travel | Endless P Summer

9/4/20…..5 miles

This is the second part of a multiple part series about hiking the Sierra High Route. In 2018 Sara and I hiked roughly 2/3 of the Sierra High Route. We had attempted the rest of it but due to unfavorable weather and a tight schedule we ended up bailing and just figured we’d come back later. It’s later now.

A couple days ago we were up in Eastern Oregon hiking in the Wallowas and heard the wildfires were subdued and hiking in the Sierra Nevada would be possible. We spent a day driving from through Nevada to into California and slept in the car last night outside of Mammoth. This morning we did a few town chores in Mammoth including eating breakfast at Schatt’s Bakery and resupplying at the Groce Out(Grocery Outlet), my favorite of all chain supermarkets. We drove north to Twin Lakes, the northern terminus of the High Route stopping to eat burgers in Bridgeport. Our friends Mac and Paulina met us at Twin Lakes and will be joining us on the route. They, like us, have also hiked the first 2/3 of the route but much more recently, getting off trail just a couple weeks ago due to smoke from the wildfires. This afternoon I went for a quick swim in one of the Twin Lakes and since I’d been carrying a pair of goggles in the car I put those on to see under water. To my shock and pleasure I saw below the surface of the lake a school of hundreds of trout! I couldn’t believe it! There was a couple nearby who were just packing up their fishing rods and they said they’d been there for 3 hours without catching anything. Probably just using the wrong bait I guess.

We parked our car at Mono Village at the end of the lake($15 for 7 days if you’re considering doing this), and the 4 of us got into Mac’s car and drove south to Red’s Meadow(free parking). Tonight we walked an easy and enjoyable 5 miles on the famous John Muir Trail then the Becks Lake Trail and found water and a campsite just after it got dark. The miles will be getting much harder but our plan is to take our time and tackle the 70 or so remaining miles over the next 5 days.

9/5/20…..16 miles

This morning we walked about two miles from our campsite on trail to just past Superior Lake. From here the High Route leaves the trail to the right and goes up over Nancy Pass. The problem is we didn’t know which part of this wall of mountains was actually Nancy Pass. Roper’s guidebook goes more into detail about a grove of hemlocks nearby than which way to go. Interesting stuff about the trees but still.

We think we figured it out and climbed a steep but manageable slope up to a pass that gave us incredible views of the Minarets to the north. Dropping down Nancy Pass, or perhaps not Nancy Pass, was a bit trickier. There was a good amount of steep loose scree and talus that we followed left and eventually made it up to a trail that led to Minaret Lake. This is a beautiful lake in the shadows of the dauntingly jagged Minaret peaks looming overhead and we all couldn’t resist going for a nice swim. I just regret leaving my goggles in the car because there was some big time fish in here.

Leaving Minaret Lake there was a shift in the winds or something and it suddenly got very smoky. It went from a clear blue sky day to significant haze in a matter of minutes. We followed a use trail up for a short distance then veered off to the right across some talus to a band of cliffs. There was a narrow channel in the cliffs with a short but steep class 3 scramble that brought us up to Cecile Lake. I was able to locate the slot in the band of cliffs from a distance but if it wasn’t for Mac finding the correct climb I would have attempted a ridiculous route up the chute that was well beyond my comfort zone and probably ability. We walked on large talus around Cecile Lake to the outlet and then followed an adventurous use trail steeply down to Iceberg Lake where we ate lunch. Because of lack of sunlight this lake supposedly only thaws for 3-4 months of the year. I jumped in off a rock to see how cold it was and surprisingly not very.

As we were eating lunch we watched as a surprising amount of dark grey, purple, and orange smoke rose from behind the mountains to the south and overtook the sun. It became windy, chilly, and we could here rumblings of thunder. In a way it was very eerie and felt a bit like the 2017 solar eclipse. This wasn’t good. None of us had seen smoke quite like this from a wildfire before. We decided to pack up and start walking. Luckily if we had to get out of the mountains there was a bailout point coming up. Soon it seemed to go from bad to worse and we were in unanimous decision to bail. We followed the Shadow Lakes Trail to the Agnew Meadow Trailhead and then picked up the road back to Mac’s car at Red’s. Paulina was able to get messages on her GPS and from her friend we learned the Creek Fire started last night and rapidly spread to 35000 acres in a day causing a serious amount of smoke in the Mammoth area and a lot of California.

It’s never fun to bail off a route but safety first or third or something like that. Plus I want to be able to actually see the Sierra not just walk through it in a smoky haze. Place is awesome. Sara and I will be back to maybe do the SHR in 3 tries and I’m sure Mac and Paulina will too, hopefully all of us together. When we got down to Mammoth it was still wicked smoky and the holiday weekend had hotels jammed up. Camping would have been shit so we picked up our car at Twin Lakes and the 4 of us caravanned to Mac and Paulina’s place in Sacramento. On the way Mac saw a mountain lion on Monitor Pass and captured the footage on his dash cam. I’ve never been more jealous or enticed to buy a dash cam in my life.

The four of us spent the next day regrouping inside Mac and Paulina’s air conditioned Sacramento apartment while it was 110 degrees outside and hazy from wildfire smoke.

These pictures are all the work of either Sara, Mac, or Paulina. To see more of their stuff follow their insta’s @halfwayanyhere or @paulinadao. Mac keeps a real blog also, find it here: halfwayanywhere.com. These two have incredible adventures and are excellent sources for backcountry information.

Of course feel free to check out my insta or Sara’s for more pics. Or the same ones on a different medium. @sarahikes and @endlesspsummer.

2020 was the worst season on record for wildfires in the US and they’ve been increasing getting worse.

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Posted on April 1, 2021 by endlesspsummer

sierra high route, sierra nevada, travel, trekking

adventure, backpacking, California, hike, Hiking, honeymoon, John Muir trail, mountains, road trip, roper, routes, sierra high route, Sierras, Subaru, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, trail, travel, traveling, travelling, wildfires

Since late 2015 I’ve been section hiking Vermont’s Long Trail. This is the original long distance hiking trail in the US and the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail. It stretches 270 miles from the Massachusetts border to Canada. This week, QB and I have a few days off so we’re hiking a 50 mile section from Sherburne Pass to Lincoln Gap.

6/23/19 LT Mile 120.8

Last night we went to my buddy Brett and his wife Erin’s wedding in St. Johnsbury, VT. Afterwards, instead of staying in a hotel nearby like normal people, we drove an hour and a half west and slept in the back of my Subaru at a trailhead parking lot at Lincoln Gap.

This morning we rolled out of bed/car a little later than normal, got packed up, and put our thumbs out. Immediately we got picked up by a nice couple in a pickup truck who were headed down to Killington to mountain bike for the day. We hopped in the back with the bikes and enjoyed a nice sunny ride through Vermont for the next hour. We picked up some last minute necessities(candy bars and chips) at a gas station then quickly got a ride up the hill to Sherburne Pass where we ate lunch at the Inn at the Long Trail (QB says get the Nachos!).

The AT and the LT run concurrently for the southern hundred or so miles of Vermont and this is where they split. We followed the trail north all afternoon and I have to say, it was really nothing special. I mean I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. It was a green tunnel all day, with a fair amount of mud, but I guess that’s why they call it Vermud (that joke never ever gets old). Besides today being a bit boring it was definitely an enjoyable day and it certainly felt good to be back on trail.

We walked into the evening and found a place to camp in a little gap on a snowmobile trail. All day I noticed the bugs but they weren’t anything more than a minor nuisance until we stopped here. All of a sudden they swarmed. We had to put everything else on hold and set up the tent immediately. Hopefully they’re all gone by morning.

6/24/19 LT Mile 141.9

Some of the bugs must have slept in because they weren’t as bad by the time we got up and moving this morning. The trail was a little nicer too. For awhile we followed a nicely graded and wide uphill ski trail that accesses a bunch of backcountry skiing. I’ll have to keep this area in mind come winter.

After we got to Brandon Gap the trail rose steeply up to Horrid Mountain(it wasn’t that horrid). The rest of the day we seemed to be going up and down along the tops of mountains, even though they were all wooded summits and there were hardly any open views. Opposed to yesterday where we were lower in a forest and just contouring all day. Still though, it was muddy and buggy and muggy. Not complaining or anything but these aren’t my favorite hiking conditions.

This afternoon we walked through Middlebury Snow Bowl and within the ski area was Pleiad Lake, an excellent stop for a mid day swim!

We crossed Middlebury Gap, RT 125, and continued hiking up and down on rocky and muddy trail. At one point we walked through a remarkable amount of moose poop. I mean I wouldn’t write it here if it wasn’t worth mentioning, it was just that extraordinary of an amount of moose poop. A couple miles after the communal moose toilet we set up our tent near the Emily Proctor Shelter and called it a day. It might be a bit less buggy here than last night, still buggy though.

6/25 LT Mile 152.6

Today started off nice enough. It was cool and cloudy with a breeze that kept the bugs away. Then, like gangbusters, it started raining cats and dogs. It was absolutely pouring. The trail went from its regular makeup of mud, rocks, and roots to a muddy river with rocks for islands. Luckily we only had to walk through 11 miles of this nonsense and we’d be in a nice warm car. It would have totally sucked to spend all day walking in the rain and then try to camp in it. I felt bad for the other hikers out there today. The trail itself rolled up and down along a ridge and on a clear day I’m sure would have provided some sweet views.

Here and there the rain would let up but by the time we got to Lincoln Gap it reached something of crescendo and was absolutely pissing on us. When we reached the car we stripped out of our muddy soaked clothes on the side of the road, threw all our filthy crap in the rooftop cargo carrier then hopped in, cranked the heat and did our best to dry off. It’s a 3+ hour drive home but warm and dry. Plus we stopped at Cockadoodle Pizza in Bethel, VT and stuffed our faces. I’m not sure I’d recommend this section of the Long Trail but I definitely recommend Cockadoodle Pizza if you’re in the area.

