My feet hurt real bad again this morning. It generally comes and goes, but this mornings ache made me promise myself that upon arriving in Mammoth Lakes I would definitely look for some insoles. In the rush of getting all the chores in Bishop done, I kinda forgot… I felt the pain was intenser than usual and so I jumped onboard of the vitamin-I-train once more. We all left our beautiful campsite around 0715, determined to make up for yesterdays lack of miles. I’m not sure if it was the throbbing pain in my left heel or that I just had an off-day, but the majority of the morning I was just very annoyed and irritated. Fortunately I’ve been on trail for quite some time, and I by now I’ve realized there’s good days and bad days. Best to just accept it. I put on a high pace and hiked ahead, not wanting to trouble the others with my foul mood. As we were hiking up Mather Pass, it was pretty much all climbing in the morning. Before getting above the tree-line there were several icy creeks to ford, and while the majority could be crossed by hopping over rocks or logs, there was one which was just too wide. This meant a river-ford, leaving me with wet feet for the larger part of the morning.
After climbing above the tree-line the trail led us over a gently sloped plateau towards Mather Pass. What I’ve experienced before, but was now once again confirmed, is that my mood significantly affects my perception of my surroundings. Thad hiked past me and told my how pretty this bit of the trail was. I at the time just couldn’t see it. Surrounded by impressive grey mountains on all sides, in hindsight I guess it was in fact a pretty beautiful scene.
The climb up the pass was not too bad, and around 1100 we’d hiked 7 miles already with just a downhill cruise left for the remainder of the day. It felt good to chill out in the sun and feel the cool breeze on the pass. Also at this altitude there’s no mosquito’s to bother us for a change, which was a huge relief.
We agreed to have lunch some 3 miles down the hill into the valley on the other side. The vitamin I had made for less painful hiking and I reached the others at a nice campsite with shade, where we’d break for a couple of hours. We were joined later by Brightside, Bird-man, Murph and Marly. All of us hung out our sleeping bags and tents to dry from the damp morning.
After lunch we planned to do another 7 miles to camp. My mood had improved significantly during lunch, and I was glad with my early morning realization that I’d better just accept that I was having a bad day. Because now, only several hours later, I found my mood had already shifted. We dropped in elevation and it was getting pretty warm. The trail had been passing two lakes some meters above the water-level, tauntingly teasing us, because there was no easy access to the lake. My heart took a leap when I turned a rocky corner and saw the trail dropped down, and Jukebox was already in the water! Yes, a refreshing swim would be just what I needed to completely wash off this mornings heartship.
We’d only hiked 1 mile after lunch, but this lakeside rocky plateau was just too gorgeous a spot to pass up. We all got in the water and let the sun caress our bodies as we closed our eyes and dried up in the beautiful afternoon. Laying there, we agreed that this really felt like vacation, and we thanked the Sierras for such an invigorating mini-break. Everyone was so psyched to be there, mountains on all sides, fresh cool blue water, the sun shining bright, and completely refreshed.
After an hour we agreed that we’d still want to make the intended mileage and packed up our stuff. I’m pretty sure we could’ve stayed there all day though. Swimming in mountain lakes is awesome. The PCT however had another nice surprise in store for us. We’d followed a powerful river for quite some time, boasting waterfalls and rapids in the beautiful valley.
The descent was on very rocky trail, with lots of boulders and loose rocks; very strenuous on the ankles and knees. I tried enjoying myself by finding the route of least resistance, aiming to move as seamless as possible down the labyrinth of sharp rocks. This went well for quite some time, but nearing the end of the day, I became tired and started looking forward to getting into camp. We dropped into the forestry once more, and were hugged by a green and lush valley-forest, filled with beautiful pine-trees where bright green ferns thrived. For some reason it reminded me of Jurassic Park. The snow-melt creeks ran just as avidly through the woods as they did on the mountain sides. It was quite the sight.
We’re camped in the woods, next to the river and I’m glad my feet get to rest. Tomorrow we’ll set out with a similar intended mileage (approximately 17 miles) and get up early again. Today was not an easy day, but yet another memorable one.
I am such a sucker, and I’m always the last to know
My insides are copper, I kill to make them gold
Conversation got me in,
Another night alone in the city, so
make my bed a grave and shovel dirt onto my sheets
Every friend, we ever had in common
I will sever the tie, sever the tie with you
You can thank your lucky stars,
Everything I wish for, will never come true
When you go, I will forget everything about you
When you go, I will forget everything about you
I’ve seen sinking ships go down, with more grace than you
Sending Postcards from a Plane-Crash – Fall Out Boy
