Day 26
Start: Sworthout Canyon
Finish: Wright Mountain
Daily Mileage: 14.5
PCT Mile: 361.7
We were up early because we had a long 4,500 foot climb ahead of us today and we wanted to hit it before the sun got us. We were on trail at 6 just before the sun rose above the mountains.
The sun revealed thick fog in the valley below us, and it actually hung out for most of the day. The morning lighting and fog were fantastic as we started out long uphill climb.
There are no water sources until town more than 20 miles away, and I carried 3 liters of water out of our camp last night. We stayed where we did because there was a water cache and it was our last chance to fill up before the climb. We knew there was snow up high, so when we got there we could at least melt some snow and at best find some snowmelt trickles.
We set a steady upward pace as the PCT very gradually ascended, as is typical. The climb was relatively steady for the entire day, so at times you didn’t realize you were climbing. However, the sun began to heat everything up quickly, so it was a race to the top. Could we get there before the sun beat us out?
We ascended a ridge we would follow for the entire day. The trail wasn’t particularly exciting as there were other mellow ridges surrounding us. We also got to play “dodge the poison oak” that seemed to be everywhere along the first few miles of the trail. It often reached over the trail from both sides which made it tricky. I didn’t even want to touch it with my hiking poles since I often carry them. I could only do my best and we will see what happens. This has been a common trend the past few days.
The sun got hot, and I went ahead of Cookie Monster to get up the trail as quickly as I could. I did have to take a few breaks in the rare shade that was offered by bushes and later ponderosa pine when the trail got to sufficient elevation. I hiked on solo for the rest of the day.
Towards the end of the climb, I was starting to run out of gas. I’m not sure if it was the heat or elevation or total gain, or more likely a combination, but it was a struggle for the last few miles. I still felt it was a race against the rising temperature, so I pushed on.
I started passing some small patches of snow near the top that had evaded the wrath of the sun in the shade. Thankfully there was more and more shade as I ascended due to the pine forest I got into.
At last I reached our intended campsite at 8,200 feet with equal size bare earth and snow patches. It was still early at 1pm, but it was as far as we needed to go today since town is on the horizon. The snow is also supposed to get more continuous ahead, so we wanted to save that for tomorrow morning when the snow is more firm if it freezes overnight.
There was a stream of meltwater coming from some snow patches, so it was easy to get water right in camp. Cookie Monster was just behind and we relaxed for the rest of the day.
Later on Turtle showed up and stopped here as well. We made plans for town and the next few days of hiking.
