Hikey Mike

Day 71 – 13 miles

Having left the High Sierras behind, we had been promised an easier stretch through the Low Sierras with only two passes over 10000ft and slightly flatter terrain, while still in the mountains with beautiful views. We were also just two days away from my most anticipated side quest, a trip into the nearby Yosemite Valley famous among hikers and climbers as one of the best national parks.

With only just over 40 miles to cover over the next two days we set off at a leisurely pace however as is becoming common my first day back on trail after resting, I was struggling to get back into the swing and panted my way up the first real climb of the day, ending up behind the rest of the group. The lower elevation was better for cardio but made the summer heat feel much more impactful with only some shade provided by be forest

The day was broken up with a visit to the Devil’s Postpile, a natural structure of hexagonal columns formed 90,000 years ago by a combination of lava and glacial erosion, providing a lunch spot with a view

I struggled to get going again after lunch and by the early evening I’d only covered 13 miles with 28 still to cover to reach Yosemite, but completely drained a settled in for the night with the prospect of my longest day so far to reach my goal tomorrow

Day 72 – 28 miles

The goal today was Toulumne Meadows, a campsite and store in Yosemite National Park that runs shuttles to the valley, but I was starting 5 miles behind the rest of the group so set off well rested in an attempt to catch them

The first checkpoint of the day was Thousand Island Lake, named for obvious reasons, which is where I would stop for lunch. Making good time, I treated myself to a short siesta which accidentally turned into a two hour nap and meant I had 16 miles left to cover after 3pm, with night hiking almost definitely being needed now to reach the camp

The rest of the day was kept interesting by an ever changing landscape, with forests turning into rocky outcrops and finally vast meadows, only interrupted by hitting a large blowdown with my shin while singing along to my music, lucky thing I had the mom-mandated first aid kit with me

Finally I had reached Yosemite Wilderness and other than the distraction of some animal encounters, the final few miles into camp were smooth sailing. Finally arriving just after 9pm, I was greeted with beers and food by the trail family who were all excited for tomorrow, not only a trip into Yosemite but also the 4th July, my first in America.

Day 73 – Zero in Yosemite

After a big breakfast at the campsite, we got the bus down into Yosemite Valley, home of the famous El Capitan and Half Dome, with the bus driver very excited to act as a tour guide finding out we were PCT thru hikers including internationals.

With no interest in hiking or climbing, the day mostly consisted of floating in the river and drinking on the banks, with a party vibe in the valley due to the national holiday. With it being 250 years since the formation of the country, there were big celebrations everywhere and it seemed that most strangers enjoyed the game of ‘Get the Brit drunk’ to celebrate their independence from us, therefore the rest of the night was a bit of a blur but I’ve been assured that a fun night was had by all, despite my insistence on Yeehawing to prove my Americanness.

Day 74 – 6 miles

Surprisingly I woke up with a very sore head this morning. Luckily our bus back to trail wasn’t until the early afternoon so it was a very slow morning exploring the village and rehydrating before heading back to trail, where we didn’t start hiking until 4pm.

The short section to camp spent most of the time following a river and lead us to a series of waterfalls, with the final one being alongside the campsite and provided a lovely backdrop to dinner, before an early night was had by all

Day 75 – 20 miles

Despite a slow start, the first half of the day started out perfectly with a morning of great views and flat terrain.

We’d said our lunch goal as Miller Lake, due to comments describing it as ‘surprisingly warm’, and therefore making it ideal for a lunchtime swim. While not as icy, I definitely would not have used the word warm to describe it, but still in the hotter weather it was a nice way to cool off and a chance to wash off some of the dirt of the last few days, we ended up breaking for over three hours before remembering we actually needed to hike

Feeling slightly sluggish after lunch, I put this down to the long break and continued but felt progressively more drained throughout the day and two miles before our planned stop, I told Hazy and Snake Farm that I would need to stop early and that promised I would catch up first thing in the morning

Day 76 – 13 miles

Despite an early night, I woke up the next morning completely drained and a dodgy stomach. After a late start out of camp and just two miles out of camp, I accepted that there was an issue and stopped to make a plan.

