Day 54: Mile 861 to 878   (17 miles)

Woke up this morning to some light rain. I got moving quickly and worked my way over Selden Pass and then started the decent down into many lakes. Not much of a view outside of what was near by. The low clouds kept the visibility down all morning. Every now and then the sun would try and come out and I was hopeful the day would clear up.

I forded Bear Creek just before noon which was very swift moving and almost waste deep. Someone earlier in the morning who I passed, told me the creek was only ankle deep, but either he was mistaken or the water level rose quickly throughout the morning from snow melt or rain in the area. Within 15 minutes of crossing the creek, the skies opened up and the rain just started to pour hard. It continued to rain hard all day long and when I passed some hikers going the other way, they told me they heard it was supposed to rain like this all day and all day tomorrow. After awhile I decided I probably should just head into VVR and get my resupply and let my shin splints heal while it rains.

I finally arrived at Lake Edison and hiked the six miles off trail around the lake and found my way to Vermilion Valley Ranch. Once there, I set up my tent and went into the small cafe to have dinner. I met Jason and his son Blane from the Los Angeles area. They are hiking the JMT heading North. I got to learn a little bit more of the JMT and talk to them about the PCT and what I have experienced so far.

Day 55: Zero Miles

I decided I would take all of today off and let my leg heal up while it was supposed to a rainy day. It was nice to sleep in. Forrest and Steady made it in today which was good to see them again. They will be taking off tomorrow as well.

(The lake is very dry)

So Edison Lake normally should have a lot more water in the lake, but is a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest and it’s very low currently. The resort even set up a disc golf course in the lake bed for hikers to play. Since they don’t have baskets set up, they are using five gallon buckets which get the job done. Myself, Jason and Blane are going to play some rounds after lunch. During lunch I heard a bunch of people cheering and clapping and just going crazy. I looked up the road and saw the Budweiser truck driving into the resort. Beer is here! Budweiser could make a commercial out of this. Just so happens the resort is short on help right now and would be tough for the driver to unload everything himself so they asked for some hikers to come out and help. Bunch of us hikers were more then happy to help out. After helping unload the truck, the driver was nice enough to treat us all to a round of drinks!

By the way, you see me wearing a Hawaiian shirt in the picture above. I am doing my laundry at this time and those are the loaner clothes hikers get to wear. The other two people doing with Hawaiian shirts are Little Bear and Aqua Knot.

It wasn’t long before we were out playing a couple rounds of disc golf. This was a great way to spend a day off. I probably should be relaxing and not doing anything but I just can’t pass up the chance to play disc golf in the Sierras.

In the evening, I tried to work on my leg a little bit by soaking it in a bucket of hot water and then cold water and switched a couple times and massaging it. I bought some wrap that I will try out when I get back on the trail. I played cribbage with Jason, Blane and Forrest until the lights went out around 10pm at which we then went over to a campfire with a bunch of other hikers until about 11pm which feels like hiker 3am! It’s time for bed.

Earlier this evening while talking to Jason, he asked if he can his son could hike with me for awhile starting tomorrow. This is his son’s first backpacking trip and after he had heard a bunch of stories from different PCT hikers, he was excited to get back on the trail and wanted to hike with a PCT hiker for a bit. I of course accepted and was excited to hike with them for a bit. The more I think of it, I think this will be good for me. They generally have been hiking much less miles then I have and if I make myself slow down and go at their pace for awhile, I think my leg may heal faster.

Day 56: Mile 878 to 884   (6 miles)

We had a little bit of a late start this morning but that was due to me taking care of some stuff and getting out of the resort. We hopped on the boat and got the ride back across the lake to the trail.

Once off the boat, we hiked the two miles back to the PCT and we slowly got moving towards Silver Pass. It wasn’t long before we came across a nice little waterfall and a great chance for a couple photos.

We worked our way up to the top of Silver Pass with plenty of time before dark. We decided to set up camp there which would be another great location to watch the sunset. I cooked up my first mountain house dinner. Which I must thank Jason and Blane for that! They had a bunch of extra food and gave me a handful of mountain house meals. This was a nice change to try something different and I am very thankful for these meals! The wind is kicking up a little bit and it may be a cold night, so I got all set up and ready to hunker down once the sun sets. The view was amazing tonight!! Can never get enough of these sunsets! After taking yesterday off and lower miles today, the leg is feeling a little better and hope the trend continues.