36 miles. My longest day on trial. Went over the highest point of the PCT, Forester Pass (13,200ft) then Glen Pass (11978ft). My foot started hurting this day.
Day 41: 801 to 829
28 miles. Went over Pinchot Pass (12079ft) and Mather Pass (12067ft).
Day 42: 829 to 856
27 miles. Over Muir Pass. Slept in a dirty cabin. It rained that night. Breeze, Chimichanga and I were glad we were in the cabin.
Day 43: 856 to 877+4 (Vermillion Resort)
25 miles. Over Selden Pass (10891ft) Extremely cold in the morning. 17 degrees. Fresh snow on the ground from the night. Chimichanga fell knee deep into a lake in the morning on the way up Selden Pass. He was crossing the lake on a few downed logs that were covered in ice. He had to run up the pass to keep his feet from freezing. Once at the pass, he couldn't get his shoes off because the laces were frozen solid. Eventually he did and we spent the next 20 minutes trying to warm his feet. It was probably the scariest moment of the trail for me because it was the first real danger I've come across. At 17 degrees he could have had frostbite.
Once we got to Edison Lake, there is normally a ferry that takes you across the lake to Vermillion Resort. There was a sign at the landing that was very confusing about the afternoon ferry. We couldn't decide if it meant the ferry would come today or tomorrow. Well.....after 2.5 hours of waiting we decided it wasn't coming. We had to hike the 4 miles around the lake to the resort. We were pissed. But the food at the resort made up for it.
Day 44: 877 to 904+3.5 (Mammoth Lakes)
30.5 miles. Over Silver Pass (10958ft). We made the push all the way to Mammoth today. We had a late start today because the morning ferry didn't leave until 9:30.
Once we got near Red's Meadow, we were confused on which trail to take due to the blow downs. We took a trail that we thought was cleared of downed trees. After 45 minutes, climbing over 50 downed trees, and only covering about .25 miles....we decided that trail was not cleared.
We checked the Facebook PCT group and found out that the next trail was the cleared trail into Mammoth. We got to the trailhead around 12:15am. We were planning on sleeping there, but it was freezing, and a nice bed after that long in the Sierras seemed so much better. We called a taxi to take us the 6 miles down to Mammoth Lakes and we checked in to a motel. But not until after we raided the gas station for food.
Day 45: Zero in Mammoth
Breeze, Chimichanga and I decided to splurge and book a room at the Westin in Mammoth Lakes. It was super nice. We had a huge one bedroom suite. We ate a ton. And I iced my swollen foot.
Day 46: Zero in Mammoth
I have a friend who lives in Mammoth and he let me borrow his downhill bike today. I rode downhill at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park for a few hours. It was awesome to be flying down the trail so fast.
I got a hotel room and waited for my dad, Sara and my brother Jason to get to Mammoth. They are going to hike the next section of trail to Tuolumne Meadows with me.
Day 47: Nero in Mammoth
3.5 miles. We hung out all day and I ate a ton of food. We were going to camp at a campround in town but decided to start hiking tonight and get a few miles in. We hiked the side trail and are camped back on the PCT.
Day 48: 904 to 918
14 miles. This was a big day for my dad and Jason. They have never hiked this distance before with a backpack. Jason got to camp and threw up. Probably from being tired.
Day 49: 918 to 931.5
13.5 miles. Over Donahue Pass (11068ft). Today my foot really started hurting. It was extremely painful every step.
Day 50: 931.5 to 941.5
10 miles. Lyell canyon is one of the nicest areas in Yosemite. We all jumped in the freezing Tuolumne River. I made the decision to go home with dad, Jason and Sara so I could get my foot checked out.
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