From PCT mile 1018.3 to 1029.2 Total: 11.0 miles 8/11
On my 35th day hiking the PCT Sierra Section, I began my morning with a resupply at Sonora Pass, where I got a ride with my hiking partners to Kennedy Meadows North, ate a great breakfast, and then came back to the pass to hike further north, up along Sonora Peak and down into the East Fork Carson River Valley, and camped above the valley floor.
After my extra-long 21 mile day yesterday, I was happy to be taking an easier one today, at about half that distance. That’s why I woke up later than usual, at 5am, and also because I was with my hiking partners that I met back in July in the High Sierra, Metal Tim and Little Engine. They decided to join up with me for a few days, hiking as far as Ebbetts Pass, where they left their other car. Anyway, I didn’t think that they wanted to get up at 4am like I usually do.
I also had a bit of work cut out for me that morning. I needed to finish my resupply. A week or so ago, Vicki and I stopped by here in the car so that I could leave a blue BV-500 bear canister hidden up on the hillside in some low pines. There were six day’s-worth of trail food inside, plus a new fuel can. Last night I was very tired, so I didn’t even bother to see if it was still there. But now was the moment of truth. I walked back and remembered the hiding spot correctly. It was there! I carried it back to the picnic table and started dealing with adding the food to my fancy carbon Bearikaid can, and removing the extra food and trash. I put the unneeded stuff back in the blue can and re-hid it in the pines. Yes! I could make it to the next bear can at Echo Summit, near Lake Tahoe, with no food issues.
By that time, Tim and his wife were awake and getting ready. Once all was packed, we jumped into their minivan and drove down the hill to Kennedy Meadows North. We intended to eat a good breakfast there. And we did! It was awesome, and not very expensive at all. I was so happy to have hiking partners again that I paid for the whole meal. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that hiking solo can get old after a while, as much as I like hiking in the wilderness. Mid-August was way past the main northbound PCT Thru-Hiker season, and I wasn’t likely to meet up with anyone to camp with along the way from here on out. Three days with good friends on the trail still left me with seven more days alone, but that was OK.
It wasn’t until we got back to the trailhead parking lot that I realized that I should have bought Tim a sandwich at the KN Grill, since I ate his so greedily last night. He said not to worry about it, and I thanked him for saying that, but I still wish I got him another one. And maybe two more, for me and Little Engine, as well. Too late now!
We double-checked the van for missing items, and put on our backpacks. It was time to get hiking!
Since we were down at Sonora Pass, the only way to go was up. To the tune of 1000 feet of elevation gain in the next three miles. That’s not a bad slope, really, especially not for Certified Hiking Machines like us. We set out with high spirits and full bellies, a good combination. There were pretty clouds in the sky, the air was clear, the sun was shining, and the views kept getting better the higher we climbed.
As we ascended, I noticed that this region was predominantly made of some sort of crumbly igneous rock, or rocks of volcanic origin. It wasn’t hard, solid stuff like andesite, but was more a mixture of stuff. When I got home I looked it up, and it’s called Agglomerate. Much like the sedimentary rock known as Conglomerate, which has chunks of river rocks suspended in a sandstone base. At any rate, it appeared to erode much faster than granite.
My partners were faster hikers than I was, but they also stopped more often for water breaks. That’s when I would catch up to them, as my pack had a convenient hose for instant use. Meanwhile, the trail went on, and the surface was quite smooth, without rocky steps, so the hiking was good. As were the views to the south and west, which only got better the higher we climbed.
We crested the south ridge of Sonora Peak (11,459 feet elevation) and they posed for a picture. We were already up at 10,400 feet ourselves, and the view south was great. I thought we were at the top of the morning’s climb, but the trail continued uphill a bit more after that, bearing due east, traversing along toward the next ridge. A quick check of the map showed that this was technically the Sierra Crest (or Pacific Crest) even though the trail went higher. The main crest continued up the ridgeline to Sonora Peak, a thousand feet above us.
Before we knew it, we were at the true highpoint, at 10536 feet, where the east ridge sticks out toward Sonora Crag (10661 feet elevation). It looked like there was a small footpath heading out to the crag, but we didn’t feel the need to visit.
As this was our final chance to enjoy the view back toward Yosemite in the south, I took far too many pictures. The trail turned left, heading directly north, and I took some photos that way, too. The trail then traversed, staying fairly level, along the east face of Sonora Peak. The Far Out app mentioned that I might get Verizon signal here, so we stopped to send out a few more texts to friends. I also updated the app to get the latest comments regarding the trail ahead of us, which was always a wise move. Who wants outdated data?
