Pacific Crest Trail : Belden to Burney Mountain

Miles this section : 124
Miles completed : 1408

Halfway, more or less.

Belden (population seven) proves a fine place for a day off, I don't do a lot, eat of course, three meals in fact, yes burgers are involved.  Seems the resort here hosts a lot of music festivals over the summer, but not today - not sure if I missed out or not, at least it is quiet at night, barring the trains coming through the valley at least.  There is even a beach on the river, nice to have a swim without my pack on.

Now for the long distance days.  I need to do three twenty-six milers on the trot, firstly get to Drakesbad resort in time for the lunch I've reserved on day three, and then to get past Lassen National Park, as I can't camp in it without a bear can.  Day one of course is a long climb out of the canyon, some five thousand feet of ascent, but it's no problem, I'm rested, well fed, and feel strong, this is easy.  The climb is through trees, then the afternoon is flatter with plenty of stony ridge walking, it is all rather glorious.  For a change, I need to be careful about carrying enough water, so end up camping at a junction with a trail leading to spring, it's an extra half mile to get to it and back, but whatever.

Sulphurous volcanic lake.

Day two is flatter, and something of a landmark as I pass the halfway point - there is a small marker, a little early at around 1,321 miles, the current midpoint four miles later passes unnoticed.  I continue to eat up the miles, over twenty-seven to reach a proper campsite - by trail standards - by a river.  Somebody has got a fire going, they have been here a day or two, even finding time to construct an impressive heated foot spa in a shallow part of the river!

I walk into the national park, an interesting volcanic landscape, with Mount Lassen looming over it on the horizon.  There's a sulphurous lake fed by hot springs, presumably the origin of the name Drakesbad, which I reach in good time.  My new poles are here, they seem OK, so I leave the sole survivor of my second pair by the hiker box, then sit down to enjoy a buffet lunch.  There is so much food, potato salad (with bacon!), biscuits and gravy (which I've seen on many a breakfast menu, turns out to be something like a pork stew, topped with the 'biscuits' which are savoury scones.  Many cookies follow, I feel very full, and now have to walk sixteen miles to get out of the park... thankfully the trail is flat, taking me past lakes and through burnt forest, to camp just beyond the park boundary at 8pm.

Drakesbad Ranch.

There is more flat walking in the morning, and another proper lunch, the trail is spoiling me now - burger and pancakes for dessert at JJ's cafe, and there's a minimart next door so I stock up on food and indeed water - Hat Creek Rim is coming up, a somewhat notorious thirty mile dry section.  I camp twelve miles into it, I don't want to use water to cook so build a fire and cook a chimichanga from the minimart on an improvised skillet - it is awesome!

The rim makes for a great walk, if a little hot and dry, but there are fine views to the isolated cone of Mount Shasta in the distance.  Other hikers ask if I am heading for Burney Mountain Guest Ranch this evening, which confuses me as that was my plan for tomorrow - checking, I realise I am a full day ahead of where I had thought, wow.  To Burney Mountain then, nice place with a comfy communal space for hikers, and a great deal of camping, shower, laundry and breakfast all for twenty-five dollars.  There is dinner too, I tuck into jacket potatoes and chilli, it is good, and the place's 'christian mission' is not obtrusive - I can't get a beer, but I can live with that.

Mount Shasta as seen from Hat Creek Rim.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : Sierra City to Belden

Miles this section : 89
Miles completed : 1284

I do like me a good trail sign.

I do the hero days thing once again at Sierra City, it seems to work... breakfast is the usual pancakes and coffee, and I have time to order trekking poles again - Walmart at least gave me a refund - delivery to a resort this time, fingers crossed.  There were new boots in my food box, this is good, the snow boots are a bit broken after the Sierras, really I cannot blame them.  The new ones seem flimsy, I have to remind myself that the similar shoes I started with lasted well.