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Posted on June 25, 2019 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, new hampshire, Thru hiking, travel

adventure, green Mountains, hike, Hiking, hitchhiking, Long Trail, mountains, mud, New England, pizza, rain, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, trail, travel, traveling, Vermont

If you just want to read about the race itself feel free to scroll through all this other stuff, I won’t be offended.

I’ve been wanting to take a shot at a hundred miler for awhile now. I guess ever since I started running and heard that hundreds were a thing that people do. It seemed so far out of reach, but like everything it’s all relative. When I started running, even 10 miles seemed unattainable. Now, after years of running, I knew that if I could wrap my head around it, a hundred miles was a possibility. It would only be like running from Lynn to Ossippee.

Also the time was now. For the last few years I spent most of my summers thru hiking and although I guess I was building up endurance, I felt that hiking took precedence over training to run a long race. This year was different. I was running well through the fall and had no immediate thru hikes coming up so I had enough time to put in some decent mileage over the winter.

Leading up to the race I ran a 50 miler in October and another one in November. I registered to run Zion in early December. From then until March I was doing 50-60 miles a week, regrettably mostly on the treadmill with some on pavement and not as many as I’d have liked on trail. In early March I developed a shin splint in my left leg and convinced myself it was a stress fracture. So I rested. I rode a bike and got on the stair master to keep my legs busy but I stopped running. Besides a 6 hour race in mid March that I took very easily, I didn’t run at all for the last 5-6 weeks going into Zion. I also had a head cold that whipped my ass for about 3 weeks during that same spell.

Race day I was ready though. My cold was gone, my shin felt good(I wore a compression sleeve on it just in case), and I had been sleeping well the week leading up to the race. No excuses. I had confidence in my crew and pacers and all that was left was to do the damn thing.

Sara and my parents came out to Utah with me and for the couple days beforehand and we did some nice easy hiking around Zion NP and tented at night. I usually sleep better in a tent than a bed anyway so I got some decent rest. We spent the night before the race camping at Zion River Resort(campground) a mile from the start so at 5:30 am it was a short drive for them to drop me off.

At 6am, after a quick talking to, we were off. All the 100 milers and 100K runners starting at once through the dark. Something like 500 runners with headlamps through a neighborhood where one of the houses was blasting Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’(I requested ‘Radio Gaga’ but they either didn’t have that or didn’t hear me). The course took us out onto rt 9 for a mile, where we ran by my crew who were watching from the campground. Across the street in a field next to the road, there was about 40 horses running alongside the runners. They probably wait all year for this. From Rt 9 we took a right onto a dirt road and followed that for a relatively flat 3 miles until we got to the bottom of a massive 1 mile 1500 foot climb to the top of Gooseberry Mesa. This was to be the biggest climb of the course and the timing was perfect, everybody was still jacked up, the sun was coming up and although we were all right on top of each other there was still enough room to pass or get out of the way if necessary. I loved it. At the top was the first aid station, Goosebump Aid(5.2). I shoveled some food in quickly and packed a few Oreos to go.Let’s Party! From Goosebump it was about 6 miles of dirt roads to Grafton Mesa Aid(11.4). This was the first crew access aid station and it was jam packed with spectators and fans and stuff, including my own which was nice. I ate good here, reloaded my fluids then carried on a couple miles downhill on dirt roads to Wire Mesa(13.3). There was an aid station here that we would hit twice so even though it came up quick I did my best to eat something and also pack my pockets with snacks. My plan was to eat as much as I could throughout the race(that’s actually my plan for regular life too) and so far I was executing. From our first stop at Wire Mesa Aid, the course went out on a really nice 7+ mile single track loop along the edge of Wire Mesa. It was very runnable and there were some spectacular views of Zion along this section.

When I got back to Wire Mesa Aid(20.8) I ate a handful of bacon and had a memorable avacodo and mayo wrap. The course went back on the dirt roads to our second stop at Grafton Aid(22.8), uphill this time. For the beginning of this race I kept myself entertained talking with and meeting people from all over the place. It was fun seeing runners I met throughout the day and into the night at different points of the race. At Grafton Aid my crew was waiting for me and this was the first point that pacers were allowed out on the course. My mom, even though she thought she retired from running 5 years ago, joined me for a 6 mile loop out and around Grafton Mesa. This loop was a nice combination of slick rock and single track, it had some killer views, was very runnable, and having my mom with me was a pleasant distraction to the accumulating miles. When we got back to Grafton Aid(28.2) I ate a bunch of food and said goodbye to my crew as it was the last time I’d see my them for about 25 miles/6 hours. The next section was fairly boring. It was on dirt roads with what seemed like a lot of uphill(which I was mostly walking) and the field of runners had really thinned out.

Once I got back to Goosebump Aid(34.4) I loaded up and started out onto an 11 mile loop on Gooseberry Mesa. Now this was tough. There was a lot of slick rock which was difficult to navigate and slow for running. It was awesome though and included what I thought was the highlight of the course; a huge slab of rock around mile 39 that went out and back like a peninsula high up over the desert. It was rad. I let out a good scream on what seemed like the edge of the world. A few miles later we got to Gooseberry Aid(42) and I had the most delicious orange slices I’ve ever had in my life. So refreshing, especially since it was starting to get warm up on the mesa. From Gooseberry Aid back to our third stop at Goosebump(45.7) it was mostly slick rock and single track, difficult but relatively enjoyable.

I loaded up at Goosebump Aid and began the 1500 foot descent off of the mesa. This was the downhill version of a climb that I enjoyed so much 40 miles ago. This time it kind of sucked. I knew it would though, and I also knew it wouldn’t last long. Plus I lost a water bottle at some point, or it fell out while I was on the hopper at the last aid station. Don’t worry, I had 3 other ones and judging by my relatively clear pee I was doing a good job staying hydrated. Back on the desert floor the course followed a bunch of rolling jeep roads and was decent for moving along. Although I took the descent nice and slow I was feeling good and moving well back down low and the miles seemed to be clicking away.

At Virgin Desert Aid(53.8) my family was waiting for me and my dad would be joining me for the next 13 miles. We ran the next section single file through the desert with him just behind me. Running in front of him was strategic since I just unloaded my sunglasses and I didn’t want his fish belly calves to burn my retinas. We ran through the golden hour and then the sunset alongside a canyon on some absolutely beautiful trail. I had to make a movement during this section but my quads were screaming and I really didn’t want to squat in the desert. We made it to Virgin Dam Aid(62.5), I took care of business and my dad BS’ed with some friends he made earlier in the day. I think I was starting to lose my appetite at this point and only drank some broth and ate a couple cookies.

From Virgin Dam we had about 4 miles of runnable but rocky trail alongside a canyon in the dark. We were wearing headlamps and even though I gave him explicit instructions not to fall, he still ate shit hard with about a mile to go. Miraculously, he bounced right off his fake hip, got up and we booted downhill for another mile. Besides him falling, and me losing my appetite, we had an an awesome section. Making good time and enjoying some good trail. Sara and my mom met up with us at a prearranged meeting spot around mile 66.3. My dad was relieved of his pacing duties and Sara would be joining me the rest of the way. We crossed Rt 9 and started a long slog uphill for about 4 miles on dirt road to the top of Smith Mesa(70.7). I liked the climb, as I like climbing, and it gave me good reason not to run, but I was definitely starting to feel more nauseous. At the aid station it seemed a little barren, a runner there was really cold and as they were looking around for an emergency blanket for him it reminded me I should probably add a layer. I drank some broth and some ginger ale, was able to stomach a gel and got moving. There were fire pits and chairs at all the aid stations from here on out but as inviting as they looked Sara had a pretty firm rule about staying away from them. Good move, they sure looked tough to walk away from.

Up on Smith Mesa the trail got really tough. We went out onto this big loop that was super difficult to navigate. Less than a mile in we crossed paths with two runners coming back towards us, convinced that they weren’t going the right way. After consulting our phones we decided we were going the right way and continued on. If the trail wasn’t all rocky it was beat down by cows and and the footing was terrible. Even on the flat sections. Toward the end of the loop we we took a wrong turn up a wash were we immediate bumped into 10+ other runners who had made that same wrong turn. We got back on track and just had a long downhill to the next aid station. This proved to be the most difficult mile or so of the whole course. It was super steep, rocky and slow going. At one point there was even a rope to assist runners going downhill. I felt like crying(but I didn’t). Finally we got to BMX Aid(79.9) where my parents were waiting for us around 2:30 am. As glad as I was to be there, this was a relatively low point for me. I was struggling and still had 20 miles left, or ‘only’ had 20 miles left. I knew I’d get through the race but it wasn’t going to be easy. On our way out from the aid station my parents wished me happy birthday as I turned 37 overnight. Oh yeah.

We’d be back at BMX Aid right before the end of the race but for now we had a 5 mile uphill to Guacamole Mesa. After crossing a river and doing a short single track section we had a long uphill climb on dirt road. At this point I was hallucinating. Not in a scary way, things were good and I knew what was going on, but I was definitely seeing stuff. We also saw a ton of shooting stars, and what’s better than that? It was tough, but we had positive attitudes and were making relentless forward progress. The guys at Guacamole Aid(85.7) were great and one of the volunteers was from Malden so of course he recognized my accent right away. We had a 7 mile loop out on Guacamole Aid that we didn’t set any records on. Sara as usual was the chief navigator and did an excellent job getting us around the course. The footing was tricky with a lot of slick rock so we took our time and just kept moving forward.

