Walker Pass to Campsite on Spanish Needle Creek
I awoke to the alarm at 5:45 AM. It is very difficult to get out of a warm, cozy bed in a hotel room knowing that the next 10 days I will be sleeping in a tent. The only thing that got me out of bed is I could take a warm shower this morning. That, and knowing that the others will be waiting for me at Walker Pass where they camped last night.
I showered, got dressed, packed up my bag, and headed out with Tim. I told the others we would be there by 7:00 AM and so far we are on schedule.
I ate breakfast in the car (three hard-boiled eggs, a grapefruit, and a pastry from the hotel lobby) and we arrived at Walker Pass Campground just after 7:00 AM.
It was nice to see Share Bear, Audible, Max, and Bear Bait (Kate's new trail name because she keeps getting jelly and honey all over herself). Tim, as usual, was the hero providing water to everyone and taking people trash so they don't have to carry it.
Share Bear was anxious to start hiking while the others were still packing things up, so I decided to join her. She hiked the 0.7 miles to Walker Pass while I took the ride with Tim...don't worry...I hiked that 0.7 miles on Wednesday. We finally left Walker Pass at 7:54 AM.
I showered, got dressed, packed up my bag, and headed out with Tim. I told the others we would be there by 7:00 AM and so far we are on schedule.
I ate breakfast in the car (three hard-boiled eggs, a grapefruit, and a pastry from the hotel lobby) and we arrived at Walker Pass Campground just after 7:00 AM.
It was nice to see Share Bear, Audible, Max, and Bear Bait (Kate's new trail name because she keeps getting jelly and honey all over herself). Tim, as usual, was the hero providing water to everyone and taking people trash so they don't have to carry it.
Share Bear was anxious to start hiking while the others were still packing things up, so I decided to join her. She hiked the 0.7 miles to Walker Pass while I took the ride with Tim...don't worry...I hiked that 0.7 miles on Wednesday. We finally left Walker Pass at 7:54 AM.
Share Bear & I are ready to hike.
As soon as we got on trail there was a sign stating that the saddle was 8.5 miles away. This means that the trail will be climbing for 8.5 miles going from 5,264 feet to 7,052 feet.
PCT sign of the day.
The good thing about climbing is that there are always great views.
Morning view
What a great sky today.
As we hiked along as saw these really cool plant things. They are like yuccas, but the flower is different and the base plant seemed larger.
Share Bear checking out the new plant.
Not only did the trail climb this morning, but much of the trail was covered with rocks making it a bit more challenging to hike. We have been pretty spoiled lately with nice, smooth trails. Today's hike tested out agility and the flexibility of our ankles.
Rocky trail
Check out the sky:
Self-portrait "Amazing sky"
Share Bear and I stopped for lunch and Bear Bait, Audible, and Max finally caught up. Were we stopped there wasn't much shade, so we ate quickly and headed back on trail in search of a better place to take an extended break.
At this point the trail crossed a saddle and provided us with a new view:
At this point the trail crossed a saddle and provided us with a new view:
Rock field with mountain view.
Finally, after about one hour of hiking we found the perfect tree that we could all lean against and it provided great shade for all:
Leaning and lying.
Bear Bait taking a nap.
After about one hour Share Bear and I were ready to hike on. Before us, Max continued on looking for a good spot to camp tonight. Looking at the topography map, it didn't look like there were many places in the next 15 miles and he was worried. Meanwhile, Bear Bait and Audible continued their naps.
Share Bear and I hike on.
The trail declined for a while and then surprisingly it started ascending pretty steeply. We thought we were done with climbing for the day, but we were wrong. It climbed around a turn where we hoped it would stop, but around the turn was more climbing. Again it climbed around a turn and again it kept climbing. Finally we crossed another saddle and the climbing ended.
Share Bear climbing the trail.
Also over the saddle was Max. He located a campsite where he wanted to stop for the night. There seemed to be one really good place to pitch a tent so Share Bear and I decided to continue on for a couple of more miles to where her guidebook said there was a tent site. But, before leaving Max's site we noticed a 1/4 on the ground. We then determined that we were 1/4 done with the PCT. Wow...what an accomplishment.
1/4 done with the PCT.
We passed a few sites, but none were big enough for our two tents and I was feeling confident with her guidebook, so we pressed on. Finally, just after 6:00 PM and 16.69 miles we found the campsite. There was already a couple there that pitched their tent, but there was room for more.
The couple is from Germany. The woman completed the PCT in 2013 and is back doing a 5-week section with her boyfriend that is thru-hiking this year. About 20 minutes later Audible showed up and pitched his tent. As we cooked dinner, Cool Breeze showed up. Share Bear had met him the second week of the hike and hasn't seen him since. He is a 70-something-year old man from the UK and is doing incredibly well on the trail.
Then, Harry showed up. We had talked to him earlier in the day. Today is his first day on the trail. He just retired as a biology professor and is trying to make it to Canada.
So, there is 6 tent and 7 people in this campsite tonight. I better wear my earplugs to bed.
Here is the picture of my tent this evening. Notice I left off the rain flap today. It feels like it is going to be a warmer night and there is no wind whatsoever, so I thought I would try it out. Max and Bear Bait never use their flap and I figured it was the perfect night to try. Right now as I blog, I have a view of trees and stars above me...pretty cool.
The couple is from Germany. The woman completed the PCT in 2013 and is back doing a 5-week section with her boyfriend that is thru-hiking this year. About 20 minutes later Audible showed up and pitched his tent. As we cooked dinner, Cool Breeze showed up. Share Bear had met him the second week of the hike and hasn't seen him since. He is a 70-something-year old man from the UK and is doing incredibly well on the trail.
Then, Harry showed up. We had talked to him earlier in the day. Today is his first day on the trail. He just retired as a biology professor and is trying to make it to Canada.
So, there is 6 tent and 7 people in this campsite tonight. I better wear my earplugs to bed.
Here is the picture of my tent this evening. Notice I left off the rain flap today. It feels like it is going to be a warmer night and there is no wind whatsoever, so I thought I would try it out. Max and Bear Bait never use their flap and I figured it was the perfect night to try. Right now as I blog, I have a view of trees and stars above me...pretty cool.
Flawless home for the night.
With the flap off I have a great view out my tent:
Tree view out my flapless tent.
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