I walk eleven miles in the afternoon, Sierra City was at a bit over four thousand feet so it's all uphill, but this is no problem for me with no snow.  The brakes are off now, and my body is recovering from the Sierras, the toe is returning to normal, wounds are healing over, even my lip is better.  I walk up, down, over fallen trees, I'm enjoying the woods now, the trail has a soft surface of dirt and pine needles, and yes, there is still just a little snow, but it is no more than a minor annoyance now, rather than a big 'adds two or three hours to the day' problem.  I make camp before seven, and even build a fire, my first in ages.

Vultures circling?  Not much meat on me, guys...

I pass many people going south, they have skipped past the Sierras, and are now heading back to do them southbound, this seems very sensible compared to what I have done.  Also heading south, the first horse rider I've seen doing the trail - apparently he meets his wife, and changes horses, every twenty-five miles or so.  Another sign of things returning to normal - trail angels!  Anne and Lionel provide me with many hot dogs, and even a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale - the only English beer that seems to have any presence in the market here, and I think it tastes better than the original version.  This does make for a delay though, I am aiming for twenty-four miles today, so, good to get to a long downhill section, to below three thousand feet in fact, the lowest I've been for a month at least.  The only difficulty is the large number of fallen trees on the trail, but still I make it to camp for 7:30pm, all good.  It is so warm down here!

A view of the North Fork Feather River.

There's a long slog up the other side of the canyon of course, but compared to snow this is still easy mode - I don't hesitate to walk three miles off trail to a lakeside resort, well worth it for proper food, burger and beer of course.  The next day sees more lovely ridge walking, and many hikers both north and southbound, some I recognise from back in southern California.  Then another long descent, Belden is at only just over two thousand feet, practically underwater!  No matter, there is cheap beer and cheap food - fish and chips even!  About time for a zero day I should say, the first in over three hundred miles...

Hmm, doesn't have an engine...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : Meyers to Sierra City

Miles this section : 104
Miles completed : 1195

Echo Lake - far away in time?

I have a morning off in Meyers, still no time for zero days but the 'two heroes' thing works, twenty-four hours' rest at least.  I get my usual coffee and pancakes, then do some shopping - and this time I remember to buy some lip balm, hope it works.  Then back to Bob Dog Pizza for lunch, a calzone, not as huge as the pizza last night but very good.  Back up the steep road to the trail, no problem, my pack still feels light without the bear box.  From here the trail goes past Echo Lake, and various other lakes, it is very scenic, and I share the walk with a lot of day hikers.  Snow appears after six miles of trail, it had to happen.

Ski lifts on the Tahoe Rim.

I pass many more lakes, some deep blue, some still frozen, the trail likewise alternates between snowy sections and miles of clear trail, some of the latter being glorious ridge walking, now this is more like it.  I am trying to average twenty-two miles a day, to make up a bit of lost time, but it's hard, I end up walking 'til 8pm each day - sunset is around 8.30pm now, and there are no bad creeks to halt me so I can do this, but it is exhausting.  On the third full day out of Meyers there is a lot of snow, and to make things worse I have an actual foot problem - my right little toe had a small cut, guess I didn't give it enough attention as now it is infected and swollen, and at times agonising to walk on.  I stop after only twenty miles, there is a hut, first I've seen on the trail.  Peter Grubb hut, it is much like those in New Zealand, and indeed as was often the case on Te Araroa it is full of people so I camp outside.

Fine walking on the Rim Trail.

Thankfully the toe seems better the next day, and I get some distraction from it in the form of company, hiking with Bebop, a nice young guy who through hiked last year but missed this section, he needs to average twenty-five miles per day to make his flight!  Snow pretty much stops ten miles from the hut, this is so much better, I hate snow so badly now, don't want to walk on it or even see it.  Bare trail, plus motivation from Bebop gets me to around twenty-four miles done, not bad at all, just twelve miles to Sierra City, I make it for 12:45 the next day so time for lunch, and the post office is still open.

