheesus’s and French Ninja’s request) near our motel. In McDonalds we were offered free breakfast by a former thruhiker and current trail angel. While we were there 2Can, Safari, Boo and AMC showed up. I did laundry at the Tahoe Suds Laundromat which was remarkable in that it had the fastest internet connection I’ve experienced on the trail.

July 27 — day 87
Camped mile 1076.9 hiked 23.1 miles today.
We were relieved to have Safari and 2Can catch up to us as we were breaking camp. The day was clear and gorgeous. The landscape was rugged volcanic softened by the profusion of wildflowers. I got to the Carson Pass trailhead and met up with Cheesus and French Ninja. The staff at the trailhead were also trail angels providing us with fresh fruit and soft drinks. I waited here for the rest of the tramily to arrive while my other companions continued on. After they arrive exhausted we camp just after the road crossing.

July 26 — day 86
Camped mile 1053.8 hiked 23 miles today.
The wildflowers and volcanic landscape were beautiful. There were low clouds but thankfully no rain today. I again camped with Boo and AMC while Cheesus wanted to push on to do a 30+ mile day.

July 25 — day 85
Camped mile 1030.8 hiked 13.9 miles today.
Had the chicken fried steak power breakfast before leaving on the 10:00 shuttle with my tramily and a few other thruhikers back to the Sonora Pass trailhead. It was beautiful with loads of flowers climbing out of the pass. We got our first rain in more than a month. Ended up camping with Boo and AMC. French Ninja was somewhere ahead and Safari, 2Can and Cheesus somewhere behind. We had a nice campfire and eventually the rain stopped.

July 24 — day 84
Stayed off-trail mile 1016.9 at Kennedy Meadows North Resort zero PCT miles today.
It was a day of eating, resting, and resupplying. I was happy to see Safari, 2Can, Cheesus, French Ninja, Boo and AMC arrive today. We are all planning on getting back on trail tomorrow.

From @ligament.of.imagination on Instagram:

Tramily – noun; a collection of vagabonds brought together by the trail who, as such, find they somehow belong together. A forged family. 
The truth is: without the careful guidance of Magic Mike, the compassion and care of American Mudcake, the generosity and positivity of Boo, the puntastic wit and tenacity of Cheesus, the sassiness and cuddliness of French Ninja, the calming presence and medical expertise of Medicine Man and the colourful courage of Aurora B, we never would have made it through the Sierras in one piece and with our sanity intact. 
Here we are pictured on top of Muir Pass, laughing, and if you were lucky enough to meet us this is how you’d find us, laughing (when we weren’t crying). Day 75 ~ laughter is the best… medicine.

#pct#pct2019#pctclassof2019

July 23 — day 83
Stayed off-trail mile 1016.9 at Kennedy Meadows North Resort hiked 6.7 miles today.
I left my campsite under the Krumholtz white pine under threatening clouds and still plenty of wind. This is one of my favorite sections of the trail walking along the barren ridges before steeply descending via some long glissades to Sonora Pass. It was quiet with hardly any traffic. It was a while before I got a ride to Kennedy Meadows North Resort with a couple who were trying to rearrange a pack trip and were inquiring about the snow conditions higher up. The Resort is mainly a pack station so there are lots of horses, cowboys and cowgirls. At least they don’t smell as bad as the thruhikers. I got myself and my laundry clean, and shipped out my bear canister, microspikes, ice axe etc. I’m now back to a 10 pound base weight pack.

July 22 — day 82
Camped mile 1010.2 hiked 17.7 miles today.
It was another hard day with lots of mosquitos and mud. It was a hard beautiful climb up towards the main ridge heading North. I had a fantastic campsite nestled into a grove of krumholtzed White Pine (where the weather shapes the trees like bonsai – the full-grown trees are no more than 10 feet tall).

July 21 — day 81
Camped mile 992.5 hiked 12.6 miles today.
It was a true mosquito fest today. I didn’t make many miles but each one at the cost of blood. I camped near Falls Creek and the adjacent meadows which was beautiful but apparently prime mosquito habitat.

July 20 — day 80
Camped mile 979.9 hiked 14.1 miles today.
I was a bit lazy today. I was able to skinny dip in Smedberg Lake without a being eaten by mosquitos by finding a little granite peninsula that stuck out into the lake. It felt wonderful to swim and sunbathe mosquito-free. I camped along Ranchita Creek just after crossing it but before the trail climbed out of the valley.

July 19 — day 79
Camped mile 965.8 hiked 17.1 miles today.

