Campsite near small creek to Dorothy Lake
What a great campsite. There was two streams and a waterfall close by creating some wonderful sleeping noise. I woke at 6:01 AM. It's amazing how well my internal clock works.
I ate breakfast, filtered some water, as packed up my stuff. We were ready to hike just before 7:30 AM.
I ate breakfast, filtered some water, as packed up my stuff. We were ready to hike just before 7:30 AM.
Ready to hike.
We have a big day ahead of us. We plan on hiking 18.24 miles which would be the most I have hiked on one day so far. We will try to get as far as we can by lunch and reevaluate at that time if we can make it.
The day started out with us hiking through a pine forest. With some enormous trees.
The day started out with us hiking through a pine forest. With some enormous trees.
Hiking past large trees.
Right away we saw a nice PCT sign. It seems that we will be seeing more of these again since we are not on the JMT anymore. This one states that Wilma Lake is 7.8 miles away...this is where we plan on stopping for lunch.
PCT sign of the day.
But first, before lunch, we must complete two ups and downs, both pretty steep. Since the climbs were in the morning it wasn't too bad. Our legs were well rested and we had the needed energy. Plus, we had some awesome mountains to look at.
Mountain view all morning long
We had a couple of rivers to cross. This one had an interesting series of interconnected logs:
Share Bear negotiating a log crossing
The wildflowers are out in full bloom now:
Pretty purple daisies.
I finally got a photograph of a grouse:
Photo of the elusive grouse
Share Bear and I did well. We climbed up 2,218 feet and hiked down 2,560 feet and completed 8.68 miles by 12:30 PM when we stopped for lunch at Wilma Lake. The mosquitoes were awful, but we managed to find a windy spot that kept them away.
Lunch on Wilma Lake
Since we did so well this morning, we decided we could make it 9.5 miles more to Dorothy Lake for the night. At this point the terrain levels out so it shouldn't be too hard.
After lunch we got back on the trail and almost twisted my ankle, but fell to save it. I was completely fine, not even a scratch --- fall number 1.
Soon after we came to a river that we had to ford. The rocks under the water looked smooth, so I decided to go barefoot. I entered the water where there was sand, but it got deep real quick. When I tried to back up, I fell and was sitting in the river. I was able to stand up and make my way to the other side --- fall number 2.
This is the river I fell in. Notice how calm it is.
After lunch we got back on the trail and almost twisted my ankle, but fell to save it. I was completely fine, not even a scratch --- fall number 1.
Soon after we came to a river that we had to ford. The rocks under the water looked smooth, so I decided to go barefoot. I entered the water where there was sand, but it got deep real quick. When I tried to back up, I fell and was sitting in the river. I was able to stand up and make my way to the other side --- fall number 2.
This is the river I fell in. Notice how calm it is.
Share Bear successfully stayed dry after crossing a river.
Oh...we were hiking along and saw this license plate embedded in a tree pretty far up...huh?!?
What the heck?!?
The trail at this point was traversing granite rocks to get us to the canyon beside that rock formation out there.
Headed towards that rock formation
Speaking of granite rock...I was hiking along and almost twisted my ankle on a rock, but fell and saved it. Unfortunately, this time I skinned my leg and knee pretty good --- fall number 3.
Oh yeah, When we finally got to the canyon, it was so beautiful. We hiked the last 6 miles of the day along rivers and through meadows with rock formations all around.
Oh yeah, When we finally got to the canyon, it was so beautiful. We hiked the last 6 miles of the day along rivers and through meadows with rock formations all around.
A beautiful meadow
Self-portrait "Happy in a meadow"
After a short break in the meadow we continued on to Dorothy Lake where we plan on spending the night. At this point we had about 4 miles to go. We were pretty anxious to get there so we hiked on with little breaks. At 6:30 PM we finally got a view of the lake:
Dorothy Lake
As we approached the lake we saw a sign for a camping area for pack animals. I didn't like the look of it even though Share Bear thought we should stop there. Onward we went and didn't see any places to camp. Finally, we saw a site that already had a tent pitched. I approached the tent and a head popped up. I told her our situation and that we would like to share the site with her. She said it was no problem.
Her name was Salmon from Minneapolis and is spending about 2 weeks hiking the trail to Yosemite where she is going to meet some friends.
We pitched our tents then cooked and ate dinner. It was chilly and windy, but it was hard to complain since the wind kept the mosquitos away.
We are now 22 miles from Sonora Pass where we are going to meet Tim and Brad. During dinner we had the crazy idea that we might be able to hike it all tomorrow. In case this crazy idea becomes reality, I better get to sleep.
Her name was Salmon from Minneapolis and is spending about 2 weeks hiking the trail to Yosemite where she is going to meet some friends.
We pitched our tents then cooked and ate dinner. It was chilly and windy, but it was hard to complain since the wind kept the mosquitos away.
We are now 22 miles from Sonora Pass where we are going to meet Tim and Brad. During dinner we had the crazy idea that we might be able to hike it all tomorrow. In case this crazy idea becomes reality, I better get to sleep.
Close quarters for the night.
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