Day 57-59: Fishing and Goodbyes |

Day 57: Mile 884 to 893 (9 miles)

Slept good last night, the wind picked up a little bit and listening to the sound of the wind helped me sleep through the night. It was a little chilly when we first started off but the warmth of the sun changed that quickly.

We hiked in four miles where we stopped at Fish Creek for breakfast. It wasn’t long before Casper showed up and took a break with us. I haven’t seen him since I left Muir Pass. Casper pointed out that there were some fish swimming down in the creek. Jason and Blane had their fishing poles and we decided to set them up and see if we could catch anything. Blane has never caught a fish before and at first, he wasn’t to big on the idea at first but was still willing to give it a shot. I helped set up the poles using a fly that they had. It did not take long before I had my first fish on the line. Nothing huge, but it was fun catching a fish on the PCT!

(My first fish)

Just a couple minutes later, Blane had hooked his first fish and was excited as he pulled reeled it in. We knew from that point forward he was hooked on fishing.

(Blane with his first fish)

After spending three hours at breakfast and fishing, it was time to get moving. We caught five fish between all of us. As we arriving to Virginia Lake, I was more then surprised to run into Ego, Jpeg and Twist. They were hiking South which threw me off being I thought they had been a day or two behind me this whole time. They had some bad news. Ninja had fallen 10-15 feet off a ledge on Glen Pass and landed on her head. Ego told me how she had three small compound fractures in her neck and tore ligaments in one of her knees and also a concussion. Luckily she had an emergency SPOT beacon and hit the button for help. A rescue helicopter arrived within three hours and she was airlifted to a hospital in Fresno. She was very lucky and is expected to make a full recovery. After she was airlifted out, they all hiked out a couple days and got a rental car and went to visit her at the hospital. On their way back, they decided to go further North and hike South to where they left off, which gave them a chance to see a bunch of hikers ahead of them and let people know what had happened. That really dropped my mood for awhile and just makes you think how everything can be going great on this trail and you never know when you might make your last step and its game over.

(Virginia Lake)

(Jason and Blane at Virginia Lake)

The skies quickly darkened up and out of no where it started to downpour on his as we walked on rocks crossing the inlet of Virginia Lake. It didn’t last too long and blue skies prevailed in the end. We arrived at Purple lake early with the plans to moving on but Blane really was excited to catch some fish and maybe even cook them up for dinner. It was one the last last good chances to fish anytime soon and after taking some time to think about what we were going to do, we decided we would stay.

We set up our tents on a spot just off the trail up from Purple Lake. Bearly, Farmer, Too Shy and one other hiker was camping here as well. Bearly told us if we catch some fish, he will cook them up for us. Sounds like a great idea and we took the poles down to the lake. We spent probably close to two hours down at the lake and caught three fish. Two were decent sized while on was a little smaller, but combine them all together for a good meal.

Bearly got a fire going and built up some hot coals so we could cook the fish. We put the fish in a pan and cooked the fish using some oil, salt and honey that some of the hikers had. Too Shy started to play the guitar as the sun went down and darkness came. Bearly pulled out a harmonica and played along with Too Shy. It was nice to sit around a fire and cook a fresh meal that we caught out of the lake while listening to music. A perfect night indeed. Once the fish was done, we tried it and it was perfect. We all just dug in and grabbed some fish and had to deal with plenty of fish bones, but was worth it. Afterwards, it was time to put out the fire and get some sleep.

(The guys checking on dinner while listening to some live music)

Day 58: Mile 893 to 907 (14 miles)

Woke up to some dew on the tent and did the best to dry it out a little bit before getting back on the trail. We stopped for lunch at Deer creek where a few other hikers were doing the same. It was hot out today and I put my feet in the creek to cool off and also wash my legs off. After a good mountain house meal we were off and moving again. It wasn’t too long before we had cell service. It was the first real service I have had since leaving Walker Pass a long time ago. (minor cell service on top of Mt. Whitney) We decided to take another break and get in touch with friends or family and reply to messages/emails. A bunch of other hikers coming down the trail saw us on our phones and they knew exactly what that meant and pretty soon we had our own small camp building thanks to cell service. Once all calls and messages were done, we were back off again.

(Passed 900 miles today)

Jason’s knee was starting to bother him from a previous injury and finally made a decision that he was going to take a side trail and head towards Mammoth and let it heal up for a day or two. We said our goodbyes and I thanked them for everything. From giving me those amazing meals and helping keep me at a slower pace for a few days as well as the great conversations, I’m very thankful to him and his son Blane and look forward to one day making a trip down to Southern California.

I continued on and Bearly caught up to me in the evening. We kept hiking until we hit the Middle Fork San Joaquin River and decided to camp there because of a sign that says camping only in designated spots only and the next one was a ways a way. Were working our way into the Yosemite Valley and excited for whatever surprises lay ahead of us.

Day 59: Mile 907 to 924 (17 miles)

I got an early morning start at 5:30am and was gone before Bearly woke up. I took a side trail to go see Devils Postpile National Monument. The rock formation is considered a rare sight in the geologic world and one of the worlds finest examples of columnar basalt where Its columns tower 60 feet high.

(Devils Postpile)

Most of today was uphill and without taking the longer breaks I had done the last few days, I noticed a little more pain back in my leg and I was going to stop well before of where I wanted to get to which was Donahue Pass. After I stopped and took off my pack, I noticed there was zero pain in my leg and I decided to keep going and get up to Island Pass which was only a couple more miles. I camped by a couple small ponds on top of the pass where the wind brought a brisk chill to the air on a clear night. I cooked up a chili mac dinner and plan on staying deep in my sleeping bag tonight.