By the time we were back at Guacamole Aid(92.5) the sun was starting to come up and finally we were able to get rid of our headlamps. The long downhill road was unrunnable for me as my quads were screaming with every step, but we were moving along. Sara kept the spirits up playing music and singing, and pointing out faces she was seeing in the rocks. This was a really fun section and I knew we were about to get through this thing. It was almost over, the sun was out, and I was getting birthday and good luck messages that kept me going. We got off the road, crushed a short uphill section, crossed the river again then were back at BMX Aid(98.3). I only stopped here briefly to drop some clothes and my vest with my parents as it was only a short ways to the finish.

The last mile and a half or so was on dirt roads until we crossed back over rt 9 then ran it into the finish. There was a half marathon and 50k going on at the same time so there was a big crowd gathered at the finish line. Crossing the line was glorious. I picked out a belt buckle, sat down, drank a soda, took my shoes off and just chilled in the sunshine for awhile. Done. Onto the next thing.

I took a nap that afternoon and an ice bath that worked wonders. The next morning I was up walking around and checking out the sunrise at Bryce Canyon NP. We spent the day exploring at Bryce and walking around the best I could.

From Bryce we made our way to Escalante and got another hotel for the night. I took an ice bath again that night and when I woke up the following morning, 2 days out from finishing the race. I was feeling really good. The four of us backpacked down into Coyote Gulch and spent a night tenting by the spectacular Jacob Hamblin Arch. We hiked out the following day, and made the long drive back to Nevada where we camped near Lake Mead. In Nevada we spent the day hiking all over Valley of Fire State Park. This place is very cool! Well worth checking out. From Vegas we took a budget airline red eye back to Boston and of course didn’t sleep. Seriously though onto the next thing. Happy Easter!

feel free to follow on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer

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Posted on April 22, 2019 by endlesspsummer

100 mile race, bryce canyon national park, coyote gulch, Escalante, Hiking, road trip, southwest, travel, ultramarathon, ultrarunning, Utah, valley of fire state park, Zion 100, zion 100 race report, zion national park

Hiking, race report, southwest, trailrunning, travel, ultra, ultramarathon, Utah, Zion, Zion 100, zion 100 race report

Sept 28 SHR mile 128

I didn’t sleep so well in the Mammoth Lakes Motel 6 last night. Probably the combination of lack of air conditioning, the tractor trailer trucks rolling through the parking lot, or most likely that I’m just not used to sleeping in beds. I ate good though. Sara and I went to Schat’s bakery for breakfast and fueled up on pastries then I went a bit overboard at the Loco Frijole for lunch. I had a chimichanga which I like to think is a not so distant cousin to the Monte Christo sandwich, both usually the most filling item on the menu. Then I finished Sara’s burrito and had about a thousand tortilla chips.

Our pal Golden, the hiker turned trail angel, came by the restaurant around 1:30 and drove us back up to Red’s Meadow picking up a couple other PCT’ers on the way. We were in no hurry to get moving up at Red’s so while we were sitting at the picnic tables out front I recognized this hiker Beardoh. We’d never met before but he, Sara, and I already followed each other on Instagram and knew a bunch of the same people and places. Beardoh is currently wrapping up his season hiking the John Muir Trail and was waiting on a ride down to Mammoth. We talked with him for awhile and as it always happens when I talk to other people that are heavily invested in this lifestyle I start getting all kinds of ideas of other hikes and projects I want to do.

Eventually we got moving. With heavy packs and both trying to digest food babies we were going nowhere fast. We took the Minaret Lake Trail past Devil’s Postpile and skirting Nancy Pass about 8 miles to Minaret Lake. If you’re keeping score at home this is our second easy alternate in a row. Maybe someday I’ll come back and hike over Nancy Pass. Maybe not. Right now I’m cozy in my tent next to this beautiful lake in the shadow of the powerful Minaret spires. And I’m skipping dinner. So full. Soulful.

Sept 29 Independence, CA

The wind was crazy last night. Every night this week it got windy around 8pm but it would usually stop around 10. Not last night. It was something fierce. All night long it would come and go building up steam whipping sand through our tent with a vengeance. We forgot our tent stakes in the car a week ago so Sara’s been rigging up the 2 most important corners of the rain fly with our shit shovels. The wind knocked these things loose half a dozen times over the course of the night and by sunrise both of us had barely slept and had sand in our eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Plus all over everything else. Rolling up the tent felt like flying a kite and we were careful not to lose anything as we packed the rest of our gear. Maybe it would settle down but if it didn’t neither one of us was in the mood to crawl across talus fields in order to stand on top of a pass in this weather. We decided to head back to Red’s Meadow the way we came in and start returning to the car. In essence we did about 60% of the Sierra High Route plus an overnight out and back to Minaret Lake.

When we got to the road by Devil’s Postpile(a national monument and geological wonder) the first car coming by was our buddy Golden. He drove us back into Mammoth where we grabbed breakfast and reserved a rental car from Hertz at the Mammoth Airport. We got a quick hitch from an Oregonian, Maryann, who drove us the 15 minutes out of town to the airport. There was nobody there. Sara called Hertz and a woman told her they don’t have any cars today and they only rent them from the in town location anyway. The woman gave Sara some nonsense about how you can’t book the cars online from the airport and then something about fine print and some other bullshit. No big deal, we’ll just figure something else out. The thing is, as the crow flies the car isn’t too far away, but you can’t get there from here as they say. It’s a 6 hour drive all the way around the mountains. Instead we figured we’d hitch south to Independence then hike 20 miles up and over Kearsarge Pass to the Bubbs Creek Trail and back to our car.

Too bad the airport is a couple of miles from the highway with zero traffic so we had to hoof it. Once we walked got back to 395(the highway through Owen’s Valley east of the Sierras) we got picked up by a French Couple, Ben and Margaux. These two were traveling the US in a camper van and drove us an hour and a half south to Independence. In exchange we helped them with converting the metric system to the wacky way we measure things in the US.

Independence is a tiny little Highway town with just the essentials. We got a room at the Winnedumah Hotel, most likely haunted, then ate burgers at the Still Life Cafe. It’s the only show in town but the food was good, reasonably priced, and the setting was straight out of another era with a piano in the corner and swing music playing.

A few of our buddies; Mac, Appa, and Moist drove up this way from LA to start their own little adventure in the Sierras. They were planning on camping just to the south of us in Lone Pine tonight but drove up to Independence and we ate gas station ice creams across from the hotel.

Sept 30 Convict Flat CG Sequoia NF

I slept decently in the Winnedumah, especially for a haunted hotel, and they put on a pretty good breakfast; homemade quiche, banana bread, and waffles. After breakfast we started walking towards the Onion Valley Trailhead and put our thumbs out. The first car that drove by stopped for us and Dan and Karen, a couple of hikers from Stockton, drove us up the steep winding road to the beginning of the Kearsarge Pass Trail.

It’s about 5 miles up this big beefy pass but the trail is all switchbacked and smooth so it was easy going. On the way up we ran into this kid Vulture that we met back in March in Oracle, AZ at the beginning of the Arizona Trail. He’s had quite a season hiking the AZT now currently southbounding the PCT. Today he was just going over Kearsarge Pass to get into town to resupply. I did the same thing when I hiked the PCT and I remember Kearsarge, even though back and forth it added something like 16 miles, to be a highlight of the Sierras. It still is.

On the way down from the Pass we walked past beautiful Bullfrog lake among others and eventually made it to the Bubbs Creek Trail. For the next 14 miles we walked mostly mellow trail along Bubbs Creek and through a canyon until we got back to Road’s End where we parked 9 days ago. We drove a half hour out of the park and pulled into Convict Flat CG same place we camped before we started this hike.

Oh yeah we saw this massive hawk today right next to the trail. He/she was perched on a dead stump of a tree about eye level 10 feet away from us. We stopped and just watched it for awhile and it barely moved but looked like maybe it had something in it’s mouth. For experiences with birds of prey, it was right up there.

Oct 1 Big Sur, CA

This morning we drove the winding road from our campsite to the General Grant Grove. This is the original National Park that was later on taken over by King’s Canyon NP and consists of a grove of massive sequoia trees. No doubt very impressive. We walked around admiring all these gigantic trees including the General Grant tree itself, the third largest tree in the world by volume.

After our little nature walk we began driving an even windier road all the way through Sequoia National Park and eventually down to the valley.

The rest of the afternoon was a bit frustrating. Last night when I started the car after letting it sit for 8 or 9 days, a bunch of the dashboard lights were on; check engine, brake, eyesight, low air pressure, oil temp, etc. I figure it’s just something electrical and all I needed to do was go to an auto parts store and have them reset it with their code reader. The thing is they don’t do that in California and I need to either go to a shop or go to a dealership. First thing I did was get an oil change(needed to do that anyway) then we drove around going to a couple different auto parts stores, then I disconnected the battery, reconnected it without change, then I tried calling a Subaru dealership but they said I could only get an appointment a few days out. It’s been frustrating and annoying to have all these lights on. Hopefully it’s no big deal. I’ll go to a shop next time I see one. Or when I get home.

Throughout the day we made our way west towards the Pacific and reached the ocean near the town of Cambria. From there we drove north on Highway 1 into the sunset. I’m not sure exactly where Big Sur starts but I think we’re in it now and it’s a beautiful coastal drive. We’re definitely within Los Padres National Forest and we drove up this steep dirt road off Highway 1 and found a spot to park for the night overlooking the ocean.

Oct 2 Bonny Doon, CA

First thing this morning, before I even woke up or actually this is what woke me up, someone in a truck drove by our free campsite from their free campsite blasting their horn. What a dick. That was around 6am and I never got back to sleep.

Whatever. We ate some breakfast at our little campsite pull off then started making our way north along the Big Sur Coast stopping at anything that piqued our interest. At Andrew Molera State Park we went for a run along the bluffs then down to the ocean. The trails were great for running and at the beach there were porpoises or dolphins breaching just off shore.