Of course, my new poles are not here, apparently the delivery company didn't say why, just 'undeliverable', grr.  It will be because I put the post office as the address, they would have gone to the store OK I am sure.  At least my food box is here.  Again, I succumb to lure of a real bed and shower, sixty dollars this time, so good to be clean but this is eating into my budget - I will camp at next rest stop.

Downtown Sierra City.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : Kennedy Meadows (North) to Meyers

Miles this section : 74
Miles completed : 1091

Rugged scenery north of Sonora Pass.

I spend the morning at Kennedy Meadows (North), it's not a zero but I am behind schedule, and twenty-four hours' rest will do - two half zeros I guess, or 'hero days' for short.  I breakfast on coffee and pancakes, then just keep eating, some Reese's Pieces I found in the hiker box, they are bad hiker food, the chocolate melts at room temperature (oddly the peanut butter does not), good eating though.  Then a nice chap, Josh, buys me another breakfast, in exchange for PCT tales.  He even buys my bear box for $20!  Then it's time to walk back up Highway 108, and like 120, it seems easier than coming down.  So, do things get better after the pass?  Well, there is still lots of snow, hours of walking on it in fact, but also some bare trail.  I keep on until 8pm this first day after my rest, and manage five trail miles.  It's the same kind of thing next day, I walk over nineteen miles, longest in a while, but it is such hard work - I tell myself, more of it melts every day.  At least, there is no sign of scary creeks since Sonora Pass.

Upper and Lower Blue Lakes.

More bare trail appears, crisscrossing high ridges, it is nice walking and I get an odd feeling - I am actually enjoying myself!  I'm able to appreciate the landscape too, craggy mountains and still lakes bordered by pines.  But the snow isn't done with me just yet, late on the third day I face a near vertical slope covering a section of trail.  I make a bad decision here - maybe fatigue after eleven hours or so, or maybe pride, I was just thinking I'd taken the worst the Sierras could throw at me.  We know what pride goes before...  I kick steps, small ones, the snow is icy hard, and get nearly half way across before the fall.  And I am lucky, I slide down ten feet or so, then hit rock, which stops me pretty quickly.  Just a few bruises and scrapes, could have been much worse, another trekking pole down though - poor thing is bent nearly in half.  Of course it takes just a short backtrack to find a stony slope to scramble up, avoiding the snow.

First sight of Lake Tahoe.

I still manage a nineteen mile day despite the fall, then more bare trail next day for twenty-two miles, leaving just a morning of walking - half snow, half trail - to my next resupply.  Normal practice here seems to be to hitch to the ski / casino / party town of South Lake Tahoe, some twelve miles off trail, well I am not here to party - my plan is three miles to the small town of Meyers, and a campsite.  One tiny problem, they want sixty dollars for a night's camp, 'it's Lake Tahoe on the fourth of July', the lady says.  OK... well, I get a shower for five dollars anyway.  And there is free camping in the woods, and I track down beer and a huge pizza, could be much worse.  I even buy some more poles, online from Walmart - will they turn up at the next post office as I asked?  We'll see.

Happy Fourth of July!

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : High Sierras Days 22 Through 26

Miles this section : 54
Miles completed : 1017

Falls Creek and Wilma Lake from above.

Day 22
Lots of up and down today, some on bare trail but even with that it's hard work, including a climb over Benson Pass at over ten thousand feet - I thought passes were over.  I worry about creeks all day, it is actually a relief to reach the Plute and find it is OK, sure it has burst its banks but there are logs over the deepest bits.  Next up, Rancheria Creek, really not good - it's in a steep canyon with snowy sides, the foaming creek at the bottom, it is bad enough just walking along, I have to kick steps, one slip and I am in the creek.  There are miles of that to come, then I have to cross it?  How?  I don't know what to do.  It is hard enough just to camp, the ground all covered by steeply sloping snow, best I can find is an angled ledge above the roaring water.  The bear can goes in the tent, otherwise it might roll off into the creek.