We continued onward, heading for yet another saddle. This one was near Wolf Creek Lake, which was very pretty down below us, as were the flowers blooming all along the trail. Obviously, this eastern slope stayed wetter than the hot western faces which received the heat of the afternoon sun.
This third saddle was technically a watershed division, where we left Mono County and its Walker River watershed, and entered Alpine County. The East Fork of the Carson River flowed away through the canyon below us. We were up at its headwaters. We also left the lands managed by the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center, whose headquarters was down the main highway to the east. They seem to be good stewards of the land, as they mostly send Marines carrying heavy backpacks (much heavier than ours!) out into the wilderness for training purposes. Better them than me!
As we headed down into the valley, I noticed that the igneous rock appeared to be merely a layer above the underlying gray granite. Far to the south, in Joshua Tree National Park, this same layering occurs. As we hiked down, I commented to Little Engine that it felt good to be walking on proper Sierra Granite once again. After 300 miles of hiking on it, you tend to get used to it. My feet knew what to expect with every step, even if it wasn’t a smooth and cruisey path. I liked it, and she agreed.
Soon, we found ourselves descending into the valley itself. We had 2400 feet to drop over the next six miles. It was Easy Street, in other words. The trail was fun and there were lovely side streams to cross (and photograph), plus meadowlike regions full of soggy ground inhabited by impenetrable willow bushes. And the miles went by. Downhill hiking is a joy when it isn’t too steep.
I already knew, from my research into trout fishing opportunities along the Pacific Crest Trail, that this stretch of the East Fork Carson River was completely closed to fishing. So I didn’t even bother trying to reach the river. I noted this in my PCT Sierra Trout Fishing Guide, as it turned out that California Fish and Wildlife were working on creating a sustainable habitat for Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. Sadly, I had never caught one of these, and today wasn’t going to change that result.
When we reached the side trail that continued down the river, at mile 1027, the PCT turned to the northwest, and climbed up and out of the main river valley. It was a steep section of trail, climbing around 800 feet, but at least it was 3pm, and the shade of the trees was working in our favor. There was one skinny stream flowing down from up above, and the trail crossed it twice. Unfortunately, we only took photos of it, believing the reports of water up ahead in the Far Out app. We should have filled up there. But it was too late to go back.
Up on the canyon wall, the views were much better than down in the bottom. We couldn’t really see all that far away, as we were still technically below the rim, but we could see the granite walls across the way. Very impressive.
There were several potential campsites along this stretch of trail. We weren’t set on a particular spot, so we visited them all. The first one was OK, but not exciting. The second one was kind of boring, and dry. The third one wasn’t that great either, as it was just below a swamp. That was to be our source of water for the night. Swamp dribblings. Dang. The next site was about two miles ahead, and that was out of the question. Tim still had energy and started casting around for a better spot, somewhere nearby. And he found one! It was up above the trail and had a bit of a view across the canyon. I walked over and decided that I could sleep a short distance away. We put down our backpacks and got out the water filtration equipment. Then we headed back to the trickling swamp water. It was clear, so I wasn’t too worried about drinking it. It just took a while to collect a gallon or so.
It was only 4pm by then, and we had plenty of time to set up camp. And also to hang around and yak. They told me about their recent Yosemite adventure, and I was jealous, even though I just hiked through Yosemite myself. They made it to Sonora Pass a couple weeks earlier, while I was home for my wedding anniversary, and we compared notes on which parts were good and which parts sucked. We all agreed that the descent below Smedberg Lake was the worst, whereas the Lake itself was probably the prettiest.
I sat down to cook and eat my dinner just like always, inside my tent. My partners wouldn’t leave me alone! They came over and sat down in front of me and we all ate together. Thanks! I forgot for a moment what it was like to be a sociable human being. Hiking solo can do that to you. We talked about our plan for tomorrow, and I thought that maybe we could get to Asa Lake, a small pond on the map about 14 miles north. They were up for that. We hoped that it was beautiful, and left it at that.
As the sun set, those high clouds we’d been seeing all day really lit up with color. Glorious! We hung out and watched the color develop for a bit. And then it started getting cold. I still hadn’t changed into my warm night layers, so I shivered my way back to the tent. We said goodnight, and then I got dressed, updated my notes, and sent Vicki a text via satellite. After that, it was peaceful, and I read my Kindle until I was sleepy. After yesterday’s marathon, I was glad that I finally had an easier day.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
<< Back to Day 34 Onward to Day 36 >> 
hikingtales.com 