PCT Day 30 – On the Lam in Yosemite

For the first time since leaving home, I slept for five straight hours. Temperatures dipped into the forties so my 20-degree quilt was not too warm. That and all the hiking above 10,000 feet put me down hard.

Bob has hiked this section before, so he has some definite ideas about where to camp each night. Today we are going to try to get to the ford at Falls River. Oh, and today we enter Yosemite.

Confusion Creek

I have studied the maps of this area and I still get confused by creek names and destinations. Let’s just say I follow a lot of creeks today and the last one is Falls creek. I love creeks. They have a lot of character because they are so dynamic. This time of year, with the snow all melted, they are minding their p’s and q’s.

I don’t have to wait long for my morning coffee today. Bob and I start walking east and the sun is everywhere on the trail.

There is water close to the trail all day so Bob and I agree that carrying more than a liter of water is unnecessary. We both have a liter in camp, so we head out toward our first water stop – Walker River.

Walker River

Granite is not the worst rock to walk on. It seems soft under foot and my shoes grip it well. But it has a harsh color in bright light and it reflects the sun onto you as well. This morning the sun softens the harshness of the granite making it pleasant to walk by – like a shaded lamp.

Since we are following creeks all day, we never really get the expansive views of a proper ridge walk. Instead we are looking up at bluffs like this one.

I get to Walker before Bob, so I check around for interesting flowers. These little fellas are really excited about having their picture taken.

Painful reminder

When Bob shows up he mentions that park rangers may ask to see our permits. He then holds up his orange dinner spoon and says he is also planning to show them this.

At first I am puzzled. Then Bob explains that the restaurant at Kennedy Meadows may have alerted the authorities about the missing spoon and he wants the rangers to see that he is not the guilty hiker. He is smiling so hard I think his face is going to break.

Bob is having a good time at my expense. I don’t think this is going to stop any time soon either. Lately he has been searching for Les Miserables parallels. If the authorities ever do show up, I wouldn’t put it past Bob to coyly bring up the subject. “Hey, officer, when we were at Kennedy Meadows two days ago, rumors were circulating about a hiker that had pilfered some silverware. Have you heard about that? Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge.

I gotta get outta here.

Land o Lakes

The trail is starting to resemble Oregon with little lakes tucked everywhere. Of course I have to stop and look for fish in every one. Sadly I find a fairly large fish in a pond no bigger than a backyard pool. This pond was once part of a flowing creek system, but as the creek dried up, the fish remained. Here is a question for you. Would you:

• Try to catch the fish and eat it
• Try to catch the fish and release it
• Try to catch the fish and relocate it
• Try to catch the fish and make it your pet
• Do nothing

There is no right or wrong answer. I am just curious.

Yosemite

We reach Yosemite. It is a little underwhelming at first. It looks like the non-Yosemite we just passed through. Easy, Doolittle, give it a chance. The first thing we see is Dorothy Lake. It’s pretty nice really. We walk around the west side of the lake to a spot above the trail where we have lunch.

The race to the ford

At lunch we review our goals. We want to camp by the Falls Creek ford. That is over nine miles away. Time to get into high gear. Luckily it is a long slow descent. I go into zombie mode and take off. Luckily, this zombie still takes pictures. Here are the ones I like.

We reached camp in time to relax a little and stuff ALL our food into our bear cans. Yosemite bears are notorious snoops and we don’t want any drama tonight. Tomorrow is our biggest hiking day yet with several climbs. Yosemite will get a chance to show me something!

• August 26
• Starting marker: 1005.9
• Ending marker: 987.4
• Miles hiked today: 19
• Total PCT miles: 363
• Today’s revelation: Bob might turn me in