We Meet Again - Wednesday, July 2

Today turned out to be a reunion . . . twice, one expected and one wholly unexpected.

Sally and I had fired up the new Ford Focus engine in our Vanagon last fall and headed for the National Parks of the desert southwest. Unfortunately, a large fire near Yosemite, our first destination, had closed the Tioga Pass road. If we wanted to get to The Valley we would need an alternate route to get from the east side of the Sierra to the west side. We picked Sonora Pass on Highway 108 to cross the Sierra, a route we had never taken before. Once at the pass we scouted where the PCT was, enjoyed some breakfast in the sun, then continued west to visit Kennedy Meadows North, a horse packing station and resort about 8 miles west of the pass. At the time we were at the pass I imagined what it would be like to hike the PCT through it, but never imagined it would be this year.

I had camped 11 miles short of the pass last night, at the last available water until just 1\2 mile short of the pass where Sardine creek is located. I was on the trail by 5:30 feeling strong after my long afternoon of rest the day before. I climbed the 1200 feet to gain the ridge, then climbed up and down as the trail wove from the east to west side of the crest and back again multiple times before finally descending into the pass, a welcome reunion. I arrived about 10:30 and had a kind day hiker take my picture in front of the highway sign. I then walked up to the parking\picnic area, excited to use the outhouse. With business completed, I found Jay Bird, Boots, Shutter and Captain hanging around a picnic table. I also found a trail angel had left food and gear on a nearby picnic table for us to take, although he was asking for donations. I walked over to the table, hoping to find some quick to eat energy or candy bars. There were none, but Captain was two steps in front of me and scored a box of cold cereal, Fruit Loops, that was unopened. As I turned around to walk back to the other table to sit and chat I got my second reunion, the unexpected one. There standing in front of me was Mover, our drunk, blood soaked, vomiting, retching, groaning and coughing neighbor from Morena Lake, day 2 of our adventure. He was clean and talkative, so we discussed trail lore and plans. He had not actually hiked to the pass. He was riding with the trail angel and helping him out, but spoke of plans to head to Washington now so as to hike that portion of the PCT to avoid the miserable weather that might hammer down in mid September. But first he was headed to the Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA for the 4th of July weekend. Meeting Mover was totally unexpected! He was certainly cleaner than the last time I saw him, and more sober, although he was on his second beer of the day and his eyes were bloodshot.

I spent about half an hour at the pass before heading out. I still had 14 miles to hike and needed to get going if I was to accomplish them before dark. The trail climbed up over the ridge north of the pass, then spent 6 miles descending down the East Carson River before climbing up out of the drainage and undulating along the top of the ridge to the west. While at the high point above the pass I acquired cell service, so I texted Sally a picture of Mover to share my reunion. I called her, and while on the phone spent 20 minutes troubleshooting the cranky WiFi at home that was not behaving properly.

My destination was a water source and flat area that looked good for camping at mile 1032, a 25 mile day. Captain and a new kid I met, Stranger were in front of me so I knew I would be passing them in the morning.

With day dwindling I found the creek and flat ground and quickly set up camp, cooked dinner and put Shoe Goo on the soles of my shoes, hoping to extend their life a bit more. The Asolo boots I wear are comfy and never give me blisters, but the rubber used on their soles is too soft and wears out quickly. The Shoe Goo adheres well and lasts for a week or more at which point I simply apply more.

The mosquitos were minimal at this site, but enough to cause me to hide under my quilt while I wrote my blog until after dark. The stars were magnificent through the soaring tall timber but sleep beckoned and my eyes soon shut. It was fun to enter Sonora Pass on the trail today, and fun to see Mover again as well, an event that had me smiling as I fell asleep.

A Note:  In yesterday's blog I discussed dirt and how dirty we get on the trail. Feeling a bit self-conscience about my protestations I resolved to wash my shirt today.  I found a wonderful waterfall mid afternoon in the hot sun, stripped off my shirt and washed it, without soap, in the roaring water.  I beat it on some rocks to loosen the dirt and prepared to spread it on some rocks to dry.  As I did, I noticed little black lines all over my shirt-leeches. My shirt was covered with leeches from the stream.  Hmmm.  No wonder I don't try to wash on the trail.  I spent the next 5 minutes picking the little blood suckers off, put my wet shirt on to dry and cool me, and headed up the trail. So much for cleanliness.