Section 11 - Sonora Pass to Echo Summit
June 25
18 miles. We made it to Ebbets Pass in time to see Betsy
and Grant at 3 p.m. Soon after Jarrod, Sven, and I got
to the pass a truck pulled up and a man asked, "Are
you Henry Shires?" It turns out that Betsy and Grant
had driven a little ways down the road to wait for me
at the PCT parking lot and had met some campers who knew
where the trail crossed the road and offered to come get
us. Soon they transported the 3 of us to the parking lot
and we dined on fresh cantaloupe, brownies, roasted chicken,
potato salad, carrot sticks, bread, and coffee. Delicious!
It was so great to see Betsy and Grant. They are, without
a doubt, two of my most favorite people.
Sven and Jarrod hiked on into the night but I only walked
a few more miles to a windy ridge above Raymond Meadows.
It's a day or two from a full moon and I'm looking forward
to a spectacular moonlit night. I'm alone tonight for
the first time since Lee Vining.
Late this afternoon, I nearly walked into a bear. About
an hour after I left Betsy and Grant at Ebbets Pass I
came around a bend and was suddenly less than 15 feet
from a large, amber-colored black bear feeding at the
edge of a meadow. I froze and it scrambled 20 yards up
a snowbank. It turned, looked straight at me, and for
a moment time stopped. Then, slowly, it rose on its hind
legs and sniffed the air. Finally--with equal parts power
and grace-- it dropped to all fours, turned, and ambled
off into the forest. It was an unexpected but, in retrospect,
magical trail experience.
I'm almost beginning to enjoy hiking in the snow. Not
because it's fun--it's a huge pain in the butt--but rather
because it's such a challenge to find the trail. I find
myself trying to get inside the mind of the trailbuilder--to
extrapolate where the trail will go next-- so that I can
follow it, even when it's under 8 feet of snow. I'm getting
much better at it and have certainly had a lot of practice
the last few hundred miles.
I have a short 26 miles to go in the next two days to
meet my friends Eric and Mike at Carson Pass.
June 26
16 miles. It was a leisurely and beautiful hiking day.
For the first time since the border I walked just to walk
and cared little about the destination. The volcanic scenery
was the only thing that mattered. I stopped often to take
pictures and gaze in awe at the jagged, eroding peaks,
nearly every chute filled with snow. From my camp tonight,
high on the windswept saddle of a peak called "The
Nipple," I can look south and see most of my last
2 days of hiking. Still further south I can see the distant
peaks of Yosemite. The full moon is rising over the eastern
ridge, its craggy peaks still lit by the evening sun.
It has been an exceptional day.
I saw the first real crop of wildflowers today, partly
because I was looking but mostly because the snow melts
faster from this dark volcanic soil and the hills and
meadows are finally warming. Unfortunately, I will miss
most of the Sierra wildflower show but I'm sure I will
see plenty of other flowers further north.
I'm less than 10 miles from Carson Pass where I'm meeting
my friends Eric and Mike tomorrow afternoon. I'm sleeping
in again in the morning.
June 27
9 miles. I'm sitting on the porch of the Carson Pass Visitors
Center (8,573) watching the world go by. What a strange
world it is. It's Sunday and the Lake Tahoe weekend crowd
is passing through. Motobikers, RVers, gamblers, dayhikers,
young and old stop here to hike, pee, smoke, throw snowballs,
walk the dog, ask for directions, or just stretch their
legs before the long drive back to the city. A mile back
I couldn't hear the highway and a mile up the trail I
wont hear it either. But this urban river flows on, 24
hours a day, ceasing only when closed temporarily by heavy
snow. It's the first all-year highway to cross the PCT
since Walker Pass over 400 miles ago.
I've hiked 1075 miles--40%
of the PCT. Two friends, Eric and Mike, are meeting me
here this afternoon and during the next 2 days we will
take a slow motion 14-mile walk to Highway 50 above South
Lake Tahoe. I'm looking forward to seeing them but it
will feel strange to walk at that pace. I guess as long
as they bring good food I'll adapt.
June 28
9 miles. A snowy afternoon hike after last night's feast.
Eric and Mike picked me up yesterday afternoon and we
drove down the hill to a lake to camp for the evening.
Another friend, Eric#2, came along unexpectedly and the
four of us dined on steak, corn, salad, beer, and chocolate
chip cookies (Eric#1's wife, Gwen, makes the best in the
world). It was a gastronomic orgy.
Eric#2 drove back to Sacramento this morning and dropped
the rest of us off at Carson Pass. As we were packing
up to go, Shirt hiked by and we hiked together for the
first few miles until Packrat caught up. They were headed
for Echo Summit and hiked on ahead.
The trail soon ascended from upper Truckee River valley
meadows to snow-covered, north-facing slopes and we lost
the trail the rest of the day. Welcome to the PCT.
We're camped in a damp but snow-free clearing about 5
miles from Echo Summit. We could see the southern end
of Lake Tahoe from a promontory a mile back but this campsite
is deep in the snowy woods. After another feast of stir-fry
chicken, vegetables, and chocolate pudding I'm ready for
more at South Lake Tahoe.
June 29
5 miles. We made it to Echo Summit and down to South Lake
Tahoe in time to find a cheap motel, get a haircut, and
inhale a pre-dinner large combo pizza. We then searched
the casinos on the strip for the best all-you-can-eat
buffet. They did their best to eat back their losses at
the blackjack tables and I did my best to eat back my
calorie losses from two months on the trail. The plan
worked to perfection.
After dinner we walked down to an Irish bar, drank Guinness
on tap, and listened to a live band until well after midnight.
|
