Susanne's Adventure Journal

7.7 PCT miles, plus 3.4 miles side trail. I woke up a little early at the hostel.  I still needed to pack my stuff up and transfer the last two journal entries to the blog. I also has no idea what the plan was for the day. When texting Songbeard last night,  it sounded like people would be having breakfast in town first, then heading to the trail. I went upstairs to the lounge to sit on the couches and plug in my phone and power bank. The other hikers, who I didn't know, were also lounging,  eating breakfast, and watching Sports Center. I wasn't really able to add anything to the conversation,  so I just sat there while my phone charged. I hadn't been near an outlet the night before,  so my battery was down to 50%. Eventually I got the text that everyone had been at Schat’s Bakery for 20 minutes. I grabbed my gear and headed down to the bakery,  hoping I would be able to eat as well before we took off. Songbeard, Phoenix, Sage, and Julia all ha...

It was really refreshing to wake up in a bed this morning. I took my time getting up and uploaded a couple journal entries to this blog. I then packed up my stuff and left it in a corner of the women's dorm. That room was full for the night,  so I would need to switch bunks when I bumped into a manager. I left the hostel to run some errands, the most important being laundry. I walked down to the laundromat. This was my first experience with changing into my swimsuit/rain gear to do laundry  because every other clothing item needed to be washed. While I sweated in the seating area,  I met two other thru-hikers, Kimosabe and Maps. After my clothes were clean, I put them back on, went to Rite Aid for some misc items and then checked out the nearby sports shop to see if they had a replacement water bladder. They did not. It was about lunch time so I went to a local bakery, Schat’s,  that also serves sandwiches. I got freshly sliced roasted turkey on fresh baked...

14.1 PCT miles, plus 3.4 miles of the Horseshoe Lake Trail Another morning, another day of putting on cold, wet boots. Today we were going to attempt to exit the trail and head to the town of Mammoth Lakes.  Usually,  you are able to exit the trail at Reds Meadow and get a shuttle to town. However, because of the large snowmelt, the road to Reds Meadow is washed out and the shuttle is not running. Instead we need to hike 3.4 miles on a side trail to take a shuttle into town. We still had a lot of miles to go to get there. I was a little nervous because I am a slower hiker than everyone else and you never know what the Sierra will throw at you. Today’s hike started out with a steep climb out of the valley we had camped in. The morning light was just filtering over the mountains. Then we went around a cold lake that still had snow surrounding its banks. In the morning light, there was a perfect reflection in the water. Morning light in the mountains.  Lak...

10.5 PCT miles, plus 6.6 miles on side trail Today was the first day in a long time that I put on dry boots in the morning. It felt good. I ended up ready to go before everyone else, so I decided to head down the trail that rejoins the PCT before by myself. It was a long, but pleasant walk. I was really surprised to see that I was almost to the PCT junction and none of the usual suspects had  passed me yet. Morning on the trail around Lake Edison. Morning around the lake. Finally , Sage came by. He didn't seem to know where anyone else was either.  I told him I had planned to wait  for everyone at the trail junction. Sage and I got to the junction and waited.  I ate some snacks and even took a nap before I saw Songbeard show up. Apparently,  those with AT&T were able to get signal part way around the lake, and that caused a huge delay as everyone was checking messages. After a short break, we continued walking the PCT.  Unfor...

5.3 miles side trail Today we were headed to Vermillion Valley Resort  (VVR), a resupply point off trail. We had hiked part of the trail yesterday, and needed to do about 5 more miles to reach our destination. I skipped out on the fish party last night, so I wasn't sure what the plan was for the morning. I set my alarm for the normal wake up time (5 am) and waited for people to stir. Sage was the first person I saw pack up his tent. I went to inquire what the plan was and he basically said there wasn't a plan, just to get to VVR. I packed up my gear,  spoke briefly with Phoenix and Songbeard, then headed down the trail. The trail wound around the lake, but had a lot more uphill and downhill than I expected, making it seem longer than it really was. Lake Edison from the side trail.    Another view of Lake Edison. VVR itself is more like a collection of rustic cabins than a resort. However, it is really hiker friendy. There is a sign out fr...

17.7 PCT miles It was another cold morning at 10,000 ft. Our task for this morning was to cross Seldon Pass. Reports from southbounders was that the pass wasn't so bad, so we were cautiously optimistic. We had done most of the elevation gain last night, so the trail wasn't so bad heading to the pass. We were greeted by a potentially tricky water crossing from an overflowing lake, but were able to find a series of logs and boulders to easily get across. Morning water crossing. From there on out, it was a constant transition between snow patch and exposed trail.  You can tell the melt is in full effect because the footprints in the snow patches did not always line up with the exposed trail.  It lead us in the wrong direction at least once. View on the way to Seldon Pass. The pass itself came up quickly and unexpectedly. There were no huge snowfields, no steep switchbacks,  and no scary traverses. It just kind of appeared. Taco Slap and Phoe...