Traveling up the coast we ate lunch at Cannery Row in Monterey and oddly enough I just happened to have started listening to John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row audiobook the other day. From Monterey we drove north along the bay to Santa Cruz and explored the pier and checked out the waves at this surf town. Word is there’s been humpback whales breaching but I didn’t see any.

I got in touch with my friend Walker aka Diatom who lives with his folks up in Bonny Doon which I guess is a ‘census-designated place’ within Santa Cruz county but it’s actually more of a state of mind. Now this is a sweet piece of property. Steve(Walker’s dad)and his wife Gloria, who was out of town tonight, had the house built 20 years ago during which time the family all lived in a fifth wheel trailer and a tent on the property. Now there’s gardens, ponds, dogs, lots of trees, a sweet lawn, a John Steinbeck themed outhouse, and Walker and his and Steve run their own business out of a shop next to the house creating and selling ceramic lanterns. I’m sure you can find it online if you want to check it out: Bonny Doon Designs. It was great to catch up with my buddy Diatom who I hiked hundreds of miles with and get to know his father who’s had his share of adventures. Diatom cooked us dinner and they put us up for the night. I kinda want to move in.

Oct 3 San Francisco, CA

This morning we drove down from Bonny Doon to the Coast. We checked the waves at Cowell’s Beach but nothing was happening so we drove south about 5 miles to Pleasure Point and rented surfboards.

Now the last time I surfed was in Tofino and while we were up there I felt like I was getting right up on every other wave and riding them all the way in. Today I wasn’t so lucky or maybe my surf skills are just more suited for Canadian waters. I did overhear a serious surfer saying that today was a ‘tough’ day. Either way it was still fun. Sara and I were out there all morning and got up on the boards once in awhile but most of the time I was just getting tossed around by waves.

This afternoon we drove up to San Francisco and began what I think we’ll be a multiple day walking and noodle eating tour. We saw the painted ladies, went to multiple chinatowns for dumplings and found a place to park for the night near the beach along Great Highway, supposedly it’s a good quiet spot to sleep for the night. We’ll see, at least the price is right.

Oct 4 San Francisco, CA

What a city! And not a bad night parked on the Great Highway either, so good we’ll try it again tonight. It’s quiet, dark, and we didn’t have any disturbances last night. The Great Highway goes along the edge of the Outer Sunset District from the SF Zoo past Golden Gate Park and feels more like a city street than an actual Highway. We’re parked across the street from houses and directly next to a thin strip of grass and trees that has a walking path going through it. Parallel to us on the other side of the path is another road, also ‘the Great Highway’ and then it’s beach and then the Pacific Ocean. So essentially what we have here is ocean front property. It’s comfortable but not so comfortable that I’d get outside the car and fire up our camping stove to cook supper, just comfortable enough to sleep inside the car for a couple nights with the curtains drawn.

Today we walked and ate all over the city. Specifically we went to get breakfast nearby in Sunset then took a bus over to SoMa, bought some used clothes, walked from there back to Chinatown, ate lunch then found the fortune cookie factory, walked up the Fillmore steps, were dazzled by the Blue Angels Flight Squad, went up Coit Tower, took an Uber across the city to China Beach, climbed on the rocks, laid eyes on the mighty Golden Gate Bridge, walked through the Presidio, bought a used book in Inner Richmond, walked through Golden Gate Park, up and down Haight-Ashbury then took a bus back to Sunset and back to car. We ate bagels, donuts, noodles, dumplings, pizza, tacos and ice cream. Almost all of the major food groups.

Oct 5 Lake Chabot CG, CA

Well I guess stealth camping along the Great Highway wasn’t so ‘Great’ last night. Around 1:30, while enjoying a deep REM cycle, I woke up to somebody trying to open the doors to the car. I’m assuming he or she must also drive a black Subaru Outback with Massachusetts plates and a cargo carrier on top and was just confused about where they left it. Before Sara or I could even figure out what was going on someone else drove by and the confused person must have remembered where they parked their car and took off. Confused person or burglar, we weren’t getting back to sleep in this location so we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and parked at a rest area just to the north. We probably should have done this in the first place as it was a relatively dark and quiet place to park for the night. The lot did fill up quick with loud tourists this morning though, including ourselves.

We went down to Sausalito, a town within the bay, for breakfast then drove over to the Marin Headlands for a little walking and looking around. The Point Bonita Lighthouse was closed for visitors today but we still got a good look at the bridge and saw tons of seals on the walk out towards it. Driving back along the coast we stopped and walked out a couple hundred yards for some absolutely striking views of the bridge. I guess this is fleet week and we watched as a SF Fire Boat, a Navy aircraft carrier, and a handful of other navy and coast guard ships went under the bridge. A truly impressive sight. A Coast Guard Helicopter even flew under the bridge, I’d like to think the pilot was disobeying his superior just for the sake of showing off but that probably wasn’t the case.

Tomorrow we’re running the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Mile Trail Race(what a name!) in and around Lake Chabot regional park. We had to pick up our race packets today at a running store in Oakland, so we did that then walked around the Rock Ridge neighborhood for awhile. After that we drove over to Berkeley and explored for a couple hours before driving out towards Lake Chabot. We’re sleeping in an actual pay campground tonight. Not just because of the events from last night, I actually thought of this a few days ago, just wanted to give us both the best chances of a decent nights sleep before the race. I’m a bit nervous and anxious about the race, Sara on the other hand, not at all.

Oct 6

Today was the day! We ran and completed the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler. 10 hours 40 something minutes.

It wasn’t easy but it was fun. First of all we had to wake up at 4:45 am then drive over from the campground to be ready to start the race at 6am. Luckily Sara and I both got a decent night’s sleep. The course was dark for the first hour and for whatever reason I didn’t bring a headlamp but was able to get by because just about everybody else had one and kept the place lit up pretty well. During the first 10 miles we faced some of the most severe climbs and descents, and since it was an out and back style course we knew we had these hills to look forward to again. After the hills we reached Lake Chabot which is a major outdoor recreation area in the East Bay and draws lots of people from Oakland and the surrounding towns. Around the lake the course is paved for a handful of miles. I’m not too crazy about running on the pavement, I feel like it just beats up my knees and feet. It didn’t last forever though and after the Lake there were a couple of aid stations relatively close together so it made the miles seem to tick by quickly. We did some more climbs and drops then we got to my favorite part of the course which was a few miles through a redwood canyon(I think it was actually called ‘Redwood Canyon’). It was deep and dark and the footing was soft and pleasant. Because of the style of the course we started seeing the leaders through this section. We had one long steep hill until the turnaround then repeated the whole thing.

Around mile 20 a woman at an aid station told Sara she was the 5th place female. The rest of the day we tried and were successful in at least retaining that position. Not that we were being competitive and racing but it did give us something to shoot for. We actually didn’t lose any ground at all for the rest of the race. After the first hour when everybody was bunched up, the crowd got pretty thin. We leap frogged with 2 different runners for really long stretches of the course with one of them finishing in front and the other behind us. In the section just after the turnaround we got passed by 2 guys but we were able to catch them and another runner 20 miles later going up one of the massive hills near the end. I felt like I was suited quite well for these hills. They were hot and exposed and so steep that they were unrunnable and although these were our slowest miles of the day I was able to climb them pretty quickly. Finishing the race was a great feeling and I’m sure my body will pay the price for a few days. Sara ended up winning her age group and 5th place female. Not bad for her first race, not just first ultra, this was her first organized race outside of a couple Wednesday night runs in Lynn Woods last summer. I finished just after the 5th place female and we came in 21st and 22nd overall. There was a great spread at the finish line so we hung out for a couple hours eating food, talking to runners, and watching people finish. A very fun and successful day! For tonight instead of sleeping in the car I sprung for a hotel room in nearby Hayward, CA. I’ve run these long runs before and I know it’s important to be near a toilet. An actual bed helps too. feel free to follow this blog or find me on insta @endlesspsummer and Sara @sarahikes

2 Comments

Posted on October 7, 2018 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, sierra high route, Thru hiking, travel, ultrarunning

50 miler, adventure, Bay Area, Big Sur, Dick Collins Firetrails, east bay, hike, Hiking, hitchhiking, mountains, Oakland, pct, race, rock ridge, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sierras, sunset, surfing, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, trail, trail running, travel, traveling, travelling, ultra runners, ultra running

Sept 22 SHR Mile 18

The Sierra High Route isn’t so much a trail but more of a route through California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It stretches roughly 195 miles from Road’s End in King’s Canyon north to Twin Lakes near Mono Village(or the other way around but we’re going north). Unlike most of the hiking I’ve done, a lot of this route isn’t on trail. There’s lots of route finding, cross country walking, scrambling over talus fields and maneuvering through loose scree, and also some trail. The route parallels a lot of the John Muir Trail(JMT) which also coincides with the PCT and occasionally the route will follow some of this trail for a few miles here and there. This is my first time back to the Sierras since I walked through here on the PCT in ‘15 and I’m very excited. This is a magical place. Hopefully the route goes smoothly, read up to find out.

