PCT – KM to TM Section Hike – Day 8

Daily Miles: 16

Total Miles: 129

It was a pretty cold night, being not too far from a lake. The outside of Mace’s tent was pretty soaked this morning. Somehow, our tarps stayed dry—maybe the tree cover protected us from the condensation.

Our morning started by finishing the descent from Glen Pass. We had about 4.5 miles to the low point, where there is a suspension bridge over Wards Creek. The trail was pretty nice, and we had it to ourselves. While we passed a few people camping along the trail, no one had started hiking yet.

We had on our wind shirts, wind pants, rain jackets, mittens, and hats for the descent. When we got to the suspension bridge, we finally got some sun, and Mace set out his tent to dry. There were several parties camped near the river, and they all seemed to be heading out southbound as we took our break.

Leaving the break spot, we had an almost seven-mile climb to Pinchot Pass. It was a really nice day out today, and the forecast predicted clear skies, which we were very glad about. After yesterday’s slightly scary descent from Glen Pass, we were happy to have a nice day.

The climbing went extremely slowly today. SweetPea seemed to feel pretty nauseous as she climbed, which caused our pace to be very slow. Not sure if it was the altitude, a heavy pack, or just not being in great shape. Today was an eye-opener: if you are not in peak physical condition, backpacking through the Sierras can be a humbling experience.

The scenery was spectacular, and we saw a few marmots and pikas on the hike. Beardoh’s heels have been bothering him on hikes for years, likely some version of plantar fasciitis. He has been stretching to alleviate some of the heel pain, but today it felt like he had accidentally caused a painful strain in his leg where he had surgery two years ago. SweetPea rubbed his leg, and he took a pain pill, which seemed to help.

When we finally got up to Pinchot Pass, we had the place to ourselves. It was completely calm, and the sky was a brilliant blue. We sat down and took a break, just enjoying the accomplishment of having made it to the top of the pass. It was nice not to have to run down the pass to avoid a storm today.

Once we headed out, we realized that we hadn’t taken a photo at the top. Even though we made this realization when we were still close to the top, no one wanted to hike back up, so we got our photo just below the summit.

We had just over four miles of descent to the low point between Pinchot Pass and Mather Pass, tomorrow’s goal. The scenery was stunning as we walked beside several alpine lakes. It was really picturesque.

We made it to camp at 6:00 p.m. We are camped at the low point. It took us 12 hours to go the 16 miles, and we are wiped out. Our feet are sore from the rocky trail, and our legs are tired from the long ascent and descent.