PCT Day 52 – Done!

There must be a word for refusing to acknowledge that something is happening when you know that it is. Self-delusion? Denial? Both of these terms indicate that the person does not want something to happen. My feeling is more neutral – like a weird quantum reality. Something both is and is not happening.

Perhaps the best way to say it is like this: today I may complete my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. As I lay in my tent at 4:28 in the morning, I contemplate what this means.

If you have been reading this blog from the beginning in 2021, you may understand my feelings. In 2021 and 2022, I did not complete this hike as I had hoped. It was understandable, but disappointing. And now I stand upon the threshold of completion. And despite the daily hiking and the careful counting of every mile marker, it still does not seem possible.

It’s time to start hiking. The future will take care of itself.

The Plan

Yesterday Seven, Dealer and I stopped short of our daily goal because we were tired and because there were no good campsites ahead. Today we must reap the rewards of that decision. Our goal today, the road to Kennedy Meadows, is 17 miles away. We had hoped to be within 13 miles.

As it stands, we will collect water in 7 miles; in 10 miles we will eat; and in 17 we will exit the trail and go to the general store at Kennedy Meadows where we will attempt to arrange for transportation out of here. Dealer and Seven will return home to Reno for a few days. I will return home to Florida.

The early hike

The morning sun is pretty spectacular. Dealer takes some good shots of the sun coming up.

In the first few miles, the trail goes up to a road at the top of a 2-mile climb. Our food bags are light and we aren’t carrying a lot of water, so the climb feels easy.

We are in another burn. Dead trunks of large trees lay all around, but no trees have sprung up to take their places. Ideally, occasional burns help rejuvenate forests. Too often on the hike I have walked through burns that have devastated forests. I think that gradually people are getting smarter about how to manage forests. At least I hope we are.

Before an hour passes we have reached the top and have headed down. We all feel the need to go fast. As I have said before, walking fast at the beginning of the day, gives you more options at the end of it. At our first break, Dealer claims we are “running” down the mountain. She is smiling through it though. She is such a good sport.

The trail stays high on the west side of the canyon above Mantor Creek. It’s a gradual 2400-foot descent. I am so happy to have an easy trail like this on my last day. I try to soak up everything.

Gatekeepers

At the bottom of the long descent, we meet two young ladies on the banks of Mantor Creek. They look familiar. When they introduce themselves as PCTA employees, it hits me: these are the same two ladies that checked my permit at the southern terminus. When they see my permit, they remember me, too. My permit is the only one they have seen printed on pink paper!

From here, it’s nine miles to Kennedy meadows. Nine miles. What am I going to do? Hike, I guess. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Doolittle. You can do this.

The landscape has become desert again. But there are scattered trees among the rocks.

And on the very last day, new flowers! Dealer, took the first photo.

We stop for lunch. I have two turkey sticks, four pieces of melty Muenster cheese, kettle chips, two packets of Spam, gummi bears and dried blueberries. Where else could you find fare so fine? We are 5 miles from Kennedy Meadows.

Four miles from KM we pass by the South Fork Kern River. It deep, fast and about 20 feet across. Did I not read my map right. Am I going to face danger on my last day? Luckily we do not have to cross. The trail stays above the river and eventually the river bends west.

Countdown

I am three miles from Kennedy Meadows. What am I supposed to do? How should one properly end a long-distance hike? I decide to take a photo at each of the last three mile segments. Here is the first.

I recall the day I started – when I got so dehydrated on Hat Creek Rim and I met that family who helped me get through it, and later the next day let me sit with them while they read aloud from Louis L’Amore. One by one, I recalled the days. So many touching, dangerous, funny, confusing, beautiful moments. I had barely remembered all of Northern California before I had to take my next photo.

My eyes are watery, my sinuses swelling, my nose running. So many memories. It’s too much. So many people. The Wander Women, the Debbies, Robert and Cindy, Zach, Bob, Keith, Jeremy and Shelley. I barely get through all my memories of Oregon and Washington when it is time to take another photo.

I don’t have enough time to remember the Sierras, let alone the section I passed through this year. So many riveting, transcendent, surprising, heartbreaking, inspiring moments. The views!! It’s all rush over me now, all at once. The road to Kennedy Meadows is right in front of me. Seven and Dealer come up from behind and congratulate me. I can’t even speak. I write “THE END” in the sand in front of me and step over it. Overwhelming joy. Sobs, tears, smiles, laughter. It’s over. I made it.

The road down

The walk to the general store at Kennedy Meadows is awkward. I don’t know what to say. I say a few things about what I’ve been doing for the last three miles – the memories. But it just falls flat. Let’s just get to the store and have a beer.

The store has a big patio deck. A bunch of people are there. They applaud (?!) as we walk up. How cool. Dealer buys me a beer and the three of us toast the moment (Seven with his Gatorade).

And now it’s time for me to go to work! We need a ride to Lone Pine – a city that is about an hour away. I notice on the bulletin board that Rebecca, the Fossil Lady, has come to Kennedy Meadows with her employer, 2-Foot Adventures. She is offering “rides to town.” The Fossil Lady! She gave Keith and I a ride to Julian from Warner Springs.

I walk down to where 2-Foot is set up. Within minutes we have a ride to Lone Pine.

This is my super-power – getting rides. As I tell others who ask about my skill, you have to have faith in the basic goodness of people. If you do, anything is possible.

Unraveling

In Lone Pine we get rooms at the Dow Villa Hotel. This is the same hotel that Bob and I used last year. I do laundry at the laundry mat across the street (in my underwear again) and meet Seven and Dealer for dinner. In the morning we will take the bus to Reno. On the next day I will take the red-eye flight home.

I am at peace. After my hikes the last two years I felt incomplete. I needed to go back. I was not able to fully commit to retirement life, with all its challenges and opportunities. But I don’t feel that way now. I am content and ready to embrace fully the life that lies ahead.

Gratitude

Many people made my hike possible. Many more looked the other way as I put my responsibilities on hold to pursue this goal. I am filled with gratitude for all the people that helped me on the trail. Thanks for your kindness and generosity. Thanks to my readers who kept me interested and invested every day. It’s hard to slack off when so many are looking forward to your reports. Thanks to the folks at home, my buddies and my parishioners who supported me all along the way. Thanks to my kids who looked out after their Mom in my absence.

But thanks most of all to my wife, Patti who shouldered the load while I was gone. She said she enjoyed her time alone at least as much as I enjoyed the hiking. (Not sure how to take that really!) But this year has been especially hard as some difficult physical issues made her life very challenging. Thanks, sweetie.

I may do one more post with my reflections on the trail. But I would do that from home. I need a break from writing and the pressures of posting.

By the time you read this, I will be home, and already enjoying your company. If I have not seen you yet, be warned. I’m back and coming for you!

• June 25, 2023
• Starting marker: 686.2
• Ending marker: 703.4
• Miles hiked today: 17
• Total PCT miles: 673

Some of the photos in this post were taken by Dealer. She has a good eye, and today she was very good.