This morning we drove about a half hour from Convict Flat CG to the wilderness permit station at the very end of Road’s End in King’s Canyon National Park. The ranger there was great. I feel like I’ve had my share of experiences with rangers that try to rain on my parade, they try to shoot down my plans, act like I can’t do what I want to do, or just make matters difficult. This guy was cool though, he just did his job and gave us the permits we needed. We left the car at Road’s End and got started shortly after 9 beginning a steep climb up the Copper Creek Trail. The trail was smooth and was all switchbacks but we climbed over 5000 feet right away and my pack was as heavy as it’s ever been. It will be slow going so we figured 6+ days of food for a 118 mile section from here to Red’s Meadow where we’ll get into Mammoth to resupply. We also are required to carry bear canisters through these parks which add about 2-3 lbs. I’m using the same pack I’ve had for awhile a Hyperlite 2400 and it was maxed out. Sara opted for her bigger ULA Om instead of her tiny Pa’lante pack she used on the PCT and the Om was at full capacity. My only gear switch was a Hawaiian shirt instead of a tank top for better sun protection. We’re carrying heavy and climbing high but we’re in the Sierras and the weather is beautiful so it’s all good. From the top of the Copper Creek Trail we did some cross country walking towards Grouse Lake where I just had to go for a quick swim then climbed up Grouse Lake Pass at over 11,000 feet. Suddenly I felt like we were plopped right down in the middle of the Sierras, which we are. There were beautiful turquoise alpine lakes and granite mountains in every direction, with more craggy peaks in the distance and all different kinds of pine trees everywhere. It was awesome. Quite different from the 95 degree Walmart parking lot in Fresno yesterday.

We walked down then up and over Goat Crest Pass, picking are way around scree fields and then down to another lake. This went on for the rest of the afternoon. We’d find whatever we were supposed to be aiming for; a lake, a low lying saddle or a mountain and then just walk towards it.

For navigation, in case you’re wondering, we’re using a couple different routes on Gaia. One route is from a hiker named Swami that Sara found online and the other is from this maniac Jabba who sent me a very similar route with a few alternates to give us some options. We’ll use both of them and probably add a couple alternates of our own and make decisions accordingly. We also have Steve Roper’s guidebook downloaded to give us descriptions of where we should be going and what to look for.

This evening we did end up joining something of a trail for awhile. We followed that around Horseshoe Lakes and after the trail petered out we climbed up onto a saddle and found a campsite near a small tarn(small lake). Perfect first day on the SHR.

Sept 23 SHR mile 35

Holy Toledo, Ohio what a day! This might take us longer than I anticipated. Right away this morning we did a little climbing then dropped way down then started climbing again way up towards White Pass. Picking our way through big huge boulders. From White Pass we contoured through a talus field to Red Pass then dropped steeply towards Marian Lake maneuvering through an even steeper gully right at the end. Maybe the most perfect turquoise lake I’ve ever seen surrounded by granite. From Marian we climbed up through a basin containing a bunch of lakes and started making our way to Frozen Lake Pass. Keep in mind this whole time we’re traveling around 1 mph and about to slow down.

Frozen Lake Pass is a super steep pass up a talus field that at first glance looked impossible. We figured a route would begin to present itself as long as we took it nice and slow. Climbing up the talus field most of the rocks were solid but occasionally there’d be a loose one so as we scrambled up we’d test the rocks before proceeding. At the top of the pass it looked even steeper on the way down beginning we some dastardly loose scree. We descended one at a time, went slowly, and eventually made it down to a snowfield that was a bit easier to traverse. The talus field flattened out for awhile then dropped steeply again for until we got to a little alpine lake. I knew this was the end of the hard section for the day so I went for a quick icy cold swim to celebrate.

From the lake we walked cross country for a mile or so until we joined the JMT/PCT. Ahh! Home sweet home, the PCT. It was a treat to walk along this nicely manicured trail for awhile and we were able to pick up the pace a bit. Even the trail was tough though, it brought us up and down Mather Pass and along Palisades Lakes but this was a cakewalk compared to Frozen Lake Pass. We hadn’t see another person in the 24+ hours that we were off trail but during the 5 miles we were on trail we must have seen 20 people, mostly southbound JMTers.

After the lakes we veered off the trail to the right and began making our way up towards Cirque Pass. Instead of nicely groomed trail we were hopping around boulders and scrambling up little cliffs. We got to the cirque below the pass as the sun was setting and decided to leave the rest of it for the morning.

The full moon came up over the peaks and at 11,400 feet we’re camping next to a tarn in one of my favorite campsites of all time. And I saw a shooting star.

Sept 24 SHR mile 58

Alright I might not need to put myself on extreme food rations just yet, we were able to crank out some miles today and get back on track.

Laying up below Cirque Pass last night proved to be the right move. It took us over an hour to get up and down the pass first thing this morning and would have been dangerous to try that with just headlamps last night. From Cirque Pass we went down to a lake then immediately up and over Potluck Pass. This looked like a formidable wall and unlikely that we would be able to get over it but as we got closer we realized there were all kinds of little ledges and ramps that we could scramble up. From the top of Potluck we could see our next obstacle 2 miles to the north, Knapsack Pass. First we had to drop down off of Potluck and zig zag through a valley going up and down little boulder hills and what not. It’s not difficult or anything it was just tedious and slow walking. These huge valleys in between passes are absolutely incredible though. Because they’re so hard to get to, there’s nobody out here, or almost nobody. I thought we had this gigantic valley to ourselves so I was belting out Phil Collins at the top of my lungs when I saw a couple of figures near the top of Knapsack. We ended up meeting Hurl Goat and Mary Poppins a little later and these are the only other High Route hikers we’ve come across so far. Going up and down Knapsack was a slow process but we were able to take our time and pick safe manageable lines up and down the pass.

For the next hour we dropped down to Dusy Basin where I went for my daily bath. After another mile or so we joined the Bishop Pass trail that led down into LeConte Canyon where once again we picked up the JMT/PCT.

Coming from scrambling across the talus fields of the High Route to walking north on the PCT I felt like a dog with a broken leash. We were able to cruise all afternoon and cover some ground. Even as the PCT climbed up the long and gradual Muir Pass we were able to move quickly. I met a handful of southbounders today on their way to Mexico and really got me thinking about hiking that trail south in the future. Might just be the way to do it. We walked a little bit into the dark tonight but being on actual trail that’s no problem. At the last of Evolution Lakes we found a spot to camp as the moon was coming up.

Sept 25 SHR mile 78

This place is amazing. We started this morning by walking about a half mile on the PCT before taking a right onto a steep faint path up towards Darwin Bench, a beautiful spot with a bunch of little lakes surrounded by mountains.

From Darwin Bench we kept climbing and after a little while we could see our next obstacle, Alpine Col(I think col is just another word for Pass, same with notch, gap, and in Nepal; la. They all seem to mean a low spot in a wall of mountains). Alpine Col is daunting. From a distance there looked like no way up and over it. We walked slowly the next hour rock hopping on big boulders along a couple of lakes while looking up towards the col. This only built nervous anticipation. As we got closer a few routes began to unfold and I knew we’d be able to get up it. For some reason I chose a narrow chute of loose scree which looked better than it was. I managed ok but suggested Sara try something else and she seemed to find an easier way. Descending Alpine Col was no picnic either. We had to maneuver around big huge boulders and were very careful picking our lines in order to not get cliffed out. Then when it did finally flatten out we had about a mile of talus field to get through. Looking back I couldn’t imagine having to go up and over Alpine Col from the north side. And this was the easier option! We could have taken Snow Tongue Pass but the description of this one sounded downright harrowing.

Alpine Col and Snow Tongue Pass are on an 8 mile ridge called the Glacier Divide and I think this is what separates Kings Canyon NP from Muir Wilderness. After we got into Muir Wilderness we took an alternate from the Sierra HR that brought us down along Piute Creek below tree line and then we turned and took a right up French Canyon. This was a relaxing handful of miles compared to what we went through this morning. It wouldn’t last though. From French Canyon we climbed steeply up towards Merriam Lake and then further up to LaSalle Lake where we could see our next challenge; Feather Pass.

Climbing Feather Pass wasn’t as technically difficult as some of the other ones but it was a big beefy pass at over 12,300 feet that still involved some scrambling and we were in a race against the sun. I thought it was important to have enough natural light to find our way down that we weren’t rushing. Good thing we crushed all afternoon so when we got to the top of Feather Pass at 6 we still had an hour of light to navigate the talus field on the north side. The sun was setting as we walked through this valley of lakes and it was absolutely stunning. We reached Bear Paw lake and have an excellent campsite for the night.

Sept 26 SHR mile 97

No easy days out here, and I thought for sure today might be one. From our campsite this morning we made our way up and around a bunch of lakes all with bear names. It’s a very beautiful area and feels so far removed from anything. We had to climb a few steep gullies and over some talus but it was rather easy until we got to the top of White Bear Lake Pass. WBL Pass is actually a low lying pass so getting to the top was no big deal but descending the north side requires some slow and careful route finding around cliffs and through a big talus field. This seemed to go on forever and I was amazed looking back at it that we were able to safely get down.We walked another much flatter mile or so and came to Lake Italy(I guess some cartographer thought this long narrow lake resembled The Boot).

At the lake we ran into our first pair of southbound High Routers, Mike and Steve. I didn’t envy what they were about to climb. 20 minutes after we went our separate ways I came up with the best idea; I should have given those guys the key to my car and then they could have driven it up to the Northern Terminus to pick up their own car and left mine for us, it would have been a win win all the way around! A perfect opportunity like that doesn’t come across often and I blew it, just didn’t think of it at the time. Sara said there were too many variables and chances it wouldn’t work out, but I don’t know.

From the northern end of Lake Italy we blasted up a steep slope to Gabbot Pass. There was nothing tricky about it just good strong hiking to get to the top and it was the last time the route goes over 12,000 feet. On the north side of Gabbot was lots and lots of talus to get through but it never seemed too steep just time consuming. We eventually dropped down a path of loose scree to beautiful Lower Mills Creek Lake and found a rock to jump off into the icy cold turquoise water. We ate lunch at the lake and then followed a faint path steeply through forest down to Second Recess(whatever that is, some kind of geology term). I wasn’t crazy about this particular decline, I was slipping and sliding and struggling to find the trail. Once we got to Second Recess though we had a half hour of quite relaxing trail until we picked up a super steep trail up to Laurel Creek. Sara and I both blasted uphill then walked through a valley to Laurel Lake at the bottom of Bighorn Pass.

