At mile 936. Hiked 23.8 miles today. I met a pair of thru-hikers heading southbound. Their trail names were David and Z. David’s real name is Mike. Nobody seemed to be able to remember his real name so they named him David since it was presumably easier to remember. Z got her name because she hikes with Chacos, leaving Z tan marks on each foot. David and Z and I had never previously met, but we knew all the same PCT hikers. It was fun talking to them to catch up on all of our in-common friends. They had hiked with Ridge Route and Shortcut in Washington. I told them that RR and Shortcut were in the Sierras now. Z had met Cache 22 at the Oregon border where they were both starting their hikes. There were many others that we both knew or met such as Bear, Flying Amaneta, Hummingbird, Rifle, etc. Here is a small lake where I ate lunch, soaked my feet, and napped. Banner Peak in Ansel Adams Wilderness. Banner Peak with Thousand Islands Lake. The trail.

At mile 912.2. Hiked 16.2 miles today. Today I had an easy trail the entire day. The trail surface was smooth and the slope was gentle. After 10 miles I arrived at Reds Meadow.  I went directly to the General Store to buy a beer, then to the cafe to order a double cheeseburger to go with my Sierra Pale Ale.  Needing only one breakfast and one dinner, I resupplied from the hiker box. I just finished eating a mystery chicken and rice dinner that I had chosen from the...

At mile 896. Hiked 17.3 miles today plus 1.5 miles to return to PCT via Edison Ferry trail. Everyone exiting the Edison Ferry after a good time at VVR. Now, Hike! The trail toward Silver Pass. A lot of vertical from VVR. Clouds, but no rain. View from Silver Pass. I think that might be Ritter Peak in Ansel Adams Wilderness. Lake and clouds. Virginia Lake. I don’t want a weather repeat. My down vest is stuffed in my dry sack this time. My campsite for the night. Big day tomorrow at Reds Meadow. I'm planning a...

At mile 878.7. Hiked 21 PCT miles plus 1.5 miles back to PCT from Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) plus 1.5 miles from PCT to Edison Boat Ferry for Vermillon Valley Ranch (VVR). As I departed at 6:20 am, I took this photo of just a few of the later risers tenting at MTR. One of several lakes leading up to Selden Pass. Another lake. I met a large group from South Korea here. One of them had hiked the SO-CAL portion of the PCT last year.  Another view of the same lake. The...

At mile 857.7. Hiked 18.9 miles today plus 1.5 miles to Muir Ranch. At Muir Trail Ranch there were 5-gallon buckets labeled with categories for each type of food and other non-food items. Amazed at the abundance and variety of free food and supplies, I went down the line selecting the food I needed. I grabbed several Mountain House scrambled egg dinners. It was pleasing to think that I would have a break from the daily morning oatmeal over the next several days. I provisioned with enough food to...

At mile 838.8. Hiked 23.2 miles today. Today I climbed both Mather Pass and Muir Pass. The valley that the PCT follows up to Muir Pass is my favorite spot on the PCT. The Middle Fork Kings River spills through this valley and there are quiet groves of trees at each level of the valley. The valley finally ends at a series of high mountain lakes.  While taking a dinner break on the Mather Pass climb, I met several young girls with day packs. They said that they were on...