Trail Day 77: Tentsite by Gilmore Lake (mile 1103.3) to tentsite (mile 1127.0)

23.7 PCT miles

I woke up really early in anticipation of walking slow today. While I technically woke up early, it took me awhile to get up and on my way.

When I finally left the campsite, I gingerly started heading uphill. I had about 2 miles until Dicks Pass and I had been anxious about crossing it ever since my injury.  The pass reportedly still had snow and I was not excited about slipping and sliding around with sutures in my knee. I was especially worried about the descent, which I heard was very steep and had some “boot skiing” sections. There was absolutely no way I would be boot skiing with the sutures.

View of Susie Lake while climbing up to Dicks Pass.

Thankfully, Dicks Pass was not bad at all. There were a couple snow patches leading up to the pass, but they were very flat with good traction. The switchbacks on the descent were mostly exposed. There were a couple patches where people had clearly done some boot skiing, but I was able to walk the dry terrain around it. There was only one tiny part where I couldn't get around the steep snow. However, instead of boot skiing, I sat down and carefully slid off the snow bank.

View of Dicks Lake from Dicks Pass 

View of Dicks Pass from Dicks Lake.

After the pass, I walked by a series of clear lakes.  First I passed Dicks Lake, then Fontanillis Lake, then I stopped paying attention to the names. Another hiker who was passing me told me about his urge to swim in the clear water. It made me a bit sad to know that I couldn't swim in them, even if I wanted to, as I was supposed to keep my knee dry.

The clear waters of Fontanillis Lake. 

After I passed the lakes,  I walked the woods for most of the day. It was pretty, just really repetitive. I was walking at an incredibly slow pace, trying to keep my right leg as straight as possible when I walked. It was incredibly frustrating, but I had to remind myself that I am still making northerly progress. It is better than sitting around and waiting.

Walking the forest.

Trail sign. 

Mama grouse crossing the trail.

Towards the end of the day I ran into a familiar face. To my surprise, Sage was passing me. I figured he was a couple days ahead with Songbeard and Phoenix. It turns out he got sick while zeroing in Sonora and had to take a couple of days off trail. With my injury there was no way we would be walking at the same pace so I told him I would see him further down the trail.

After grabbing more water from a stream, I started the uphill climb that I would be doing the rest of the day. The sun had gone behind the clouds so it was overcast and I was losing daylight. It was too bad though, because I was walking through patches of wildflowers all the way up.

Walking through wildflowers.

More wildflowers.

At the top of the uphill I had lost almost all visible light and has gotten my headlamp out. I was aiming for a large tenting site on the other side of the saddle.

I carefully headed down, but when I got to the GPS location I didn't see any flat spots for camping. I noisily crashed around the forest looking for the site, with my headlamp shining everywhere. When I finally found it, there were already two tents set up. I hoped they were both filled with heavy sleepers.

Instead of bothering the two other campers, I decided to head to the next tentsite. Again, I had trouble finding it in the dark, so I found the first semi-flat site to set up. It was not the most comfortable spot so it may be an interesting night.