July 18 — day 78
Camped mile 948.7 hiked 10.5 miles today.
It was an easy walk into Tuolumne. First stop was the general store/post office/restaurant. I had breakfast got some resupply consisting mainly of King sized Payday bars and had a mid morning snack of a pint of coffee ice cream. The trail family is breaking up as some will walk down to the valley and others lacking the necessary permit will hitchhike into the valley. It was a hot day and I took many breaks along the Tuolumne River before camping above Conness Creek.

July 17 — day 77
Camped mile 938.2 hiked 17.1 miles today.
It was a great day crossing over Donahue Pass the gateway to Yosemite. We descended down meadows along the Lyell fork of the Tuolumne River. The water was crystal clear. We enjoyed an afternoon break watching the trout, skinny dipping etc. I decided to camp outside of the four-mile limit from Tuolumne rather than the public campsite in Tuolumne. Unfortunately my campsite was a mosquito heaven.

July 16 — day 76
Camped mile 923.1 hiked 15.1 miles today.
I was up early for breakfast at the RM restaurant. It was passable and a bit expensive but worth it. It was a hard day for many. I camped well above Thousand Islands Lake. Had a spectacular view of the moonrise.

July 15 — day 75
Zero PCT miles today.
Camped off-trail at Red’s Meadows. It was a busy morning. Took the 1:00  bus to Mammoth. We gathered into a huge group and ate at the Loco Frijol. I had a huge bowl of red Pozole. We took a shuttle to the Main Lodge and from there yet another shuttle to Red’s Meadows. We met Medicine Man there. Camped at the group campsite for thruhikers.

July 14 — day 74
Zero PCT miles today continued to stay at the Eastside Guesthouse and Bivy. I patched my Thermarest Neo. I finished my resupply from the Grocery Outlet and Von’s.

July 13 — day 73
Zero PCT miles today as I stay at the EG&B. I did a bit of resupply shopping today and a lot of eating. We had an excellent birthday celebration for Safari today. Activities included matching personnel items to their owners. Safari got them all. A blind taste test of various bars; Safari got all except an obscure one Panda and I had found in the hiker box the last time I was here. There was a poop emoji piñata that she gutted with a good whack with her ice axe. French Ninja made a delicious bowl with veggies and salmon over rice. Finally we had a birthday cake in the form of two pies from Eric Schat’s bakery.

July 12 — day 72
Stayed off-trail mile 903.3 hiked 16.9 PCT + 3.5 Mammoth Pass = 20.4 miles today. I was up early and grumpy as my pad had sprung a leak overnight. I set off at 4:15 before the others and kept walking thru snow, stream and lake crossings. Got into Mammoth via the tram from the Mammoth Pass Trailhead. Had an expensive but barely adequate mole dinner with a margarita at Roberto’s. There were a huge number of hikers heading by bus to Bishop. Returned to the Eastside Guesthouse and Bivy where we were happy to see Panda pretty well healed after his week or so recovery

July 11 — day 71
Camped mile 886.4 hiked 11.5 off PCT miles today. The Goodale Pass trail was lovely. There were no signs of others having traveled over the Pass this year although the melt may have obscured the tracks. We had some lovely glissades descending from the pass. By the time we got to the PCT junction I was completely wiped out. We camped near the trail junction in bare rick as all the other spots were soaking wet. It was a gorgeous campsite.

July 10 — day 70
Stayed at the Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) off-trail mile 874.5 hiked 10.8 PCT + 7.2 Bear Ridge = 18 miles today. Selden Pass was the easiest so far. The descent was tedious as per usual. Sam and I got to Bear Creek together. I found the log crossing downstream from the trail crossing. It was good and solid with bits of branches providing handholds. The mosquitos were extreme in this area. I’m so glad that I had long pants and a long-sleeved shirt as well as a head net. We got to VVR tired and hungry. I was happy to see AK who had arrived the day before. Had dinner of pulled pork tacos and apple fritters. Hung out with other PCT and JMT hikers at the fire.

July 9 — day 69
Camped mile 863.7 hiked 16.4 miles today. The first obstacle for the day was crossing Evolution Creek via the very muddy bypass route. It was cold and for me right up to the bits and pieces. I had the seemingly great idea of rinsing my pants out after the crossing. The local mosquitos agreed that this was an excellent plan. I had to quickly dress in order to avoid too much blood loss. Much of the rest of the day was relatively easy walking along the S fork of the San Joaquin River. Eventually, of course, we started climbing like fiends up to our camp at Sallie Keys Lake.

