Long hiking days (D-60 1153.4 - 1184.7; D-61 1184.7 - 1207.3; D-62 1207.3

Long hiking days (D-60 1153.4 - 1184.7; D-61 1184.7 - 1207.3; D-62 1207.3 - 1236.9)

It has just been a series of long days and long distances, primarily cos the terrain has become relatively less treacherous (though there are still plenty of snowy patches) and there are no high passes to cross. Of course, longer distances do mean more tired legs too. Oh well!

A few glimpses from these 3 days, then.

Ridge top trail & lake views

A massive tree fallen along the trail; was best to walk on the trunk to get to the other side

Bridge & streams

Seirra City: I had my resupply box sent here. This is a small town with the general store (with the only public wifi in town) next to the post office (see below) all the restaurants & hotels next to them.

Had lunch in town and then got a ride back from Jessie - an actual gold miner 🙂.

There was a long climb on the Seirra Buttes (videos one and two from the top), but it was initially through a pine forest and then on the mountain-side. Quite pleasant and not very tough, in fact.

Met Travis on the way - he had done 1800 miles of cycling before starting PCT and he then intended to cycle down the Continental Divide Trail post-PCT.

At the campground, got some trail magic (beer, root beer, chocolate bars & Ritz crackers) from Dan (standing), a Native American who maintains the trails in the area along with his group. Btw, he is 62.

Others in the pic are South, Africa & Mitte - all in their 60s.

Passed this mile marker on Day 61; it was made by Dan & his daughter.

Hiked through the Lakes Basin area of the Plumas National Forest on Day 62.

Met an interesting couple - Pa-at (71) and Wonder (67) - on the way. They had completed 1200+ miles on the trail in the last 3 months. They had met 50 years ago - on Sept 8th - when Pa-at was a park ranger in Mount St Jacinto area and Wonder was a backpacker who passed thru that area. They were hoping to complete the PCT by Sept 8th!

And finally my latest creation - pepperoni & string cheese burrito roll

Data:

D-60

D-61

D-62

Comments

Pleasures of being on PCT (D-16; 303.7 - 328.8 miles)

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Why you shouldn't (or should) thru-hike the PCT? (D-115: 2592.1 - 2613.1 - Nero @ Mazama, D-116: 2613.1 - 2642.6)

Over the last 116 days, I have had plenty of time to think about what's good or bad about this thru-hike and just in case, one of you is thinking about doing a PCT thru-hike, here are my thoughts about why you shouldn't or should do it. Why you shouldn't do a PCT thru-hike - It is very tough physically and mentally - There is less than 50% chance that anyone starting it will finish - Almost everyone seems to have negative physical effects including weight loss, muscle loss, days & days of tired legs & feet etc - You will definitely get scratches, bruises and cuts, if you are lucky. If you are unlucky, major sprains, muscle tears & other hike-ending injuries. Btw, most people who stop do so 'cos of injuries. - You will trip & fall down multiple times (when the avg number of steps is 50000 - 70000/day over uneven paths, the law of large numbers takes over and some of those steps will lead to falls) - It is an expensive activity, with a bulk o

A thru-hike attempt... successful! (D-117: 2642.6 - 2653.6, D-117S (SOBO): 0 - 17.1, D-118S (SOBO): 17.1-30.6)

It is done! Finally, on August 10th, 2022, 117 days after I started at the US-Mexico border on April 16th, 2022, I reached the US-Canada border. Walked 2653.6 miles (4270.6 km) south-to-north through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. No bittersweet moments...just sweet relief to be done 😀. We were few of the lucky thru-hikers this year who were able to go south-to-north continuously without any interruptions. People who started even a couple of weeks earlier and maintained this pace hit a lot more snow in Seirras and a hell lot more in Washington, the latter being almost hike-stopping. By the time we got to Seirras, the snow was much more manageable, and almost all the snow had melted in Washington. People who started later or were slower have had to skip parts of Northern California due to forest fires. Even Oregon and Southern California have some fires starting already. Anyway, reached the northern terminus of the PCT yesterday morning around 8:40 am

A thru-hike attempt

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