63 — Glen Aulin Sierra Camp

Mile 942.5–948.3 (+4 miles roundtrip side trail down Waterwheel Falls trail) (9.8 miles total)

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Rose: campfire at the end of the night with weekenders Thorn: saying goodbye to Casey, being in a sad funk afterward Bud: getting back into the groove of trail

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Waking up early after two days of sleeping in was rough (amazing how habits fade so quickly). It didn’t help that I didn’t go to bed at a reasonable (hiker) hour. We packed quickly and got on the road by 6:45. I drove since Casey had a long day ahead of him too. We listened to a couple of podcasts and then chatted a little sadly.

We got to the Lee Vining Mobil (ie the bus stop) with twenty minutes to spare. The goodbyes. They were sad. He gives me such joy, and the relaxing weekend had spoiled me. He reassured me about my hike and the comfort of the winter ahead. The bus was 15 minutes late. I loaded, and he started his long drive back home.

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The teary goodbyes left me in a funk. I could not get back into the tranquil flow of the trail. My pack was heavy. I was tired. I took it slow. The views were gorgeous: waterfalls, granite walls, big U-shaped valleys. Thankfully it was flat and downhill.

I took lunch overlooking one of these valleys. Then passed Tuolumne Falls. A mile later I stopped again at another set of falls at the Glen Aulin Sierra Camp. It was sunny and pleasant. I debated what to do. The next camp was only 3 miles but 1000’ up, dry camp. The one after 7.5 miles and 1500’. I didn’t want to face it. I was lonely too. If I stayed at the cam, I could make new friends but there was plenty of time left to hike in the day.

I set up camp at Glen Aulin. Then I did a side trail trip down the Waterwheel Falls Trail. It was 3.5 to the falls. I didn’t want to hike what I could have to the second camp, so I hiked 2 miles to where the forest openned up to the granite valley below at the top of a waterfall.

On the way back, I stopped at a choice swimming hole, skinny dipped, and dried off in the hot afternoon.

A womann started a campfire in the campfire ring, just like I had envisioned. I swapped PCT details with all the weekenders around the fire. No other thru hikers joined our fire.