At mile 1065.7. Hiked 26.4 miles today. I felt like I needed to put in the miles in order for my last day on the PCT to be a short day, allowing plenty of time to hitch a ride to Sacramento. The trail cooperated with a smooth and even path. I’d already planned out my last campsite two more days out. It would make my last day a short 5 miles. The morning light was incredible, or maybe the double hot coffee that put my brain on “enjoy mode”. I...

At mile 1039.3. Hiked 22.3 miles today. Since I spent the night at North Kennedy Meadows and had the Cowboy Breakfast, I didn’t start hiking until 9:10 am. Even with the late start and carrying 4 day food supply, I made pretty good mileage.  There were two reasons for the good mileage. First, I see the end in sight. Next, by early afternoon it became apparent that I was walking toward a wildfire, that I was downwind from the fire, that the winds were very strong, and finally, I had...

At mile 1016.9.  Hiked 14.5 miles today. Last night I camped at Walker River on a site near the footbridge. After a short climb up a canyon, the landscape changed to a high open volcanic expanse. It became windy and cool. Working my way up to higher and more exposed elevations. I continue to climb. This is an exciting difference to what I had seen on elsewhere on the PCT. Barren volcanic views. Only a few spots where low and bent White Bark Pines grew. I made my way up to the notch...

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...

Day 141 At mile 976.6. Hiked 20.6 miles today. There are not many photos of the wooded areas, but these are some of the most peaceful and delightful areas to walk through. It was too cold to worry about breakfast (my water bottles were partially frozen) when I woke up, so I  ate breakfast later at this spot on Miller Lake.  Near Miller Lake. As I sat at Miller Lake, the button on my pants popped off. What to do now? With no belt, the button was all that held my pants up....

At mile 956. Hiked 20 miles today. Saw Shuttle hiking southbound. She  had also skipped the Sierra and saved it for last. We had hiked together part of a day in SOCAL going into Mike’s Place. She is the first person I have seen that I knew since I skipped to the Sierra. Here is early morning fog lifting from a meadow where the Tuolomene flows. This rock feature is on the Tioga road at the point the PCT crosses. I ressupplied at the post office nearby and also resupplied my...