Daily Miles: 16
Total Miles: 209
After a normal start this AM, we headed into a short switchbacked section (up) before cruising along a flat area for a while. We saw many tenters along this stretch, most with nice views similar to ours from last night.
Shortly after passing our PCT 2016 campsite near the junction for the Bear Mountain Trail, we began the memorable 2,100-foot descent toward the junction for Vermillion Valley Ranch. This descent (or ascent for those headed SoBo) is over 3 miles on a very steep slope. The notable thing about the trail on this slope is how evenly graded it is. While steep, the trail was built in a way that there are few (if any) steps built into it. While it is certainly a grind for the southbound hiker, it is one where a person can just put their head down and grind through it.
At the base of the climb, there was a nice break spot, which we took advantage of. We also grabbed water for the start of the climb up Silver Pass.
Silver Pass is about a 3,000-foot elevation gain from the valley to the south where we were starting. The climb is spread out over 6 miles and generally has either low-grade trail or high, quick elevation-gaining trail. Being in and out of the trees for the first few miles was nice, but once the pass is in sight, we are out of the trees and stay that way until coming down the north side. Interestingly, none of us have much of a memory of Silver Pass from previous hikes.
Halfway up to the pass, we met four guys who were traveling together. One was doing the JMT, and the other three had joined him for a loop. They seemed like a good group, and it occurred to us that we hadn’t met a nice group like that on this hike. We lamented that they were not hiking in the same direction.
After our last water pickup at a bridge crossing, we started to keep an eye out for a place to camp. We found a fairly unremarkable spot that should be all right for the night. While the flow of water in a river is audible from the campsite, it seems like it is far enough away that we won’t be getting condensation, and we are far enough from the valley floor that moisture should not settle here.
Even though we stopped at 5:30, no one has passed by. That is a difference between PCT hikers and JMT hikers—the JMTers wrap up the day quite a bit earlier.
Ending Location: 37.491331,-118.932669
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