Bighorn Pass was quite steep and was much grassier than the other passes which made it unusual. There was nothing technical here and we didn’t take our time ascending because once again daylight was an issue and we still had another major obstacle. From the top of Bighorn we had to contour and climb over to Shout-of-Relief Pass. This was a bit tricky. It wasn’t super far or anything just littered with big huge boulders that we had to work our way around. There were a bunch of little climbs and drops and careful route finding involved before being able to let out a Shout of Relief. From the top of this pass we had a rather gentle and enjoyable walk down about a half mile to the closest tarn where we set up camp in some trees on a cozy pine needle floor.

Sept 27 SHR mile 118

Today was an easy day. The first three miles took forever walking cross country and finding our way downhill through a lake basin and all kinds of cliffs and stuff until we got to the McGee Pass Trail. From there we walked a nice smooth mile until the High Route rejoined the PCT. The trail climbed steadily up some nice switchbacks to Purple Lake Pass(probably not the real name) then we just cruised for half a dozen miles.

The High Route veers off the PCT to go up towards Duck Pass but we elected to walk trail for the next 10-12 miles so we could get to Red’s Meadow then down into Mammoth for the night. It was absolutely delightful to just walk along a peaceful trail all day. We’ve had a long 6 days out here and getting into town was a priority.Red’s Meadow is a mule packing station with a little campground, small restaurant, and small store. It’s not really ideal for resupplying although some hikers mail themselves packages here for a hefty fee. In the past I’ve taken a bus into the town of Mammoth but I guess they only run it on the weekends during September. We heard there was a trail angel running shuttles back and forth so I got his number and gave him a call.

Golden, who just finished the PCT, was spending some time in the area driving hikers around. Thankfully he drove the hour round trip for us and entertained us along the way, telling us about when he used to hang out with John Cazale (Fredo)in Brooklyn back in the 70’s.

When I was in Mammoth in 2015 I went to this place Giovanni’s and had Spicy Thai Pizza then talked about it for a couple thousand miles. Today I had that pizza again. Now I guess it’s a tradition. After pizza, Sara and I did all the town stuff: got our resupply done for the next section, showered, did laundry and got a room for the night. Not all in that order.

We’re hoping to get back on the route tomorrow afternoon and travel 77 miles over the next 4-5 days to the Northern Terminus at Twin Lakes up near Mono Village.

Feel free to follow this blog or find me on insta @endlesspsummer and Sara/QB @sarahikes

8 Comments

Posted on September 28, 2018 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, sierra high route, Thru hiking, travel

adventure, backpacking, California, high sierras, hike, Hiking, mountains, Pacific Crest Trail, pacificcresttrail, pct, route finding, sierra high route, sierra Nevadas, Sierras, sunset, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, trail, travel, traveling, travelling

Sept 13 PCT mile 2576.8

This morning we woke up a mile outside of Holden Village at their designated campsite and walked to their dining hall for breakfast. In another lifetime this place was a copper mining camp but now it’s a Lutheran Retreat Center, and is completely off the grid. They rarely see PCT hikers but this year because of the fire detour they’ve had a huge influx of hikers and treated us really well. Breakfast was buffet style oatmeal sundaes, then they let us do our laundry for free. From the village there’s a 10 mile rd to Lake Chelan(I think this is their only outlet to the outside world) and a daily yellow school bus took us to Lucerne Landing where we got picked up by a ferry that took us to Stehekin. Lake Chelan is a narrow and extremely long and deep lake surrounded by mountains. Someone told me that it’s a fjord but I’m not exactly sure what that means. Stehekin is a tiny town that sits at the top of the lake and is usually the last stop for PCT’ers. It’s a really cool little place, inaccessible by road, it’s a very remote little vacation town for some people. Or I guess people live here year round too.

We did town stuff like showering for the first time in a week and picking up our resupply boxes at the PO, then walked a couple miles to the world famous(or at least trail famous) Stehekin Bakery. Everybody on the PCT starts hearing about this place when you’re still way down in Southern California and it lives up to the hype. From the bakery we took a shuttle bus to the end of the road, 10 miles out of town where we got back on the PCT. Going north the next 17 miles are within North Cascades NP where we need a permit to camp. Sara and I and half a dozen others all got permits at a site 5 miles out and got here just before dark.

Of any trail I’ve hiked Stehekin is the most complicated town stop. Don’t get me wrong I really like it here, I’d like to buy land out here and put a trailer on it, but for getting in and out of town and trying to coordinate shuttle bus schedules, P.O. hours, making sure we got to the bakery, National Park permits, plus a fire detour and a ferry ride, it’s a pain in the ass.

Sept 14 PCT mile 2609.4

The trail was super cruiser pretty much all day. For the first 15 or so miles we were within North Cascades NP until we reached Rainy Pass and our first paved road in 130 miles(National Park trails are usually always well maintained and well graded, in other words it was easy).

At Rainy Pass we got some killer trail magic. Erica and Nick, 2 former hikers, were grilling up hot dogs and cooking chili. While I was busy eating 1 of my 3 chili dogs, another guy, the Madd Baker drove up to do trail magic also. He had a bunch of cookies for us and I think he was about to cook soup but we had moved on by then.

With a belly full of hot dogs and cookies we started a long 5 mile climb up to Cutthroat Pass. On the way up I looked to the left and saw a black bear farting around in the woods. Immediately I thought it was a black dog, as I always do, but it was a bear. Just a little fella doing his thing. I also saw an owl this morning and Sara saw a pine marten so it was a pretty good day for wildlife. As we walked a little further we ran into this lady who was out day hiking and all excited about the bear asking us if we saw it. She told us she pulled out her bear spray and accidentally sprayed herself, then turned around and went back up towards the pass to get away. We encouraged her to go back down as the bear probably won’t bother her and she did, I just really hope she didn’t end up spraying the bear, poor thing doesn’t deserve it.

When we got up to Cutthroat Pass we were treated to spectacular views then it immediately started snowing on us, I didn’t even think it was cold enough. We would be above tree line for the next 5 miles so this wasn’t good. Luckily it stopped after 20 minutes and the rest of the day was just enjoyable and scenic Washington hiking.

Sept 15 Pasayten Wilderness, Fire detour

Immediately this morning we started climbing up towards Glacier Pass. This was a beefy switchbacked climb and although it was chilly the skies were clear and blue and the views of the North Cascades were awesome. By midday we made it to Hart’s Pass, the last trailhead before the Canadian Border and once again there were people cooking lunch for us. I didn’t get all their names but this time it was a family from Republic, WA doing trail magic and it was great; cheeseburgers, orange soda, corn on the cob, hot chocolate, and fresh vegetables. They did it right.

Hart’s Pass is more or less a dead end trailhead on a dirt road about a 20 mile drive from the nearest town, Mazama. From there it’s regularly 30 PCT miles to the border and then another 8 to Manning Park in Canada. This year though, there’s a wildfire and a detour that makes the route 34 miles to the border.

After lunch we walked up to Slate Pass and then the detour took us east into the Pasayten Wilderness. The detour was nice and everything, nothing extraordinary, just deep dark Washington forest. It feels very remote out here. For most of the afternoon it was rather cold and drizzling and we saw a handful of hikers returning to Hart’s after they just completed their hike. Around 6 we saw this guy coming towards us that looked like the crypt keeper(ok maybe not that scary but he was close to it). I usually don’t think I judge a book by its cover but the way this guy presented himself gave me the creeps. He wasn’t friendly and he kept one hand in his pocket as if he was concealing a weapon. As he passed he asked, “How far to Hart’s Pass?” and Sara told him about 14 miles. He didn’t seem to like that answer and had some short gruff response. This guy had rain gear on but only a very small pack and not in the style of a lightweight long distance hiker(I highly doubt he had a tent and sleeping bag). Old boy had a long way to go and it was cold and rainy out without any prospects of warming up. If he acted a little differently I’m sure we would have stopped and tried to help him out, I mean not that we could have since we’re both only carrying the minimum ourselves. As it was though we didn’t even slow down. I hope he gets where he’s going and everything but I was glad to put some distance between us. I don’t know, maybe I’m overreacting here and the guy had a camp already set up nearby or something. But still. We stopped about an hour and a half later and put our tent next to the west fork of the Pasayten River. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so deep in the heart of Texas, I mean Washington.

Sept 16 Abbotsford, BC

Today we reached the Canadian Border. This is really no big deal for me, I’ve been here before so it’s not a culmination of a long journey or anything like that. For Sara though it is exactly that. She started hiking the PCT at the Mexican Border in 2015 with every intention of walking all the way to Canada(we both started the same day actually although we didn’t hike much together that year). Because of a crazy wildfire season she got off trail at the Oregon/Washington Border and went on to hike about 700 miles in New England that summer. Since then she has completed both the AT and the CDT and has twice returned to Washington to try to complete the PCT. In July of ‘16 she hiked 150 miles from the Oregon Border to White Pass and was forced off due to snow. In ‘17 we tried to get on the PCT after we finished the CDT but there were tons of fires closing some of the trail. Even earlier this year when we first came out here parts of the trail were closed so we went up to Canada for a couple weeks to wait it out. It’s been a bit of an odyssey for her but the time has come.

When we got up today it was clear and cool with blue skies overhead. That wouldn’t last though. We climbed for about 7 or 8 more miles of the fire detour until we rejoined the actual PCT at Woody Pass. While we were climbing the clouds moved in and it started to rain. A cold rain too, and windy. As we got closer to the Pass the rain turned to snow and sooner than later the weather completely went to shit. For what seemed like forever we walked along a snowy and slippery ridge with the wind whipping in our faces. Keep in mind walking through a snowstorm is no big deal if you’re dressed for it but I’m only wearing a thin rain jacket over my tank top and wind pants over my shorts. This isn’t exactly ‘rain gear’ it’s more like a ‘rain outfit’ like this is what I wear during inclement weather, not that it does anything. My shoes and socks have been wet for days and everything else I’m wearing is soaked. We were both uncomfortable but eventually we dropped lower. The snow turned back to rain and although it was still cold and wet at least we felt like we were out of harm’s way.

