So, we said we're going to hike the whole PCT.....we never promised that we were going to do it in the right order.
We've been sitting in the small town of Lone Pine, CA for four days now. We figured out our daily mileage for the next section, planning on covering the 160 miles to Mammoth Lakes in about 9 days, including a day trip up Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. Then we talked to a few hikers who are ahead of us on the trail but also stopped in this town. They advised against planning for more than 10-15 miles a day, and strongly encouraged carrying ice axes. I bought an ice axe. We re-planned our miles. We added in two more town stops for resupplies and 5 extra days to cover the 160 miles. We did the Mt. Whitney day trip yesterday.
Halfway up the mountain, I was hit with the strong conviction that trudging through so much snow, struggling to find the trail for hours at a time, climbing up incredibly steep snow chutes, and using an ice axe to self-arrest and save myself from plummeting to my doom did not contain an ounce of fun for me. If that was what the next month and a half had in store every single day, I was not in.
At first I felt like a failure and a baby, quitting on this difficult section before I even started it because it sounded difficult. But really, it doesn't just sound difficult, it sounds absolutely petrifying, and I'm out here to enjoy the Pacific Crest Trail, not suffer through it just to say I did it. We climbed down off Mt. Whitney (Nolan even convinced me to slide down on my butt a few times) and made a new plan.
Tomorrow morning we're going to take a small regional transit bus 6 hours north to Reno. There, we're going to rent a car and drive it to Ashland, OR. We'll pick the trail back up there (around mile 1725) and head south, hitting the Sierras at the end of July. When we get back down here to Lone Pine, we'll travel back up again and continue heading north.
Although it's not what we originally planned, it's logistically complicated, it might cost a little more money, we still might hit a decent amount of snow in northern CA, and we won't be doing the entire trail in order, I'm happy with this plan. We're still planning on doing the entire trail, we're still enjoying it, we're taking care of ourselves, and we're not getting ourselves into a situation that's beyond our knowledge and skills. Oregon, here we come!
I think you are thinking safety first. Good luck in Oregon. My thoughts are with you both. Love, Carol
ReplyDeleteDo not beat yourself up one bit. I know that Wing-It and Don't Panic, PCT and AT alums, are already in the Sierra and their quote was something like "This is not thru-hiking. This is more of a winter ice endurance event." They got turned back by dangerous creek crossings and also had to skip some miles.
ReplyDeleteWith record snow, you are in such a weird year...I think you are absolutely right to do it in a way that feels enjoyable rather than getting hung up on being a "true" thru-hike or something. Keep having fun and giving stuff for those of us at home to read!
Chipmunk (An Oregonian and section hiker)
I think it is SO mature to decide to do it this way. It sounds like a smart decision and I'm glad you've made it. :) How does this affect your preferred care package shipment locations?
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