Day 52 – I’m slidin’ solo…
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: 26, so I’m 3 miles from Red’s Meadow and Mammoth at mile 903.
We knew that today would be tough since we were disbanding the team, and when I woke up I heard cuddling noises coming from Savage’s tent. She and Dodger were making the most of their last time together, and when I came back from the bathroom, I jumped in the tent as well. Then we got Flame in there, and finally Hach-P caved and joined us. Savage’s dream of fitting all of us into one tent had finally come true!
We went for breakfast, which was delicious (mmmm… muffins!) but expensive, and then started packing up for the ferry. We got all of our last-second chores done and took a final team photo. 😭 We said our goodbyes, planned our reunions, and everybody but Savage boarded the ferry to get back to trail. It was sad watching her disappear into the distance, but she’s going to have loads of fun hitching from VVR to Reno to catch her flight!
The lake was beautiful as always, and the ride over was quite pleasant, with TWO pups on board!
When we got to the dock, we saw a few of friends like Invisible Man and Dragonfly, chatted for a little, then said our goodbyes. Since I was also leaving Flame, Dodger, and Hach-P, we said our goodbyes again and set up a plan to reunite when they get to Washington, and with that, I was off.
The first few hours of hiking alone again were pretty strange, since I was constantly looking over my shoulder expecting to see Flame catching up to me. I got to one easy river crossing before a more difficult one that was a bit scarier. I walked upstream and found a much more reasonable crossing where I was much safer and then immediately continued on my way since I was no longer waiting on a group, which was different but nice since it kept my blood pumping and toes warm.
I quickly came to another crossing, which was an awesome waterfall right above the trail. It was a simple crossing too, so I felt completely fine doing it alone and continued on up the hill.
I climbed continuously and didn’t take any breaks, so I got to the top of Silver Pass fairly quickly and easily. There were about fifteen people that I had met over the past few days up there hanging out, so I ate area few snacks and enjoyed the views before leaving.
Talking to the southbound JMTers over the past few days, I knew that I would be able to glissade for a lot of the descent. Most were pretty short, but still lots of fun. The best one actually had four glissade paths side by side, so we could have raced! Unfortunately, I was sliding alone. 😔
As I came down out of the snow, I kept ending up on the wrong side of rivers. I guess I was following the footsteps of someone who was lost, but it did lead me through thick bushes in which I found a sitting pad! Not one to leave trash that I see on trail, I carried it with me to try to find its owner. Eventually, I started carrying it by using it as extra padding for my hip belt, which was incredible and very necessary when I have a full bear canister. I don’t think I would necessarily mind if I never find the owner, but we’ll see.
The PCT climbed up and down as it always does, but there were some incredible spots that you could tell were the entire reason that the trail went that way. Gotta see the cool stuff!
With no one else to worry about in terms of hiking or camping, I got to make all of the decisions! I had initially picked a campsite by Deer Creek, but it was still sunny and I had energy, so I hiked on and hit the 900 mile mark!
I finally settled down in a five person campsite right before Reds Meadow, which is a lot closer than I thought. Getting there from VVR in one day is totally reasonable (if you don’t start at 10AM), though Hach-P was taking about two or three days.
I’m so close that I’m likely going to call an audible and stop in Mammoth for a little while, because everyone seems to love it and I should be able to spend a few hours there and still get some quality hiking in. This excerpt of the Guthooks description really sold it for me: “The town is a perennial favorite with PCT hikers as a place to eat excellent baked goods.” I guess we’ll have to see!