When we were about 3 miles to the Border Sara turned and pointed to a tree right next to the trail. I looked and saw a tiny little black bear cub hugging a branch(for the record she said she saw two cubs but I only saw one). Bear cubs are cool but I don’t want to see them at ten feet and that’s how close we were. We both started yelling out, ‘Hey Bear!’ and thankfully never did see mama. Another hour of walking through wet bushes and rain and then the sun decided to come out. Perfect timing. We rounded a corner and saw the clear cut forest and then Monument 78, the Canadian Border. After a few high fives and pictures and basking in the sun enjoying the moment, it was time to move on, still 8 miles to Manning Park and the road out.

Once we got to Manning Park we checked to see about reasonable lodging and there was none. It was getting late, late for hitching anyway, do we decided to give it a try for a little bit then find a spot to camp if that didn’t work out. After about 10 minutes Jenna pulled over on her way home from visiting her boyfriend across the province and drove us about an hour and a half to Abbotsford, BC where we got a room for the night. What an incredible day, glad to be warm in bed in a Best Western in a little Canadian Border town tonight. Congratulations QB on persevering and finishing this trail. On to the next thing.feel free to follow this blog or follow me on insta @endlesspsummer and Sara(QB) at @sarahikes

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Posted on September 18, 2018 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, international travel, Pacific Crest Trail, pct, road trip, Thru hiking, travel, trekking

adventure, backpacking, British Columbia, Canada, hike, Hiking, hitchhiking, mountains, national park, Pacific Crest Trail, pacificcresttrail, pacificnorthwest, pct, pnw, Stehekin, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, trail, travel, traveling, travelling, washington

Sept 2

Today was quite productive, even though I tossed and turned all night trying to sleep in the car at the rest area. Since the smoke seems to have cleared out from Washington quite a bit, Sara and I are going to try to get on the PCT for awhile. She’s got unfinished business starting at White Pass and going north for 350 miles to the Canadian Border. We had a bunch of stuff to do if we’re to get on trail by tomorrow. So after breakfast we found a Planet Fitness and both took much needed showers(rivers, lakes, and the occasional ocean dip only go so far). Next we found a place to do laundry and resupply, then drove the 3-4 hours south to the town of Packwood. This is usually a tiny little town right next to Mt Rainier NP and White Pass but not today. As we were driving into town there were tents set up everywhere, people selling all kinds of food and lots of other stuff. It felt like we were driving right into the middle of the Topsfield Fair(besides the traffic). I guess the Packwood flea market is a major event every year on Labor Day Weekend. Cool! I’m no stranger to a flea market so we went and got some fried chicken and looked around at some old stuff. As we were walking back to the car these relatively dirty hikers across the street were yelling,”Sara, Sara!” At first I figured they were thru hikers that we must have met on a previous trail but a thru hiker would have used trail names. Turns out it was this girl Stephanie that picked us up while hitchhiking last year on the Olympic Peninsula. Tonight she was with her boyfriend and they driven up from Portland, OR to hike for a few days. They had seen us walk by earlier and I guess she was like, I know that couple. Small world right?

We left the flea market and drove a few miles into the woods. Found a free campsite at Summit Creek CG in the national forest.

Sept 3 PCT mile 2320.8

So good to be back on the PCT! I absolutely love this trail.

This morning we drove down to the White Pass ski resort and Kracker Barrel next door, found a place to park the car long term, then walked the half mile to the trailhead. Back on the PCT it felt really good to be walking these miles again. The trail itself just feels like a nice, soft, easy, fast, path through the woods. The PCT was the first long trail I hiked, I have fond memories of it and I’m really happy to be back walking on it again.

There were a fair amount of thru hikers at the Kracker Barrel and being the long Labor Day weekend we passed a handful of people that were just out for a few days. 2 of these people were Ram and Red Feather. Now this is a strange coincidence. Ram was one of the first people I met on the PCT in 2015, we actually both stayed at Scout and Frodo’s(San Diego Trail Angels) the night before I started the hike. I briefly met Red Feather maybe 1000 or so miles later that summer and then I guess those two both met, hiked together, got married and Ram moved to Washington from Israel. The thing is I learned all this the last time I randomly ran into them in the middle of the woods. In the summer of 2016 I was in between long trails, spending time in the PNW and was hiking around Snoqualmie Pass when I crossed paths with Ram and Red Feather just out for a few days on trail. Odd I know, but this stuff happens to me all the time. Today when we parted ways we just said ‘see you next time.’

The rest of the day was just some sweet Washington miles. We’ve been on the border of Mount Rainier NP all day and got some good views of that beautiful beefy mountain. I think it was pouring rain when I was here in ‘15 so I didn’t remember the details of what was to come at all. Last time I was just head down walking in the rain while today I could enjoy it a lot more.

Last night and this morning I had been texting with my friend Thor who’s a Seattle guy and hikes all over Washington. He knew where we were getting on so unbeknownst to us he got on trail 30 miles north, handed out trail magic beers all day and hiked south to meet us. We met Thor last year on the CDT when he was flying a gigantic red beard and today he was pretty tough to recognize while running towards us with way less facial hair. It was great, the 3 of us walked north for the last 10 or so miles of the day and got caught up on all things CDT and hiking and what not. Thor hiked the 3 long trails the same years I hiked them so we know loads of the same people.

We got to Dewey Lake a little after 7 and all set up for the night. It felt like a nice easy 25 mile day. And there’s a bunch of elk bugling while I’m laying in the tent probably trying to keep me awake, but I guess it is mating season.

Sept 4 PCT mile 2352.9

The bugling elk didn’t keep me up last night, I slept quite soundly in our cozy spot next to the lake. So soundly that it was tough getting out of the tent into the cold morning air. It warmed up quick though and after a few miles I was dressing down and enjoyed a beautiful day. Thor hiked with us for about 3 miles to Chinook Pass where he left his truck yesterday and for the rest of the day Sara and I just cruised down the PCT.

Besides hiking a Pemi Loop in NH about a month ago, this was the first 30+ mile day either of us had done since Arizona in the spring. And it felt so easy! Most of the day was just smooth rolling trail, through forest, then a burned out forest, up on ridges, and contouring along the sides of mountains. There’s elevation gain and loss and all that but it never felt too severe.

It seems that we walked right into the ‘Bubble’ of thru hikers(bubble just means the bulk of the hikers in close proximity). There’s lots of people out. It feels a little strange as most of these hikers have been walking since Mexico and we’re just coming on trail so late, still crushing though. So many people are on trail that at the water source we planned to camp at tonight there were already about 10 other tents jammed in there. With no flat space left we had to push on and it wasn’t looking good for awhile. We reached a road where Sara looked at the topo map and decided we should walk up the road(off trail) where it flattened out. About a tenth of a mile from trail we found a massive clearing in the woods complete with a bear hang and everything. She was so proud of herself, and I was proud of her too, this is a sweet campsite.

Sept 5 PCT mile 2384.6

Crush city all day. The trail, at least the scenery on the trail, was pretty subdued today which meant there wasn’t much else to do but keep walking. I mean it’s pretty and everything but mostly just walking through pine forests and up on a few ridges. It was smooth and fast though and we were able to crank out another 30+ mile day.

Like I was saying yesterday we’re definitely in the bubble, and probably towards the back of the bubble so there’s lots of hikers around and in front of us. We’ll be meeting new people everyday. I met a handful of hikers today and I even ran into one guy, ‘Crunchmaster’ that I first met in Oregon in 2015. One of the lousy parts about the trail being so crowded(and I can’t be mad about the trail being crowded, I’m part of the problem too) is that when it comes time to camp, all the good spots usually have a tent on them. I like to hike until just about dark and when we got to Mirror Lake near 8pm there wasn’t much to choose from. We just kept walking and as usual the trail provides, we found a nice spot at an intersection past the lake.

Sept 6 PCT mile 2393.1 Snoqualmie Pass

We don’t exactly need a day off today as both of us are feeling good and it’s a beautiful day out there, but it did make sense to stop in town after walking less than 10 miles. We had to stop to resupply anyway and since there’s a hotel at Snoqualmie Pass, it might be our last chance to get a room on trail. Plus our buddy Malibu is supposed to drive out from Seattle to meet us for a meal.

Snoqualmie Pass isn’t much of a town but a ski resort/truck stop right on I-90. We drove through here a couple weeks ago and we could pretty much take a right and just follow this road all the way back home(but that’s not happening). This morning went smoothly and right when we got here they had a room ready then we feasted on omelettes and pancakes and stuff. This should be an enjoyable day.

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Posted on September 6, 2018 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, Pacific Crest Trail, Thru hiking, travel

adventure, cdt, Hiking, mountains, Pacific Crest Trail, pacificcresttrail, pct, Snoqualmie Pass, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, travel, traveling, washington

Aug 26th Lois Lake, Sunshine Coast

We woke up this morning in the car at the Kin Beach CG and enjoyed a view across the Salish Sea(which is part of the Straight of Georgia) to mainland British Columbia. We took a 10 am ferry from the town of Comax to Powell River on the other side. Powell River is a little town on the Sunshine Coast and although the SC is on mainland British Columbia, I guess a couple of deep fjords make it impossible to build road access and ends up making it a rather remote little area.

