June 22, 2022 Campsite at mile 920 to mile 937.7 17.7 miles For one brief moment, the sunrise paints the mountains a deep orangey pink. I start to move to take a photo, but by the time I get to it, the clouds have rolled in and the moment is gone. It’s going to be …
June 21, 2022 Mammoth to trail near Red’s Meadow to campsite at mile 920 13.3 miles The alarm goes off and I ignore it. No. No! You can’t pull me from this bed. But I hear Jumbo rustling around and know it’s game over. “We’ve got shit to do!” he says. He and Tribute are …
June 19, 2022 Deer Creek to Red’s Meadow to Mammoth 5.6 miles Everything is frozen. The water bottle inside my tent is frozen. My feet are frozen. I know I should get a move on because today is town say, but I just don’t want to get out of my sleeping bag. I boil water …
Continue reading PCT Days 62 and 63: Nero and Zero in Mammoth Lakes
June 18, 2022 Campsite at mile 882.4 to Deer Creek at mile 901.1 18.7 miles The water outside my tent is frozen. I can see my breath. I pack up begrudgingly, chasing patches of sunlight across the campsite. When we start moving, I have all of my layers on, and I take a few of …
June 17, 2022 Marie Lake at mile 866.3 to campsite at mile 882.4 16.1 miles It is frigid. It is absolutely Baltic. How can I have been so hot yesterday afternoon and so chilly today in the wind and the clouds? The Sierras do not mess around. I start to pack up, realize how cold …
Continue reading PCT Day 60: Cloudy With a 0% Chance of Cheese
June 16, 2022 Campsite at mile 848.4 to Marie Lake at mile 866.3 17.9 PCT miles 3 non-PCT miles to Muir Trail Ranch and back I’m determined not to be the last one ready today. I never want to get up, but we are going to be walking by 6 and make the most of …
June 15, 2022 Big Pete Meadow at mile 832.6 to campsite at mile 848.4 15.8 miles It’s a slow morning. We aim to leave by 6:30, but it’s after 7 before we get moving. We had to eat breakfast, get water, pack up, and chat with Qwerty and Trash Balloon, after all. Part of me …
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 …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 