Fifty days hiking would have seemed out of the question a little over a year ago. Here we are at day fifty and the PCT did not shy away from difficulty today. The beauty always makes up for it but damn… it was one of those days.

We got up and moving in the earlier side as Mackenzie and I camped a couple miles back from Spoons and Fly Lord. It was comforting to see them still in their tents as we walked passed their campsite so we decided to take a load off and have some (instant) coffee. The mix of breakfast essentials, hot cocoa, and instant coffee still tastes great to me in the morning. I’ve enjoyed the hot drink every morning.

After a quick breakfast, we kept climbing towards our first pass of the day, Pinchot Pass. It has been a half day climb up for us towards the pass and just before the last push up, we ran into Snowball. We first met near Agua Dulce and have been playing leap frog for a bit. It was comforting to know that he too was feeling so slow up these mountains. The crazy elevation change and altitude has slowed our pace as compared to the desert and were all feeling it.

After reaching the pass, we wandered down to a glacier lake for some additional r&r. I was feeling tired and a bit nauseous this morning so any and all rest I welcome today. We agreed to push from this point to another campsite about halfway up the next pass of the day to grab some lunch.

Snowball stopped in for a bit to have some lunch with us and headed on. We made it to the Mather Pass around 5 PM. We couldn’t sit around too long as we had another climb down to get to our final spot for the day. About four miles in, we stopped for some dinner and watched the sunset. Once dark, we had about 4ish more miles left but didn’t realize our next section was switchbacks straight downhill with multiple sections washed out. It made for slow moving. Rather than push the additional four, mackenzie and I are camped about a mile back to wait for the morning light to guide us through some of the blowdowns.

Exhausted and ready for sleep.

Happy trails…

Well so much for good sleep. Both Mackenzie and I slept terribly. Not sure the reasons but we had such a slow morning and didn’t get to walking until around 9:15 this morning. Not a great start considering we have 24 miles ahead of us and Muir Pass to conquer.

After a quick breakfast and game plan, Mackenzie and I pushed hard up until lunch. We would hike for three miles and rest for about ten to fifteen minutes. It was a good rythm. After several of those legs, we stopped for lunch at a shaded portion of the trail with four miles to go until we reach Muir Pass. It’s considered one of the more difficult passes given its elevation change and length. Additionally, there are multiple river crossings and snow traverses to add to the challenge. All things considered, we handled the trail well and made it up to the pass around 4:30. The Muir shelter was the coolest structure on trail so far. Built in the early twentieth century, its character was incredibly charming. We still had eight miles to go so today was spent pushing continuously throughout the day. The views were incredible with water so clear it was intoxicating to walk by and not go in for a dip.

The hike down from the pass was the most enjoyable of all passes. Slow easy hills over glacier lakes and views of the mountains all around. We descended further and further into the valley until both Mackenzie and I stopped for some dinner to enjoy the sunset and views. Only three miles left at this point. We’re both exhausted and not making much conversation at this point. Just ready to hit camp.

After dinner, we had a fairly slow yet steady pace to camp. Wow, it was such a relief to get to our spot this evening. Hoping for better sleep and a better morning tomorrow.

Happy dreams…