July 8 — day 68
Camped mile 847.3 hiked 16.8 miles today. It was another exhausting excellent day. It was another early start to try to beat the soft snow crossing Muir Pass. It was so beautiful on the ascent. There were a few clear boot paths on the otherwise unsullied snow up to the pass. The day was perfect; clear, still and warm. Eventually, there was a large gathering in and mostly around the hut. The gentle descent was a real slush fest. We eventually were in the forests and meadows of Evolution Creek. As elsewhere on the trail there was extensive evidence of the avalanches from the huge snows of the previous winter. We were again low enough to have a campfire. We collectively decided to drop into the Vermillion Valley Resort via the Bear Ridge trail to do a minor resupply and have a few good meals. This was excellent for me as I had really started to eat and was running low on food. I celebrated the good news by having a king-sized Payday bar for dessert.

July 7 — day 67
Camped mile 830.5 hiked 15 miles today. We had planned to leave at 5:00am in anticipation that our companions would catch up which they did as I was packing up in the morning. Mather was an awesome pass. We climbed rock bands far to the left of the trail as it was much safer from potential rockfall. Very high up we were back on the trail for a moment before the crux which was a very steep snow field under the cornice at the pass ridge. There was a lot of exposure on the last move passing over the cornice. After I made it I posted myself just over the crux anchored to my axe, giving words of encouragement to those following and ready to grab anyone slipping. Luckily we all made it under our own steam. It was a very long snowy and wet descent down the raging Palisades Creek drainage. We camped low enough to have a campfire, but most were too exhausted to enjoy it much.

July 6 — day 66
Camped mile 815.5 hiked 11 miles today. We started climbing at 4:00am in hard snow to climb Pinchot Pass. The morning sky is so gorgeous it almost makes waking so early worth it. After the pass, I descended rather quickly thru the rapidly softening snow. I met up with Sonic before the S-fork of the Kings River where we had lunch. We had to bushwhack on the south side of the river for 1.5 miles before we could find a place to ford. We were in the lead as we pushed up thru very slushy snow to an open dry campsite just below Mather Pass. Our companions we found later decided to quit a mile before due to the snow.

July 5 — day 65
Camped mile 804.5 hiked 11 miles today. Descended from Rae Lakes with the trail flooded in many sections and with many river crossings. The Woods Creek water slide was amazing. We climbed up as high as we had energy for on the steep trail up towards Pinchot Pass. I felt the magnitude 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake while I was lying in my Thermarest pad trying to sleep before our 4:30 AM start.

July 4 — day 64
Camped mile 793.5 hiked 4.4 PCT + 7 Kearsarge Pass = 11.4 miles today. We noticed a lot of melt in the Kearsarge Pass trail from when we were last here a few days ago. It was the first of many long hard days in this section. We climbed over both Kearsarge and Glenn Passes today before dropping down to camp at Rae Lakes. The ascent up Glenn wasn’t too difficult but some in our party had trouble on the steep snow fields in the descent. Chesus took a tumble and self arrested but was physically unscathed. It was almost continuous snow until Rae lakes.

July 3 — day 63
Camped off-trail first lake from Kearsarge Pass trailhead PCT mile 789.1 hiked 2.1 miles today. We were busy and sweltering in the Owens Valley getting together and busing it. Didn’t take long to get a ride to the trailhead. We didn’t make much progress but we enjoyed a campfire baked Brie and Some-mores.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2398886/how-eastern-california-celebrated-hike-naked-day

July 1 — day 61 
Zero miles today continued to stay at the EG&B. As per usual it was an eating fest. Had a huge but only passable Chile Verde plate at Amigos Mexican Restaurant. For dinner some other thruhikers at the EG&B made me a plate of grilled chicken and salad.

June 30 — day 60 
Stayed off trail at the Hostel mile 788.9. It was a surprisingly hard day going over Kearsarge Pass to the Onion Valley trailhead. All were low on food. We saw a lot of trail friends as we descended. It was an easy hitch to Independence. Five of us had the best hitch ever in the sleeper cab of a semi. Panda and I stayed at the month old and fantastic Eastside Guesthouse and Bivy.

June 29 — day 59 
Camped mile 787.0 hiked 10.2 miles today. We started up to Forester Pass at 4:00. Met up with Arora B and Medicine Man at the highest campsite. I led the group of 12 up the snow field to the exposed switchbacks. The final steep snowfield was the crux of the South face. Each person in our party traversed this section with the encouragement of the group. It was a glorious sight from this the high point of the entire PCT. It was a long and tedious descent through the worst snow cups I have seen in N. America. Unfortunately, Panda slipped and fell during the descent resulting in two deep gashes in his knee, a probable-broken finger, and a bruised face. Medicine Man lived up to his name a sprung to action treating and stabilizing him. We all gathered in a little snow-free grove to continue monitoring Panda. We decided that there was no sign of shock or dangerous brain trauma. Panda was a real trooper and descended under his own power with one leg splinted with foam pads, sticks, and an assortment of bandanas.

