The End of the Seirras (D-52 1016.9-1034.2; D-53 1034.2-1060.5; D-54 1060.5-1083.5)

Finally, the end of the Seirras (remember the Beauty & the Beast tag) is almost here. At least, officially and by the change in terrain and scenery. Hopefully I will be reaching Echo Lake tomorrow morning and that's the official end per Far Out app. Supposedly, the Seirras are the toughest part of the PCT. I can definitely attest to it being physically demanding and mentally challenging, especially since it was early in the season with lots of snow around and lots of snow melting resulting in sketchy snow traverses & water crossings. I am sure the trail will remain "adventurous" in the next 3 sections - Northern CA, Oregon & Washington - too (esp the last).

In the last three days, I didn't cross any high passes but it was lots of constant ups & downs with plenty of trail still covered by snow & water, which meant lots of painful way-finding and losing the trail. Did I mention already that I hate way-finding? 😬 I think I am done with snow and hoping it goes away soon. There were also couple of so-called Death Traverses, only cos a fall would mean sliding a loooong way down. But they were actually easy as long as one was careful and slow.

I have been hiking with Sofie, Owen & Cinnamon last three days, or at least, meeting them occasionally on the trail and at the end of the day, which is very pleasant & something to look fwd to. Tomorrow we split apart due to our different zero day schedules, but hopefully I will meet Sofie & Cinnamon later on (Owen is taking a few days break).

The last three days have been rather uneventful and in fact, I seem to be jaded by the beauty of Seirras by now 'cos I took only 1 pic on D-52 (see above).

Getting ready to get on the trail after a shuttle ride from Kennedy Meadows North

An artistic pic 😋

A snowy traverse to Noble Lake

Bare hillsides with the trail going up, definitely indicating a change from a typical Seirras trail

Nice new PCT signage

Alpine lakes - still fascinatingly pretty (in case you didn't notice, my notes now have video links too, like this one of the Alpine lakes)

A couple of those long snowy traverses which drastically reduces your pace

An abundance of natural toilet paper (they are good!)

Finally, the return of trail magic - at the Carson Pass info center

Hiking along in the twilight

Cowboy camping tonight

Data:

D-52

D-53

D-54

Comments

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...

Gratitude (D-114: 2577.8 - 2592.1 - Nero @ Mazama)

As the last town day on the trail ends and a few dozen miles left to the end point, I would like to speak of gratitude. Every so often on the trail, there are moments of "why the heck am I doing this?" and that's when I have to compel myself to remember that this is an option and an opportunity given to me. I am fortunate enough to be able to hike on this trail for a long period, which is essentially a vacation (albeit, a physically & mentally demanding one). Not everybody gets the option of taking such a long vacation from work, family and other commitments. It may be a cliche, but I am full of gratitude for this. I am also deeply grateful to a bunch of people who made this hike possible and I would like to use this post to mention those people. Ravin & Deepika opened their home and hearts so that I could do all the preparatory work before the hike. They were generous to a fault and I used (& perhaps, abused) their generosity. Even during the hik...

Wind, constant wind & Trail Provides (D-4)

Finally the hike thru the "real" desert - as I had imagined it - happened today. No trees at all, only shrubs, cacti, dusty, wide flat vistas and absolutely relentless wind that almost never let up till the late evening. The wind was so strong in the second half of the day that it even literally pushed me uphill sometimes. The extra backpack weight seemed like the only thing that kept me from being blown here & there 😄. One good thing about the wind...it made the day seem cooler. And wind/sun way better than wind/rain. I have been drinking water from 1 liter bottles that are kept in the side pocket of my pack. Unfortunately they are not easy to access and I have to carry a bottle in my hand when I need to sip it frequently. This is a pain! So, I had decided to buy a thin tube at the next town in a few days and insert it into the bottle cap to make a flexible straw to make my life easier. However, this afternoon, I came upon the water cache ...

A thru-hike attempt

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