PCT 54 – Toiyabe Wilderness

Daily miles : 17
Total miles : 1034

Good night of sleep at our stealth site near the Kennedy Meadows North store.   We both woke up to some rain drops in the early am hours,  but they were very light and we were not convinced that the rain would get heavier,  so we just set our tarps over our ridge lines in case the rain persisted with more ferver.   It did not.

We walked out to the road to get a hitch back to the trail at 7:30.  On the way,  some campers invited us over for coffee,  which we indulged,  and then headed to the road.  We were there for about 40 minutes without success,  and by that time, there was a total of 10 of us hikers at the corner looking for a ride (tougher to get a hitch with more people waiting).  Ultimately,  a couple (with a baby – an unlikely type to pickup hitch hikers) pulled over in their pickup camper and fit all 10 of us in.   It was great.   The driver was pretty thrilled to have got that many people in his camper,  and took a video of us all climbing out of the back as if it were a clown car.

Once on the trail,  we were climbing for a bit as we got away from Sonora Pass.   Once we did start heading North,  we were encountering a good bit of snow on the trail as well as some glissading opportunities.   Some areas were quite slow going,  some annoying and some quite fun.

We spent most of the day hiking around (and taking breaks and lunch) Gazelle, Dream Catcher and Mountain Man….and enjoyed their company.

After lunch,  we had some climbing,  but the trail was a bit smoother and not too snow covered,  so the walking was more steady. This was welcome after the morning of slow progress,  and wet feet.

Tonight we are camped with quite a few people: Mountain Man,  Gazelle,  Dream Catcher,  Proton,  XC,  Lid,  Tip Toe,  Weta,  and Sugar Rush. 

Tomorrow we will do about the same miles but have a couple more hours to do the miles since we are on trail and will start shortly after 6am. It should be a nice mellow day where we don’t have to push too hard.