Trail Day 94: Indian Springs Stream (mile 1501.9) to tentsite (mile 1526.7)

24.8 PCT miles

It was another early, pre-sunrise start today. The climb out of the valley was going to be long and brutal and I wanted to gain as much elevation as possible before the sun started to bake.

There was a series of small hills to go up and down to where the elevation really started to gain. It would be 4 miles of steep, exposed uphill followed by another 4 miles of more gradual uphill.

I took a breakfast and water break before the worst of the climb, but I took too long. By the time I started that section, the sun was already intense and baking the rock. Luckily, this was the morning of the solar eclipse.  I wasn't far enough north for the total eclipse, but it would still be a partial eclipse.

Headed up.

The crags on the morning.

Early morning smokey landscape. 

I didn't have glasses or a box to safely and  view the eclipse,  so I just had to “experience” it. I could tell when it started, because those intense rays of sun beating down on me became less intense.  For the next 1.5 hours the temp of the climb became a little more manageable and my surroundings “dimmed” for a while. As I reached the top of the climb, the intensity of the sun came back.

By that time I had hit a small section of pine trees and stopped to take an early lunch.  That climb must have been extra hard because I was incredibly hungry. I ate my lunch and then needed to take a short nap.

The food and nap really helped my energy levels. I made my way along the ridge, going uphill and getting great views of the crags if Castle Crags and the valley below.

The crags.

View from the trail.

After what seemed like forever,  I finally crossed over the ridge and started walking the crests on the other side. This section followed the crests, then started traversing  the ridge again.

There were views of a lot of nice lakes, but the trail itself was exposed and had a lot if loose rock that was reflecting the sun, even thougg it was now at an angle in the sky.

I passed a couple of springs that were off the trail. They either required a long walk or a steep walk. I was headed towards one that was a little further away than I normally would have liked, but it was right on the trail.

Because of this, I was being conservative with my water consumption.  This did not help my energy levels. I also couldn't distract myself with an audiobook because I wasn't able to charge my battery back very long at the store and it was running low. It is a couple more days to Etna, so I had to be conservative with that as well.

The last stretch to the spring was grueling and I was exhausted when I finally got there. I was losing light as well. When I filled up on water,  I then proceeded to the campsites that were 0.2 miles away and set up camp.