June 14, 2022 Campsite below Mather Pass at mile 815.7 to Big Pete Meadow at mile 832.6 16.9 miles This morning is luxurious. Since we’re so close to Mather, we don’t really have a reason to get up too early. I don’t set an alarm, and I wake up when the sun starts poking over …
June 13, 2022 Woods Creek at mile ~799.7 to campsite below Mather Pass at mile 815.7 16 miles It’s warm when I wake up, which is a pleasant surprise. It’s also 3:45, which is less pleasant. I groan and get out of my tent to pee, then have to re-inflate my air mattress before I …
June 12, 2022 Campsite 2.3 miles from the PCT junction to Woods Creek at mile ~799.7 2.3 non-PCT miles 10.7 PCT miles It’s so cold. It’s a shock after two days of heat down in Bishop. We leave camp around 7 and get back to the PCT, go a few more miles, and then take …
June 11, 2022 Bishop to Onion Valley Trailhead to campsite 2.3 miles from the PCT junction 0 PCT miles 5.1 non-PCT miles We weren’t able to secure a ride yesterday, so our plan is to start hitchhiking around 3 with the goal of getting back to the trail in the evening when it’s cooler. Since …
June 10, 2022 0 miles This will be a short one. Town days are fun, but not necessarily as exciting to write about as trail days. Suffice it to say: Bishop is a great town, we ate a lot of food, went to so many gear stores, and stressfully packed up eight days of food …
June 9, 2022 Non-PCT miles: 7 PCT miles: 0 It’s pretty easy to wake up on town days. We have barely any food left and just seven miles to the trailhead. We’ve been fantasizing about town food and beer and drinks and washing our hands. Before long, we’re hiking and passing people coming the other …
June 8, 2022 Tyndall Creek at mile 774.7 to campsite on Kearsarge Pass Trail 0.4 miles from junction at PCT mile ~789.1 14.4 PCT miles 0.4 non-PCT miles Every day on the PCT, Jumbo says at least once: “I love this trail.” It usually happens at a particularly beautiful viewpoint, or when things are going …
June 7, 2022 Crabtree to Tumanguya (Mt. Whitney) summit and back, then Crabtree to Tyndall Creek at mile 774.7 Non-PCT miles: 15.4 PCT miles: 7.7 My alarm goes off at 11:15 PM on the night of the 6th. Time to hike! It’s all red headlamp and throwing snacks in my pack. The nice thing about …
June 6, 2022 Rock Creek at mile 760.5 to Crabtree Meadows, ~PCT mile 767 6.5 miles We’re only doing six and a half miles today, so we sleep in. And I mean sleep in: I don’t wake up until almost 8. I was really cold last night, and I didn’t sleep well. Is this how …
June 5, 2022 Dutch Meadow at mile 743 to Rock Creek at mile 760.5 17.5 miles It’s an uphill start today, which I guess is just something we’re going to have to get used to. We didn’t leave as early as planned, of course, but we’re out by 6:30 or so and it’s already so …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 