From PCT mile 653.3 to 669.9 Total: 16.6 miles 5/25
I was excited to begin my first day spent backpacking the entire Sierra Section of the Pacific Crest Trail, starting at Walker Pass. It was Saturday on Memorial Day Weekend, and I would be joining a number of PCT Thru-Hikers who started their treks back in March at the Mexican Border. After two months of hiking the “Desert Section,” they were just as stoked as I was to be hitting the High Sierra, if not more so.
We packed up the “car gear” and I double-checked my own, to be certain that my backpack had everything I needed for a week of hiking. Then Vicki dropped me off at the Walker Pass PCT crossing of Highway 178, precisely where she picked me up last year, when I hiked the first 650 miles of the Desert Section in 2023. I gave her a big hug and several kisses. Then we parted ways, with me heading north on foot up a long, long slope (seven miles and two thousand feet), and her blasting down the highway to San Diego in the car. I took a couple of photos and started hiking!
The trail began climbing immediately, and continued to do so at about a ten percent grade, which was easy. The trail was smooth, and the views were superb, as I was, at least initially, down in the Mojave Desert at 5200 feet elevation. There were Joshua Trees all around, and plenty of dried grasses. It looked like most of the Spring bloom was already over. Luckily, it was still morning, and I made good time getting up higher into cooler air.
After the first hour or so, I came upon some blooming lupines and even a few lonely pine trees. I took a short break in the shade, then hiked on, as the trail traversed around several unnamed peaks along the ridge. It flattened out a bit more, climbing occasionally to let me know it still meant business. I was treated to great views both east and west. The town of Ridgecrest was in the hazy east, and I got some cell signal along the way, which was nice. I sent some photos to friends to make them jealous. I’m fun like that. A regular comedian.
After three hours of climbing, I started looking for a spot to take a good long break. Most everywhere, the PCT was merely a cut running along a steep slope, the only resting spots directly on the trail itself. But I remembered that the last time I was here, back in 2022, there was a ridge sticking out and a flat zone on top. I checked my position on the Far Out app and discovered that it was just around the corner. I hurried onward.
I read a book on my Kindle for a while, then got up and carried on. Fifteen miles wasn’t going to hike itself! Naturally, the final two miles of uphill hiking were just as steep as the first five, and soon I was sweating. The trail grew a bit rocky and was quite exposed above deadly cliffs on occasion. I liked this sort of hiking! Spicy with great views. Soon, Owens Peak (8453 feet elevation) came into view. The PCT passed over a saddle to its west. This mountain is the Namesake of the Owens Peak Wilderness, and is considered the southernmost extent of the Owens Valley, which extends for two hundred miles beneath the impressive wall of High Sierra peaks to the west.
While taking yet another break an hour later, I sent out a few last texts and photos to the family. Once I went over Owens Pass (a name I hereby give to the saddle where the PCT crosses the ridge) there would be no cell service for many miles and days. I could still text Vicki through my InReach satellite communicator, but I didn’t bother using that device for texting others. They would have to wait for news of my eventual success, or failure, of this first week of my trek.
It took me seven miles to climb to the pass, but then the trail was set to drop even further down, 2200 feet, in the next five miles. This is what the PCT does to you: It makes you work your butt off, climbing and climbing, then wastes all that effort by heading downhill again. Rinse and Repeat. Up and Down. I guess that’s what happens when you try to follow a “crest” for a long enough distance. The good thing about getting up high was the view, and the good thing about going down was obeying the will of Gravity. Both could be considered as rewards.
I blazed down the trail as it traversed above Berts Canyon, then crossed over a ridge and switchbacked down into Cow Canyon. It seems likely that some rancher grazed some cows there once upon a time. I enjoyed the flowers on this western slope, and even saw a Horned Toad. I snapped a photo of him before he scuttled off into the scrub.
Heading further down Cow Canyon, I came upon a flowing stream above Joshua Tree Spring, which is famous along the PCT as being a water source that was tested to be above the permissible concentration of Uranium! This provided much amusing commentary on the Far Out app. I camped there back in 2022, and drank this water without harm. The truth is that it is only bad for you if you drink a LOT of it, as you can damage your kidneys with heavy metal poisoning. Uranium itself isn’t very radioactive (4.5 billion year half-life) but ignorant people are everywhere. This makes the comments even more amusing!
Eventually, of course, I reached the bottom of the descent, and then it was time to climb uphill again, to the tune of another 600 feet. The temperature was rather warm down there, but that didn’t matter. I pretty much had to make this climb. So climb I did.
My original plan had been to collect some water back at the creek above the spring, but the weather report changed my mind. I planned to camp up on top of this climb, at the saddle leading north from Cow Canyon. I figured that I would get some fine views up there. Sadly, it was predicted to get very windy that evening, and saddles are notoriously windy due to the Venturi Effect. That’s why I didn’t collect any extra water. I made the right decision, because the campsite up there was rather bleak looking.
What that decision meant was that I had to hike an additional two miles downhill, losing the same 600 feet I just worked so hard for. Oh well. As you might imagine, beginning my PCT Sierra Section trek with a seventeen mile day was probably asking a bit too much from my wimpy winter body. And I felt the dull pain in my feet and legs as I plodded onward. That last two miles seemed to take forever, and even my brain wasn’t doing too well by the time I got to camp.
The campground was also almost completely packed with PCT hikers! After an extensive search I eventually found a lousy spot under some low bushes. At least it was flat. I set up my tent, then headed down below to collect some water from Spanish Needle Creek. By this time my stomach wasn’t feeling very good. Maybe I got a bit overheated and/or dehydrated on the last climb. I sent Vicki a text via satellite and crashed for a nap on my air mattress. When I woke up it was almost dark, and I still wasn’t very hungry. I knew I needed food, but I wasn’t interested in cooking a bowl of ramen noodles, so I simply ate some salty chips and drank some Gatorade. That would have to do. I fell back asleep soon afterward, hoping that I’d feel better in the morning.
All in all, with the exception of the last two miles, my first day in the Sierra Section had gone quite well, and I was still looking forward to more hiking fun in the future.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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