Does it Have To End? - Friday, July 4

"Be happy it happened, not sad it's ending."

What an incredible last full day on the trail! A perfect ending.

Last night I was camped at mile 1055 with a large group, Captain, Shreck, Happy Feet and 4 other I had not met. I was collapsed on my Tyvek under my quilt when they arrived, so I did not get to meet them all as they busily cooked dinner and set up camp racing darkness.

This morning I was up and out at my usual 5:30. I had to quietly pack and sneak out as they were all asleep.

The early morning hiking was exquisite through miles and miles of flowers, across rugged rocky cliffs and through stands of timber. The rising sun accentuated it all with its orangish, soft glow creating a stunning scene. I felt a bit sluggish from the two previous days, a 25 mile day on Wednesday and a 23 yesterday, yet at 10:00am I had covered 10 miles. 10 @ 10 had been my goal the past few days and today I hit it. I celebrated with first lunch and a 20 minute rest.

I started out again. The trail wandered around, up 100', then down 100' passing by and over granite outcrops through stands of red fir, aspen, sierra juniper and pine. I was even more draggy than earlier with sore feet. I stopped to adjust my double thick foam rubber insoles which helped my right foot a bit.

The trail then climbed out of the trees and onto the side of the Nipple, a couple thousand foot high rock mountain. The wind was blowing a steady 25-30 miles per hour. The side of the mountain was covered in flowers tossed and waving in the wind. I stopped and sat to enjoy the view, hiding behind my pack to shelter from the wind. While snacking on an energy bar I used my solar panel to bring my iPhone and its camera back to life, dead since last night, and began taking pictures. It was stunning! The trail lead up and over the shoulder of the mountain giving panoramic views of the mountains to the north, south and west reminding me why it is called the Pacific Crest National SCENIC Trail. They could have built it lower on the mountain making for less climbing, but the scenic would have been lost.

My goal for the day was a water source and possible campsite at mile 1073, an 18 mile day after 2 days over 20 miles. About mile 1070 Happy Feet caught up with me. We had met at Kearsarge Pass briefly when he caught Sally and I at the pass, arriving dressed only in his underwear. He is as happy, positive and outgoing as his feet's namesake.

He caught me at a dirt road crossing. We exchanged greetings and noticed a SUV pulling a pop up camper drive by in a cloud of dust and then stop just 50 feet away. We both were thirsty and rumors of Trail Magic 6 miles ahead at Carson Pass had us dreaming of cookies and pop. We saw the driver get out of his car so Happy Feet walked in his directions and applied his best Yogi skills (Yogi comes from Yogi Bear the cartoon character who was always getting food from campers) to ask if they might have an extra beer or pop. The man recognized us as PCT hikers and said sure, opening a cooler on the tongue of his trailer and handing us two ice cold Mountain Dews, the crushed ice still clinging to the rim on the top of the cans. The man delighted in our expressions of joy as we clinked our cans together and took long, cold, immensely satisfying draws of the ice cold, caffeinated, sugary, energizing, refreshing soda. It was as close to Heaven as I can remember.

We chatted as we finished our pop, asked if he would mind taking the empties, shook their hands and were on our way.

It is amazing how the addition of a hiking partner can erase and alleviate previous aches and pains. As we hiked and talked there was no time for contemplation of shoulder straps digging into collar bones, nor heel pain. With Happy Feet in front setting a vigorous pace that I could barely maintain the time flew. He was bent on reaching Carson Pass which was 6 miles further than I was planning to go, but the conversation and his company along with the perfect hiking weather quickly caused me to change my goals. My weariness of earlier in the day vanished. We stopped to eat and dry our feet in the sun at what was previously my destination, filling our water bottles, then we were off again.
At Carson Pass we relaxed on the picnic tables next to the parking lot outside the closed Visitors Center and were able to Yogi a peanut butter and honey sandwich, a Kind Bar and a handful of gorp each from two couples on the adjacent table.

Even though the guide book mentioned water at the Visitors Center, there was no water at the pass, so we shouldered our packs and were off again. We already had 24 miles under us and it was 6:30, but with no water we had to move on. Our guide books showed water at mile 1081, so off we went. We found an idyllic campsite between two trees in a flower filled meadow next to a stream. With the sun down and darkness approaching we filled our water bottles and soaked our feet in the stream, then returned to set up camp and cook dinner. I shared my cheddar and broccoli soup with Happy Feet as we talked about his dream of becoming President of the United States.

A fine breeze blew until after dark keeping the mosquitoes at bay and tugging on my quilt as I nestled in for the night. A wonderful end to an amazing last full day on the trail.