PCT Day 24 – The Elephant’s Back

F trail through field to round top mountain

Last night I slept by the cabin whose builder, his children and his grandchildren are all gone – passed beyond time. I slept by the creek from which they drank. The hills above the creek once echoed with their voices. Now all is silent except the burbling of the creek and the hissing of the wind through the pines.

Why does this cabin still stand? Why the barn?Why the artifacts? And why, since I cannot know them, cannot eat with them, cannot work alongside them for one eternal summer, do I wish their memory obliterated?

During the night, something hit the side of my tent. A bear? A pine cone from the tree above? A deer tripping over a staked line? My half-dreaming mind? Or was it perhaps one of them, their spirit lingering near this cabin. Waiting for it to disappear so that they may too.

Magic

Bob has been obsessed ever since he learned that some of the employees at the visitor center at Carson pass were giving free sodas and snacks to hikers. I am biding my time as he finishes packing up his camp. He looks annoyed. He is thinking “It won’t do any good if we get there before they open at 8am!” The morning is crisp and shrouded in the shadowy dawn. The sun has not come over the ridge to the east. We walk silently.

The Meiss cabin is at the south end of a wide valley dotted with lakes. We are climbing out of this valley toward the highway that runs through Carson Pass. The first Carson Pass mountain we see is Round Top. To the right of it are the Three Sisters

We make it to the Visitor Center and yes there are sodas (alas, warm) and small bags of chips. I chat with the hikers there.

Karate Kid is trying to piece together a SOBO thru-hike this year. He skipped down from Washington and hopes to go back up and do Oregon and NorCal when he reaches Mexico. He is from Florida. He grew up in Orlando and went to Winter Park High. He has thru-hiked the Florida Trail. He is fast. His pack is the size of a vacuum cleaner bag!

Medicine Man hiked the PCT in 2019, but had to skip some sections. He is back to hike what he skipped.

The Elephants Back

We are heading south, but first we have to get around Round Top and the Sisters. To do that we skirt the far east end of that ridge called The Elephant’s Back.

The place where the elephant’s trunk would be is a jumble of volcanic-like rocks. In the winter this traverse would be quite dangerous without the right gear. One slip would send the hiker sliding down the slope and over a cliff edge to the left.

As we descend, I meet an interesting couple. She is in front and she says “How are you managing in this heat?” I am a little confused. The temperature is about 72 F and there is a light breeze. “Um, I’m not sure what heat you are referring to,” I respond. “Oh, we’re from Alaska. Where are you from?” “Florida,” I reply. She says nothing but I think I detect a slight sneer. Their names are Blue Tooth (from eating huckleberries in Washington) and Prayer Trekker. They have been jumping around the PCT as well.

Blue Lakes

After lunch Bob and I head toward the Upper and Lower Blue Lakes. It’s Saturday and the Lakes will be packed with people. First we have some ridge walking to do. On our way to the ridge I pass below this massive mountain of broken rocks. The rocks are broken all the way to the top. How does this happen? It’s like someone piled them up with a giant bulldozer.

OK, now here’s where things start getting weird. I am using my Peakfinder app to learn the names of the peaks around me when I see one called The Nipple. Relax. No picture will be provided. I want to maintain the family rating of this website. Just let me say, the name fits. We have to climb up The Nipple above Blue Lakes. It’s hot and exposed, but it’s the kind of hiking I like. Here is what the Upper Blue Lake looks like from up here.

And this is the trail going along the ridge.

On the far side of The Nipple is Lost Lake

A young male hiker stops me. He is going up. “Have you been to The Nipple?” he asks. He seems pretty motivated. Is there some kind of club up there?

Coming in for a Landing

We come back down into some trees as we approach our camp at Lake Lily Pad. It’s the only photo of a plant today (sniff).

But there is another elephant tree

This is our camp on Lily Pad Lake. The lake is gorgeous, but we are both beat and retire early.

• August 20
• Starting marker: 1079.6
• Ending marker: 1063.0
• Miles hiked today: 17
• Total PCT miles hiked: 287
• Biggest fear: More anatomically correct rock formations ahead?