Day 23
I sleep late, slope or no, I don't want to face the creek, but of course, half a mile down there is a snow bridge.  Then more up and down all day, slow work as usual, and yes there are more creeks.  Around six miles into the day, one is flat and calm, but has burst its banks and looks deep.  Sure enough I end up swimming, the current is strong but I make it and my stuff stays dry.  Just two miles later another - my trail notes don't mention any of this, don't know if these creeks have names even.  This time, the deepest section has a log, maybe six inches below the surface, it's not possible to cross on it, so instead I try wading with the log as a support, but the current is so strong that it washes me, pack and all over the thing!  I was nearly across, and somehow flip towards the bank as I go over and then grab a tree root.  And still there is more... another two miles gets me to Wilma Lake and Falls creek, separate entities on the map, on the ground the lake seems to be pouring out into a nearby valley in a vast torrent.  I can walk no further today, so only ten miles done, but only thirty to Sonora Pass now... I have food for three days.  Maybe the water will go down?

One Thousand Miles!

Day 24
Of course the water doesn't go down, but on closer inspection it looks like the there's not much current from lake, rather it is the creek that the water is coming from.  In fact it is an easy wade, and to further brighten my mood I meet some people!  They turn up as I am getting ready to leave camp, they have followed my footprints - these are the first humans I've seen since Toulomne.  Now I follow their steps for a while, but then two miles on, I have to cross Falls Creek, and the only way is to swim.  It is really not fun, the fear is that the current will hold me in the centre, or that my body will stop working due to the cold, but I make it, only to walk along the creek for miles, watching it dwindle to a stream I could jump over, I should have stayed on the other bank.  Then up over Dorothy pass, there is bare trail at the top, other than that it has been snow all day.  Still I manage twelve miles, camping near the 999 mile point, as is often the case camp is also near a lake, I doze off to the sound of frogs croaking.  Less than eighteen miles to Sonora now!

Looking back at the Sierras.

Day 25
A short walk to the 1,000 mile point, there is some visible trail here but no sign of a marker.  Just a little past that, three hikers turn up, and tell me there were big warnings about this section, people were needing rescue etc.  None of this is much of a surprise to me, although they also confirm my suspicions that I missed the worst, you could see where some creeks had been higher.  However, there is no bad creek today, lots of bare trail in fact, I climb up to nearly eleven thousand feet and it's about half bare even up here, maybe the snow is running out.  There are superb views too, this is better, I've made seventeen miles and camp just short of the pass.  Time to eat my spare food!

Looking north, well there is certainly less snow in that direction.

Day 26
Half a mile of High Sierras left, if you take Sonora Pass as being their northern limit, just a scramble down some snow to the road.  Which I then walk along for nine miles, smooth tarmac feels so good under my feet after endless days of snow, it is quite scenic too, maybe not Highway 120 but a good view.  My rest stop here is another Kennedy Meadows, a 'pack station', you can come here and hire a horse, looks like fun.  I succumb to the offer of bed, shower and laundry for $35, eat many burritos, drink some beer, and have a burger before retiring to a real bed, and I'm actually clean, this is very good.  My wilderness beard doesn't want to come off, it takes a lot of scraping but I manage to remove most of it.  There's no WiFi, can't have it all, I write the blog anyway, this will be the last daily entry, back to normal blogging now.  And please, please, normal walking too.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : High Sierras Days 17 Through 21

Miles this section : 41
Miles completed : 963

A welcome respite from all the snow, Mono Lake.

Day 17
More passes, more snow, such very hard work.  Island Pass is not worth the name, just a spot between two frozen lakes, whereas Donahue Pass is high, easy enough to get over though.  But I am only doing one mile per hour, don't think I can make my planned rest stop at this rate, I can't ration food any more, I'm wasting away to nothing as it is.  I check the map, Toulomne Meadows is coming up, another resort that should have a store, but it's probably shut as Reds was, if so I will walk along Highway 120 to the town of Lee Vining - either way, this new plan means I have lots of spare food, let the feast begin!  The day's last few miles are snow free, through a lovely grassy valley in fact, and I have a nice place to camp for the first time in ages.