Our plan is to hike the Sunshine Coast Trail which is a hut to hut hiking trail that stretches 112 miles(and even more kilometers) from Sarah’s Point to Saltery Bay. In order to get to get to Sarah’s Point we have to take a water taxi from the tiny town of Lund at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast. So what we’re doing today is food shopping and organizing our food for about 5 days of hiking, doing laundry, hopefully finding a place to run and swim, then driving to Saltery Bay where we’ll end up camping and leaving the car. Tomorrow we’ll be hitching to Lund to catch the water taxi to Sarah’s point in the afternoon(I better see an orca). Logistics are a MFer but the trail looks cool so I bet it will all be worth it.

We did find a good place to run. Inland Lake Provincial Park is near Powell River and there’s a really nice trail around the lake and some nice clean water to jump into afterwards. And for camping tonight we heard about this mysterious free campground next to Lois Lake but to find it you had to follow a series of unmarked logging roads. Eventually we got there and it was worth a few wrong turns because it was an absolutely beautiful spot next to a pristine lake.

Aug 27th SCT 16K Manzanita Hut

We woke up next to Lois Lake and it was better looking in the daylight. Because it’s forest land there’s a few cabins floating out on the water. I don’t really know how that works but they looked like cool places to live.

From Lois Lake we drove south towards Saltery Bay, found a spot to take a quick dip in the ocean then left the car in a parking lot near the ferry terminal. We had to hitch north about 60K to Lund where we catch a water taxi to Sarah’s Point and the beginning of the trail. Our first ride, Wendy, had 4 little daschunds with her and drove us about 10 minutes before we got another ride from Chris. This guy traveled the world and was a retired professional soccer player, sheriff, volunteer firefighter, carpenter, and I’m guessing a few other things. I’ll be reading his book when it comes out. He learned us about all kinds of stuff on the Sunshine Coast and gave us a lift to Powell River, waited for us to run an errand then drove us about 10 minutes further north. We put our thumbs out and quickly got picked up by Ian, Denise, and Nora. Ian dropped the two women off at their waterfront home then brought us the rest of the way into Lund giving us some more info about the area.

Lund is the very northern point of Route 101 that goes all the way south to the tip of Argentina, it’s the ‘end of the road’ if you will. It’s basically a marina, a hotel, some camps and a bakery.

Our boat didn’t leave until 4:45 so we chilled out in the bakery until then. The water taxi was a short 20 minute ride up the rocky coast along a bunch of houses that are only accessible by boat or a 4×4 Jeep road. We opted for the boat ride. When we got to Sarah’s point there was no dock but just a rock we got close to and jumped onto. And that was the beginning of the trail. It’s 180 kilometers back to Saltery Bay so we brought maybe enough food for 5 days. People have been asking us how long we plan on hiking for and when we tell them 5 days they look at us like we’ve got lobsters crawling out of our ears. I don’t really think it’s all that fast but we’ll see. Anyway we didn’t have much sunlight left so we just kind of crushed it through some dense green forest for 16k to Manzanita Hut. There’s 2 other girls staying here who were already in bed so we quietly ate a quick meal of rehydrated beans and called it a night.

Aug 28th SCT 58K

Today was great although uneventful, I just walked all day. We got moving from Manzanita Hut around 7:30 and were up and down through deep green forest for most of the morning. Once in a while we’d come to a pond or cross a river on a fallen down tree turned into a lot bridge. We ate lunch at Rieveley Hut and I saw a bunch of bull frogs. The huts on this trail are in really good condition, so far anyway, I’ve only seen 2. They both had a picnic table and kitchen area downstairs then the upstairs were just big lofts with space for about a dozen people.

This afternoon we were walking through more old growth rain forest and then all of a sudden I found the ultimate swimming hole. Gorge Falls had a few big pools of icy cold water then a narrow pool that was about 12 feet deep, way over my head anyway. After we got cleaned up there we walked along Sliammon Lake and up onto a bluff where we could see out across Salish Sea to the mountains on Vancouver Island plus Hardwick and Texada Islands. It was quite an amazing view. We walked down from the bluff to Powell Lake and passed climbers top roping on a cliff right next to us. When we got to Powell Lake we were actually pretty close to the town of Powell River and it would be easy to just start here if you wanted to do a modified hike of the SCT. We had planned on camping at Haywire Bay, but after a couple hours of walking along the lake we realized it was a pay campground and at $23 a night neither one of us was having that. About 100 meters after the campground was a flat spot next to the trail and that’s where we set up our tent.

Aug 29th SCT 93K

Today was a tough one. We started off walking down towards Inland Lake, the same lake we ran around a few days ago, and followed the trail around the southern half of the lake. Leaving Inland Lake the trail climbed very steeply up towards Confederation Lake, this went on for about an hour and it was the steepest the trail has been yet. We had a little lunch break at the Confederation Lake Hut and this place was sweet! There was a pellet stove and it was winterized, I’m guessing a perfect place to snowshoe up to for a night in the winter.

The rest of the day was big descents and big climbs with Tin Hat Mountain being the biggest. From the top of this peak there were panoramic views of all the mountains and lakes in the area. There was also another winterized hut and if there weren’t so many people already staying and if we had enough water we probably would have spent the night but decided to push on for awhile. The trail down from Tin Hat was super steep and kilometer markers were grossly inaccurate. This whole trail every kilometer has been marked and we usually pass a marker every 12-15 minutes but during this descent it took over an hour for one K. I didn’t think that was right and it ended up taking us longer than I wanted to get to Lewis Lake where we camped for the night. Plus I got stung by a wasp on the way down, Sara already got stung twice today but you wouldn’t have known it. I definitely did enough whining for the both of us.

Aug 30 SCT 134K

First thing this morning Sara spotted a few beavers swimming around in Lewis Lake right next to the trail as we walked by. There were three of them just swimming slowly in a big circle looking for fish or sticks or whatever and every once in awhile smacking their tails against the water. I must have heard them doing this last night as I was trying to sleep but I just figured the noise I heard was bullfrogs doing belly flops off logs. It was an incredible wildlife sighting.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, the trail went up and down all day through forest and right up close to some recently clear cut forest that can be a bit ugly. We climbed up to Elk Lake where I took a quick bath then we ate lunch at the hut there. Later this afternoon we climbed up Walt Hill and some amazing views of the surrounding mountains, lakes, sea and islands. The Sunshine Coast is a really beautiful area. For much of this trail we’ve been walking through forest, which is cool, but when we get up high and the views open up you can see all the incredible surroundings.

As we were looking for a campsite tonight I heard a bunch of rustling in the bushes. I just figured it was a bear but as we turned a corner I saw about 15-20 elk running from a section of clear cut forest into the woods. 1 male and the rest female(his harem). I learned from a hitch one time that the end of August is mating season, and also hunting season. Shortly after we got all set up I heard half a dozen shots, hopefully none of those elk got hit.

Aug 31 SCT 171K Fairview Bay

We pretty much camped right on trail last night, there wasn’t much we could do about it, so we got up quickly before anybody had to ask us to move and started walking. After a couple hours we came to Lois Lake where we had car camped the night before we started the trail. We watched a giant eagle that flew across the water and checked out these little cabins that are built on floats. I don’t get it but I think it has something to do with it being forest land and you can’t have cabins on land. I want one.

The trail climbed from there, eventually bringing us up to Elephant lake where we took a break and I went for a quick swim. Yesterday I swam in Elk Lake and ended up seeing about 20 elk, I better see a bunch of wild elephants today. Probably won’t happen though. From the lake we climbed up to the top of the Troubridge Massif, over 4000 feet and the highest point of the trail. It wasn’t too tough and there were some awesome views of Saltery Bay and the Salish Sea from the top. The descent sucked though. It was super steep! My legs were burning. I would much rather climb something steep then descend.

We could have walked another coupe hours tonight and got to the car but we stopped at Fairview Bay Shelter for the night. This is a really nice little shelter right on the ocean. We ate on a rock looking out at the bay and I went for a quick swim thinking that the salt water will neutralize my b.o. Maybe a little.

Sep 1 SCT 178K Saltery Bay

Sunshine Coast Trail complete! What a great trail! It’s obvious how much this trail is cared for by the locals in the area. The SCT was built completely by volunteers from the PR PAWS and the B.O.M.B. Squad and it’s very well done. The huts are in great shape, there’s lots of other handmade infrastructure and a ton of the trail has been cut through some thick forest. It couldn’t have been easy to build. And it’s well signed, almost too well signed, there’s little orange squares nailed onto what seems like every other tree. Super easy to navigate. It’s a great trail but it’s tough, definitely more difficult than I expected, so if you’re in the mood for a nice cruiser short trail to crush this probably isn’t the one for you. Still fun though.

This morning we walked for a couple hours, mostly along the coast, finishing what we had left and got back to the car. The trail ends right at the Saltery Bay ferry terminal and as we were getting to the car we watched as the 9:30 ferry took off. Oh well, we got the next one. We had to catch a ferry to Earl’s Cove, drive an hour and a half then catch another ferry to mainland BC and drive to Vancouver. It takes awhile to get anywhere from the Sunshine Coast but that’s kind of the beauty of it, so GD isolated.

This evening we spent a few hours walking around and eating a bunch of food in Vancouver and then just decided to go back to the U.S. We parked at the first rest area over the Washington Border and called it a night. Feel free to follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer and Sara or QB @sarahikes

6 Comments

Posted on September 2, 2018 by endlesspsummer

Hiking, international travel, road trip, Thru hiking, travel, trekking

adventure, backpacking, Canada, hike, Hiking, Lund, Lund BC, mountains, Powell river, Saltery Bay, SCT, Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Trail, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, travel, traveling

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Endless P Summer

Sierra High Route Part 2

The Long Trail: Sherburne Pass to Lincoln Gap

Zion 100

RT part 9: California and a 50 Mile Run

RT part 8: Sierra High Route from Road’s End to Red’s Meadow

RT Part 6: Holden Village to Canada

Road Trip Part 4: PCT from White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass

Road Trip Part 3: The Sunshine Coast Trail