PCT 2024 Section H Day 13 – I should have stayed in bed

I woke up and it was freezing again outside for the third night in a row…

Fortunately, I was in a log cabin in a real bed with a mattress, and under two warm quilts. So, I enjoyed it some more.

Before breakfast was served, I washed up and took a nice long soak in one of the hot springs. Unlike the undeveloped primitive hot springs to the south of the ranch that I had enjoyed on my Zero Day near the Muir Trail Ranch in 2020, the two springs (one very hot and one not as hot as the very hot spring) near the cabins were very nice, clean, and a good way to soak away the pains for the past 8 days. Since I didn’t end up taking many pictures during my stay at the ranch, the picture below is from an evening soak. I was just enjoying the time off from the trail, so taking pictures didn’t quite occur to me much that day.

Ahh…

After breakfast, I took the opportunity to clean almost every piece of clothing I had with me. Why ‘almost’? Well, then I’d be naked. No washing machine and dryer at the ranch, but they did have laundry detergent, a bucket, a clothes wringer, and a clothes line for drying.

Very primitive.

Shouldn’t I be getting back on the trail? Yes, but over breakfast, I decided I needed a Zero Day at the ranch and the cabin was available for another night. So, like my JMT trek in 2020, I decided to spend a Zero Day at the Ranch. Then it was during a pandemic, so I had to stay in a tent and use the primitive hot spring. It was also after 12 long and hard days of hiking from Yosemite Valley to the ranch. I knew the 7 days going Southbound was going to be hard, so needed the extra day of rest to make it through that area.

This time, I had started my hike North by tackling that hard area first. I needed to recover FROM that rough 8 days of going up and down the four 12k passes (plus Kearsarge Pass). I also had the big bruise on my shin (which was slightly smaller and less-yellow) and the big knock on my noggin (which amazing didn’t swell up into a big bump) to recover from. I did have a couple dizzy spells that day, which may have been from hitting my head on the rock the prior day.

So, with an entire day for my clothes to dry, I made use of the time to wash all my clothes. Especially the items that would take a lot of time to dry (think hiking socks, fleece pants, heavy thermal tops) that I normally didn’t wash on the trail.

With the chores done, I decided to check out the primitive hot springs. One was in the wilderness and I had enjoyed recharging in it during my JMT 2020 trek. The other two were on the ranches property, so being a guest of the ranch I didn’t have to trespass to use them.

Ahhh…

Three hot springs. One was very hot. One was luke warm. and the other was just right.

Ahhhh…

During my time at the ranch, I got some info on the trail conditions and found out that they had freezing weather and snow all the way down in Reds Meadow (around 8,000 feet) starting 3 nights earlier. Very unusual for late August, but not for high elevations in the mountains. So, my frozen time at the top of Muir Pass was not just due to the elevation. A good chunk of California was experiencing a very cold front moving very slowly through the area.

It was a bit warmer than night, but I was still glad to be in a log cabin.

Goal for the day: Selden Pass or beyond

Despite the urge to spend another Zero Day at the Ranch or exit the trail via Florence Lake, I reluctantly woke up and got out of bed after my second night in the log cabin.

I cleaned up in one of the hot springs, had a real omelet for breakfast, then packed my fresh;y resupplied gear, and headed out towards the JMT/PCT junction to re-start my hike Northward. I actually had a little more food than I’d need to get to Reds Meadow, but I decided it would be better to carry for a few extra days. Why? I wasn’t sure what kinds of food would be available at Reds Meadows. So, better to take a little extra just to be sure.

With the hardest part of the hike behind me, it should only take me 4-5 days (5-6 more likely) to make it to my next major milestone: Reds Meadow.

This particular day, my goal was to reach Selden Pass (10,800 feet). Not as high as the five 12k passes I had just climbed, but still a long climb up from the Muir Trail Ranch that was around 7,700 feet. That meant I had to climb 3,100 feet to reach it. I’ve done worse in a day. See the previous 8 days for an example. Or my previous 6 years of reports.

I remember the descent to the Muir Trail Ranch being a particularly long stretch of steep switchbacks. My memory was correct, but going up them was ten times worse.

As I trudged up the switchbacks, I saw a heavy lift helicopter flying from the North to the South and back again several times. Since they had large bundles of something hanging underneath, I realized they weren’t search and rescue. I figured they were delivering parts and supplies for the bridge repair that was to the South.

The switchbacks were so long and exhausting it was mid afternoon before I reached Sallie Keyes Lakes.

Normally, I’d be disgusted as the slow pace of progress and how late it had gotten with only a little more than half of my hike done, but I knew the switchbacks below would take the bulk of the day. And they had.

I was tempted to stop and camp at them, but it was actually only 2 miles and 600 more feet to climb to reach Selden Pass. So, after a brief rest and resupply of water, I continued up towards the pass. I knew the pass had some flat areas to camp at, so I made sure to bring enough water for dinner and breakfast in case I decided to camp at the pass.

Not too soon after, I reached Heart Lake. Doesn’t look like much of a Heart, does it?

Since it was only a half mile and 200 feet to climb, I didn’t even think of camping at Heart Lake or stopping for a rest even if it was almost 5 pm.

Looking behind me as I neared the pass, I could make out Heart Lake behind me.

Ah, THAT’S why they called it Heart Lake. Must have first been seen from Selden Pass.

I reached the pass as the pixels of LEDs on my iPhone energized to indicate it was 5pm. Not quick as poetic as saying ‘the hands struck 5pm’, but it gets the point across.

I took time to take pictures of and enjoy the views on both sides of Selden Pass. A spectacular view, especially after the long day. The late arrival didn’t worry me as much as it would have on prior days, since I had left the ranch late after enjoying one last wash and soak in the hot springs and then breakfast.

While staying at the pass for the night was enticing, I decided that the short quarter mile descent to Marie Lake would be a better idea. Looked more like LAKES, but it had a number of islands and peninsulas that gave the impression of multiple lakes.

Or they had run out of names and decided to just call it a single lake. 😀

The lake was very picturesque along the shore, so I felt good about the decision to descend from the pass.

Even though the sun was almost setting behind the ridge to the West and the temperature dropping, I decided to jump into the lake and take a very cold swim. Having been at the ranch for two nights, I was nice and clean. But it was still refreshing to take a nice swim in a Sierra lake.

Ah…

With that out of the way, I started to look for a camping spot. There were many campers there, including a few to the East of the trail that was off limits to camping. I eventually found a spot that was secluded and had a nice view of the area. Pretty much just in time for some nice colors at Sunset as I had dinner and setup my tent.

After nightfall, I even had some nice stargazing opportunities and recreated one of the only default Windows desktop pictures I ever liked: A tent lit up by a light with the starry sky above. Not the first time or the last time I’d take a picture like that.