Day 18
I hike to Toulomne with John, nice guy, from Edinburgh, now a mountain guide in Washington (the state, not the city).  He runs an annual trip to Kilimanjaro, I must get his email...  It's an easy few miles, albeit very wet with lots of shallow streams to paddle through, to reach Toulomne Meadows, where we find lots of Park Rangers, they have shiny SUVs and are driving around checking snow damage to the various buildings.  What's more, they check my PCT permit!   Nearly a thousand miles I've carried the thing, about time... mind you they don't check the bear box.  Of course, the store is shut, so nineteen miles of road walk to Lee Vining it is.  Very dramatic scenery, and also a thunderstorm behind me, I just catch a bit of rain - looks like it is on the trail, very glad I'm not there.  The walk takes a bit more than seven hours, I'm in Lee Vining in good time for the all important burger and beer.

Fine views from the Tioga Pass Road.

Day 19
Lee Vining is really nice, a compact place with the store just over the road from a sporting goods shop, and a stone's throw from several restaurants.  I drink much coffee, and run into John at the coffee shop, where there is even WiFi - good to contact the outside world, has been a while.  It doesn't stop there, I get new poles, only $45 the pair, hopefully they'll cope with the trail.   There's a lot to see here too, neighbouring Mono Lake is very scenic and interesting geologically, and there is history too, this is an old silver mining town.  I eat masses of course, and sadly dump the shoes, it's no longer cold enough to justify trying to keep my boots dry.  Not to mention they're no longer waterproof, or even sandproof - in fact I perform surgery on the things, to let grit pass through to the inside so I can tip it out, it had been building up between layers of material.  I eat my second huge burger here then head out, camping in a nice spot a few miles up the road.

The Toulomne.  Be afraid.

Day 20
The day starts with a long but pleasant walk back up the road, Highway 120, or the Tioga Pass Road.   A monument reads 'highest automotive pass in California', and 'most scenic', I can well believe it.  Back to the trail, there's not much snow, but an awful lot of water, I cross Delaney Creek, it's deep and has a strong current, then Bingley creek, split into many arms it takes a while to get past.  The trail is flooded in part, six or eight inches deep, I was right to dump the shoes, but this is bad for boots and socks.  Then two bridges over the Toulomne River, the first is doable, the approach is dry, then a knee deep wade to get off it.  I reach the second bridge at 6pm, it looks hard, I decide to camp and look again in the morning.  Maybe the water will go down.

Wet but victorious.

Day 21
In fact, the river is higher when I poke my head out of the tent at 6am - I decide to sleep a bit more.  I spoke to a guy on Highway 120 yesterday, he said water levels were lowest around midday, I suspect that is probably right.  This is scary stuff, there is so much water, mostly under the bridge though, and I decide go for it at 9am, the approach is a waist deep wade, I cling to trees and pull myself along, then up the bridge support, made it!  On the other side, again it is deep, but short, I basically fling myself in and can grab onto the far 'shore', done.  Then some bare trail, woo, I make decent time for a bit, there are more creeks though - I wade a couple, then one has such a strong current, I simply can't stay upright.  I manage to flounder to the side, but can only watch as my hat floats off, moving faster and faster as the current takes it.  I feel rather sad, have had that hat a long time.  The same thing happens a little later, barring that I now have no hat to lose, I'm wet through, walking up into snow too, it feels very cold.  Still, I manage fifteen miles, I'm getting through it somehow - there are only fifty-four miles to Sonora pass, supposedly the northern boundary of the High Sierra, now.

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here.

Pacific Crest Trail : High Sierras Days 11 Through 16

Miles this section : 67
Miles completed : 922

Camp cooking in progress.