With 50 miles until my exit to town, and nowhere else to get off until then, my only option was to continue, however this would come with an issue. I had two days of food remaining, which should have been enough to get me to town, but with the slower pace, this would have to be stretched across at least three days, possibly more.

The day was slow, with a pace a full mile per hour slower than normal and breaks needed every hour to rest, including two naps throughout the day.

By 6pm, I had only covered 13 miles but had no energy to continue so set up camp early and ate as much as I could afford to spare to give myself a chance to fight off whatever was impacting me. Now ten miles behind the rest of my group, it was clear I wouldn’t catch up with them this stretch and would have to rely on self motivation to get through.

Day 77 – 11 miles

Unfortunately things only got worse overnight, and by the morning I was completely drained of any energy. After a morning climb, by 4pm I had only covered four miles all day,

Realising now that I would now have to at least hike half a day with no food, I drove myself to hike a further seven miles that evening, which was luckily much flatter and skirted a number of lakes, but still left me almost 30 miles away from my first access to civilisation and with just two meals and two snacks remaining, any miles not finished tomorrow would have to be done on an empty stomach

Day 78 – 21 miles

Deciding I had to push as many miles today as possible, I woke up early and quickly hit a major milestone to spur me on, tbe 1000 mile marker.

Despite maintaining the slower pace, I was starting to feel better and was requiring far fewer breaks so decided to take on the final pass that evening while I was still well fed and motivated. The pass wasn’t steep but dragged on for miles as it slowly skirted up the rocky face of the mountain, with no distractions except for one person going in the other direction and telling me to watch out because he expected a deer to fall off the top of the mountain soon and that it could land on me. Despite strong levels of doubt, I kept an eye on the ridgeline above me for signs of avalanching deer

Reaching the top of the pass had required all my energy but meant that the whole way to town was now downhill. The winds at the top of the pass were extreme and led to seriously low temperatures with no protection on any sides, but after my longer day I needed to stop and so after a mile on the exposed mountain, found my best bet for sleep. Cowboy camping under a bush has never felt more luxurious, with it working as a pretty effective windbreak.

Day 79 – 7 miles

The only thing between me and civilisation now was a seven mile downhill stretch and a hitch. The walking was more challenging than expected, with a stretch almost a mile long covered in snow and all my electronics now dead after more time in the wilderness than expected, however I eventually made it to the trailhead where I could escape the trail

Still not fully recovered, I decide my best option was to skip the next 60 mile stretch and hitch straight to South Lake Tahoe, a much larger town where I could rest for almost a week before the rest of my group were planning to leave the town to get back on trail.

While a good plan in practice, it would require me hitching over two hours from what is not a very busy trailhead. After an hour of getting passed by cars I was losing hope, however then I heard the voice of two of my friends shouting at me out of a parking car. Whilst they were getting back onto trail after a night in the nearby Pinecrest, a brief chat with their hitch revealed he was driving about 20 minutes in my direction and was willing to take me part the way, an opportunity I jumped at.

Making small talk through the journey, he revealed he was just visiting a local town, and would be travelling even closer to my intended destination that afternoon if I was willing to wait around, and so this stranger and I had a full afternoon together of thrift shopping, eating lunch and driving over 90 minutes to the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe, where I was able to get a bus into the town.

Finally making it to my hotel, I was too tired for any exploring or even dinner and passed out for over ten hours of sleep.

Day 80 to 84 – Zeroes in South Lake Tahoe

The next five days were spent resting, eating and exploring the local area. My first full day in town also aligned with the World Cup quarter finals and so while waiting for the rest of my group to arrive, had England vs Norway to keep me entertained, although unfortunately was still in town to eventually watch us lose to Argentina.

By day two, some of my friends started arriving in town with others taking breaks for injuries and by day three we were all reunited for a further three days of rest as a group, even finding time for a Karaoke evening with the locals

Now fully recovered, I was ready to get back on trail but would not be going back to the now completed Sierra section, but instead heading into Nor Cal, a section renowned for being the most mentally challenging with large areas of burn scar and a crashing back to reality of just how much trail is left after the beauty of the Sierras. I was determined for the ‘Nor Cal Blues’ not to be the ending to my hike that it is for so many previous thruhikers attempts, and after the long rest I was weirdly keen to just get back to the daily routine of a day full of hiking.