- Date: 2023-06-27
- Pct day: 53
- Start: Mile 756
- End: Mile 767
- Distance: 11 miles
- Ascent: feet
- Descent: feet
- Start name:
- End name: Near turnoff for Mt Whitney summit
- Wake up: 02:10
- Start hiking: 03:15
- At camp: 14:00
- In bed: 17:00
- Where I slept: tent
- Shower: no
- Best thing: Seeing Alex and co who just did Mt Whitney
- Worst thing: Feet pain and not being able to hike fast
Key moments
- Woke up super duper early to do an alpine start and get the snow while it is cold and firm
- It was quite magical to be out under the stars and having the snow sparkle back at you under your headlamp and the starlight.
- Was quite a challenge navigating in the snow, there was a bit of a rush in the team to keep moving but I was finding it hard to get food into me to keep my energy up. It was exhausting.
- I could feel myself becoming frustrated at rushing and felt like people wanted to keep hiking and not wait - which I took issue with as we were night hiking in the snow and trying to find the track as well, so it seemed quite important to make sure we could always see everyone
- We were all tired from the days prior and from the hiking we were doing, it wasn’t a great mood.
- My bag is still so overladen with food and I my whole bag was just feeling heavy, even though it was light by comparison from the start.
- We did a log crossing at rock creek and it felt quite sketchy - in hindsight I would have wished we had done an earlier one , but we didn’t know about it.
- It was a frustrating moment because before we started the hike we said that everyone could vito a crossing and we would discuss them before we did them. This is what Scout and Frodo advised us all the way back before the start of the PCT, and this is what I had discussed with Cukes and co.
- But when we went to the crossing over a log with very high consequence (serious injury from a fall into rapidly flowing 10C water), I asked Cukes if she wanted to discuss it, and she said “I don’t see what there is to discuss”, and started crossing the log.
- At this point I started to feel like a drag for being concerned about safety things, and suddenly it felt like the energy moved from “Let’s all do this safely and together”, to “We are in a rush for some reason”, and I didn’t understand it. And it felt bad. And I was frustrated, and sad.
- The log crossing was a scary moment, definitely something that might have had dire consequences if I slipped off. Fancy Pants was kind enough to walk across the log with my bag for me, to help me, which was so nice.
- After a few scary steps across a log with lots of small branches sticking out that felt like they could snag your feet or points of your crampons, facing straight down into the roaring cold water. I made it across.
- After making it across the log I needed to immediately go to the bathroom, or as Pulse had been saying, “Take a meeting”.
- It was an urgent meeting.
- I honestly felt like I wanted nothing more than to be home and to be with my girlfriend Katie, I was having new pains in my foot - potentially from small stones getting in my shoe, and potentially from my crampons. I felt like if I was with Katie I’d feel safe.
- Once we had done most of the miles for the day we had a nice long break at Whitney creek which had a very calm creek crossing In mountain stream water - this prompted us to have a rest and dry out things out
- We got to camp near the Whitney track and saw three of our friends there, Luxury, Arjen and Alex. It was great to catch up and talk about the coming days and the Whitney summit.
- I was quite excited to hear that it was relatively straightforward and that forester pass was also looking fine. They had happened to meet someone who was coming south along it today and said that it was quite straightforward. So hopefully this means we can make it to Kearsage pass potentially a bit sooner than expected.
- We also picked up a new hiker friend on the trail - Tom “The Austrian”. From Austria. A very nice man who is very strong, and was very excited to see some other people on the trail. We gladly welcomed him into the group.
Plan from here
- Wake up at 10pm for a 10:45pm departure to Whitney
Animals sighted
Gear thoughts
- Wish I brought micro spikes instead of just crampons
Physical condition
- Feet hurt - probably from wearing trail runners and crampons and a heavy bag
Thoughts and Observations
- I really really wanted to quit today, I didn’t feel like myself and was finding everything hard to adjust to hiking in a group that appeared to have different values to me.
- But after seeing some friends my energy is renewed and I think it’s possible to do the Sierras - it might not be the entire or the true PCT proper and we might need to take some diversions but I think I can get there.
- I wish somehow that I could have joined Alex and Luxury and Arjen. A single day would have made a huge difference to my mood in being with a crew of people I better align with. I think being in a big group is also a bit of a challenge. The bigger group to more likely you are to have people moving at different speeds, and the group feels like it wants to naturally break up into groups of 3-4.
- I’m glad I’m with Franck. He’s a really good due, and someone I really value having in the team.
- In the slush of the snow you move pretty slow. About a mile an hour. Every step you slide around a little, your feet sink down. It’s like walking in the sand. But your feet just get wet, and you have to think about whats under the snow, and if you’re going to step into a hole or slip and fall into a rock or a tree.
- It is exhausting.
Some of the bad things
- It’s a hard feeling being in a group, but feeling alone.
- The Sierras are so goddamn beautiful. It’s hard to put into words. But I think it’s been overshadowed by the pain I’m in physically and mentally. Every step hurts. I’m not sleeping enough. I can feel myself not being able to emotionally regulate myself.
Quotes of the day
- The trail is the family
#pct #pct2023 #pctclassof2023