Day 11
I do get a good night's sleep, makes a nice change.  Bare trail makes for good walking good too, albeit walking uphill, three thousand feet up to Selden Pass, of course soon enough I'm back on snow, but it's doable.  Only problem, looking at snow hurts my eyes without sunglasses - I turn my hat brim down, shut my eyes now and then and hope for the best.  Back down again, time for more creek wading, I fall over in Bear Creek, get wet but no harm done.  There are just thirteen miles to my rest stop, Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR henceforth) now, I hope it is open, have heard conflicting reports.  I camp alongside the rushing creek, dig a fire pit (with the stick!), and cook some bean chilli, it is good.

Day 12 The morning starts with a steep climb up bare trail, it would be OK but I'm exhausted, progress is slow.  Then down the north facing side, this is the hardest thing yet, the switchbacks are all snow covered, and simply too steep to get down, eventually I find a dirt and stone slope to scramble down, then walk through mosquito hell past Edison Lake to VVR, and thank goodness it is open.  No showers, no WiFi, but the store is going, and there is food, a choice of steak or steak.  There are hard core hikers here, doing twenty mile days in the snow, aiming for under a hundred days for the whole thing.  I still get some respect for coming from Kennedy Meadows without a break.

Horrible walking through the trees.

Day 13
I take a much needed zero day at VVR, eat lots, and spend lots, it is not cheap here.  One of the hard core guys is heading out, he reckons he will get phone signal back at the trail, so I ask him to email my dad, to let my family know I live, hope it works.  I spend some rime fixing stuff, the GPS unit's waterproof cover has come away, I tape it up, then sew up a trouser pocket...  I wash my clothes, wish I could wash me.  More shopping, new sunnies, they have eagles on so must be good, and finally some bug spray, 98% DEET, sounds good.

Day 14
Back to the trail, the path along the lake doesn't seem so bad after some rest, and the bug spray helps some.  Soon after rejoining the trail I ford Mono Creek, and barely have the strength to stay upright against the current, then up into snow again, Silver Pass today, on the way up the 'high schoolers' overtake me, and of course throw my mockery back at me.  I catch them back up at a nameless creek, too fierce to cross... while they debate what to do I head upstream, but the terrain just gets steeper, and the creek no less scary.  Finally get high enough for a snow bridge, then have to do some scary mountaineering up a rocky slope to get back to the trail.  Silver Pass turns out to be easy enough, then there's a fun descent, taking the direct route down soft snow loses altitude fast.

Edison Lake.

Day 15
I manage to get up and make an early start, but screw up and spend half an hour climbing back last night's descent, argh.  The correct climb the other way is a bit easier, no pass today (only a single big name pass left!) but still up over ten thousand feet.  Snow is still hard work, especially a few miles of contouring along a slope through pines, but then a miracle occurs, some contouring on a south facing slope, bare trail at ten thousand feet, this is actually nice walking.  Then back down, all snow still a thousand feet lower, makes it tricky to camp, I find a bare patch at the base of a tree.  Three miles behind the original plan, but I have an extra day of food so should be OK.

Silver Pass.

Day 16
As much of today is spent below eight thousand feet, I had hoped for easy miles, but no such luck.  A mile or two is OK, past Reds Meadows, there should be a store here but it's shut due to snow, grrr.  Then many fallen trees to navigate, making such hard work on an otherwise flat, snow free trail.  Next up, a monster ford of a nameless creek, the banks have burst, the water is waist deep, I push my way through it alongside a fallen tree.  Then snow, even this low down, along a riverbank, just impossible to walk on with the constant risk of sliding down into the water.  I look at the map, and scramble up a steep slope to meet a minor road, from here a shortcut avoids a few miles of trail, I don't care.  Then up to a few scant miles of bare trail, wow, shows this would be a nice walk without the snow.  Today I managed eighteen miles, I was behind even with my extra food, now only one mile off.

