Walks A Ways: PCT Day 44

PCT Day 44, 25 June 2022 (Saturday)

"Pinchot Me When It's Over"

Start Location:	Middle Rae Lake	Destination:	Wilderness Campsite
PCT Miles Day 44:	17.8	Cum PCT Miles:	811.3
Non-PCT Miles Day 44:	0.9	Cum All Miles:	878.5
PCT Miles Remaining:	1,841.3
Elevation Gain Day 44:	3,982	Cum Elevation Gain:	145,487

I got up later than usual this morning hoping that my tent would be mostly dry when I was ready to pack up. However, it was not to be. So, I packed up my wet tent knowing that I would have to dry it out a little later in the morning or in the day.

Today was a pretty spectacular water day. There were many lakes, seasonal streams, incredibly scenic creeks, multiple snow patches, and water from the sky. I have to say that Woods Creek is just about as spectacular as anything you’ll see in Yosemite. But, you have to do a bit of backpacking to see it.

By the way, today’s weather was almost an exact repeat of yesterday. Warm and clear until the early afternoon, then gathering of dark clouds, and eventually monsoon thunderstorms. This is my third straight day of Sierra hiking when I have been rained or snowed on. Today was a bit colder and windier though. It feels more like late winter hiking than early summer hiking. I guess this will prepare me for the state of Washington. Luckily, it was not raining at my campsite.

I think all these monsoon storms have got the water levels rising a bit. The creek crossings are still rock hops but there’s a few of them where you inevitably get your feet wet because of the higher water levels.

This is a section of the Sierra where you are going over at least one high pass a day. Today’s pass was Pinchot Pass at 12,127 ft. I thought this pass was much more strenuous than yesterdays Glen Pass. It’s almost 8 straight miles of hiking uphill to get there. It probably wouldn’t have been so difficult if I weren’t still carrying a lot of food weight. I guess it’s hard to complain, though, when the scenery is so nice almost every step of the way.

I almost decided to wait until tomorrow to go up since the afternoon thunder clouds were starting to look ominous. I passed some hikers that had decided to stop below the pass. There is a real danger of lightning strikes on high passes. I had to roughly calculate in my mind how fast I thought I could get to the top versus how long it might take for a thunderstorm to start. Luckily, I got it right this time.

Oh yeah, I passed the 800 mile mark today.