June 28 — day 58 
Camped mile 776.8 hiked 7.6 PCT + .8 = 8.4 miles today. I was off at 5:00 to make the three river crossings before the midday surge due to snow melt. I crossed Wallace Creek solo no problem, but I was expecting to have met up with Sam, Safari, and crew who had left before me. I continued to hustle along assuming that they were ahead of me. I caught up with Virgin, Next Level, and Huckleberry ~.7 mile upstream from the trail ford of Wright Creek which was impassable whitewater. It was an easy and safe ford here. I continued to hustle along to Tyndall Creek where again the trail ford was dangerous whitewater. I headed upstream to where there were three branches. Again a safe knee–deep crossing. I waited for Virgin and company to catch up and crossed with them and continued to walk with them for the rest of the day.

June 27 — day 57 
Continued camping at Crabtree Meadows. I led at first a group of 12 starting at midnight up to the peak. At the first snow slope Safari and Virgin turned back. My group was now Sam, Panda, Next Level, and Chesus. Sam was the fastest climber but he stopped at all the high angle snow fields crossing the switchbacks for me to scope out and lead. We scrambled up bypassing the highest steepest snowfield where Speedy had fallen 50 feet a few days before. I was well within my comfort zone the whole climb, but it was pretty scary for my companions with the high angle snow and exposure. We summited at sunrise with Sam in the lead. It was incredibly gorgeous but extremely cold. Chesus brought a liter of margarita to celebrate our success. We each had a slug. We didn’t stay long. I passed Medicine Man with his group Boo, American Mud Cake, and another climber he picked up on the way up. The descent was OK until we got to the sun cupped snow which was horrible. Got to camp and rested and tried to sleep the rest of the day.

June 26 — day 56 
Camped off PCT mile 766.3 at Crabtree Meadows hiked 5.8 PCT + 1.2 = 7 miles today. It was a short but hard day walking. Medicine Man and I instructed some thruhikers in ice axe techniques in a nice little snow field around midday. Arrived at Crabtree Meadows and set up camp early in anticipation for a midnight start to climb Whitney.

June 25 — day 55 
Camped mile 760.5 hiked 9.7 miles today. Had a lovely campsite overlooking a meadow with Mt Anna Mills in the background.

June 24 — day 54 
Camped mile 750.8 hiked 0.6 PCT + 3.8 = 4.4 miles today. I wasn’t up too early today but was hungry and went to the packed an excellent Alabama Hills Cafe for an enormous chicken fried steak breakfast. Had a very leisurely morning packing for the upcoming snow and river crossings. I got two dry bags to replace my single trash compactor bag. I tried to get replacement baskets for my ski poles but I couldn’t get anything to fit so I’m stuck with two mismatched slightly too small baskets that came with my poles. Started to hitchhike back up to the Cottonwood Pass trailhead and all managed to get there in two packed vans. Hiked just over Cottonwood Pass and back to the PCT.

June 23 – day 53
Stayed off-trail at the Dow Villa Hotel Lone Pine mile 745.3 hiked 7 PCT + 2.5 = 9.5 miles today. Another glorious day with spectacular views. Walked out Trail Pass to the trailhead where I was picked up by trail angel Michael who took me and 3 other thruhikers down to Lone Pine. I dropped my stuff off at the Hotel and went to the Mt. Whitney restaurant for a passable burger. Later in the day there was a pool party with the dozen or so thruhikers staying here at the Hotel/Motel.

June 22 – day 52
Camped mile 738.3 hiked 26.5 miles today. I was up early to enjoy another beautiful day walking. I have only had to traverse a small amount of snow. I saw lots of my fellow thruhikers that I know. Had another gathering for an evening fire with about 15 people at the campsite. I’m about the only one going stoveless.

June 21 – day 51
Camped mile 721.8 hiked 19.6 miles today. It was solstice and Naked Hiking Day today! Met a photographer working on an assignment from Outside online magazine to document this festive occasion. The day was lovely there was a big gathering of hikers at the bridge at Monache Meadows. Arrived in the evening to a campfire made by the French Ninja and Sam. Had a lovely evening with a large group of hikers.

June 20 – day 50
Second zero today in Kennedy Meadows. I ate like an actual pig today. I’m feeling so much better than when I arrived here it practically a miracle. Did some repair on my tent and other things in preparation for leaving tomorrow.