Photos to go with this section can be found here.

Pacific Crest Trail : High Sierras Days 5 Through 10

Miles this section : 91
Miles completed : 857

High point of Forester Pass, and indeed the Pacific Crest Trail.

Day 5
Another landmark day - Forester Pass, highest point of the trail at over thirteen thousand feet!  No idea what I was thinking, but my plan is to do twenty miles including the pass, and starting a mile up the Whitney detour means I need to do twenty-one.  But snow is hard to walk fast on, worst amid the trees where even on flat ground, the white stuff forms countless little humps and valleys.  It's slow progress all morning, there are more creeks, each takes time to find a place to cross, or often change into my creek shoes, put stuff in the drybag then change back on the far side.  I reach the timberline, getting over the pass is looking doable, I'm walking my own route over snow, no sign of where the trail is.  The final climb is OK, and I get to the top at 6.15pm, then down to a campsite at ten thousand, five hundred feet, nothing to pitch the tent on but snow, it's going to be a cold night.  I am now three miles behind plan.

Camping on snow turns out to be not much fun.

Day 6
I walk on snow all day, so hard, the trail may be easy downhill, but snow amid trees means constant up, down and around.  It's a brutal slog up to Glen Pass, where I catch up with a big group, moving slowly - I ask the tail ender if they are high schoolers, oops, no, just typically young US hikers.  Think I may have offended them, still I probably amuse them too by joining in with glissading - yes, sliding down on my bottom, and at one point going head over heels.  But I'm falling further behind plan, was supposed to do seventeen miles today, I manage more like twelve and a half, think I need to change plan...  I find a bare rock to camp on today, it has to be better than snow surely.

A nice suncupped slope to traverse.

Day 7
The rock was warm, I sleep late and feel better for it, and actually have a nice walk downhill, below the snow, yay.  Good to see an actual bridge over Woods Creek, after that though it is another slog over Pinchot pass, again I go my own way - without the snow I am sure the trail is lovely, but in these conditions trying to stick close to it can mean difficult traversing of steep slopes.  I am also quite tired of sun cups now - arrays of sometimes deep depressions in the snow, they are tricky to walk on.  Now nine miles behind plan, new plan is to take an extra day for the section.

Day 8
Disaster.  Crossing a creek on an ice bridge early in the day, I slip and lose both trekking poles into the foaming waters.  Could be a lot worse of course, could have been me, but still I'm upset, one was a souvenir of New Zealand, the other a gift from the parents.  Not to mention I need something to walk with, well, I find a stick to use instead, it gets me up Mather pass, the hardest pass yet.  It is still winter on the other side, dark clouds, freezing wind, even hail.  All downhill though, I keep on and get to below the snowline, where there are many fallen trees.  It's still very cold, but at least I've managed to walk some sixteen miles, disaster or no.

Mather Pass, first photo of the stick.

Day 9
I am still going.  My body is changing under the extreme conditions... very thin now, lips are badly chapped, feet sore from kicking steps.  My eyes hurt, incipient snow blindness I fear, well, sunglasses help.  Good walking today at least, up over Muir Pass, it is easy enough, the stick is still going.  I manage sixteen miles, the section end is in sight, think I'm ahead of most hikers now, I see no other human all day.  I camp on a rock again, this time at eleven thousand feet.

Day 10
All downhill, but not easy.  It's so hard to walk on snow through the trees, all up and down, little hills and ridges of snow, it doesn't soften in the shade, so hard to kick steps into.  I'm still losing things, a pair of socks yesterday, today, I faceplant on some easy bare trail, my sunglasses shoot off and vanish into the bushes.  I ford Evolution Creek, the stick works well, go stick, then another descent below the snow, woo, I'm able to make good pace and camp early.  Section end is just twenty-nine miles away now, hopefully I can sleep OK down here at a relatively low altitude and walk well tomorrow.

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here.