10 Sep Day 142 – Falls Creek

At mile 1002.4. Hiked 25.8 miles today.

The miles I hiked in the morning were over some of the most difficult I have encountered on the PCT. Actually this difficult stretch includes some of the miles that I hiked late the day before. There were steep ups and downs with rocky and washed out surfaces. This made the hiking even slower downhill than uphill. One time my foot rolled sideways on a round stone so that the upper side of my shoe slammed into an embedded dagger-like rock. The top of my foot momentarily seared with pain. Needless to say, my spirits were low. A SOBO informed me that the PCT closure for the Donnell fire had been lifted over the weekend. Oh, great! Now 32 more miles to hike.

At midday I met Freebird (3 time PCT thruhiker) and Raven. The trail had gotten much better but I didn’t trust it to last. Freebird told me that the part I had just hiked was some of the worst around, but the trail would be  good from here on out. This really lifted my spirits. Also, I had just had a nice lunch break, a 2nd cold coffee, and a couple of Advil. Things were looking up. 

Here is Wilma Lake where I ate lunch.

Another view of Wilma Lake.

Freebird had turned out to be right. In fact, the trail became much easier than typical. I started to make good time as I started to think about how I would handle resupply given that 32 more miles of trail were open. I exited Yosemite and celebrated that milestone in my head. I also reached the 1000 mile marker and drew down my miles remaining to less than 100, then less than 90. The end is drawing near.

Jack Main Canyon was a long beautiful walk along Falls Creek as it meandered through grassy meadows and as the trail disappeared into pockets of secret forests. Jack Main was actually Jack Mean, but they got his name wrong when they named the canyon.

The lakes sometimes reflected like mirrors.

Here is Dorothy Lake just before reaching Dorothy Pass where I crossed the Yosemite Park Boundary.

Looking back at Dorothy Lake as I begin the climb up Dorothy Pass.

Another lake.

Some snow on mountain above lake. Now over Dorothy Pass I’m on north facing slopes which mean some lingering snow patches.

Crossing a pass meant not only new vistas, but also new terrains. 

People: I have seen the following SOBO’s. Zebra, Pringle, Pippin, Easy Road, and Jaybird.