PCT 2024 Section H Day 19 – That was easy… too easy…

Goal for the day: Thousand Island Lake and the completion of section H!

Had some nice views of the stars and pre-dawn light over Mammoth Mountain from my campsite.

And even more as I had breakfast and packed my tent and gear.

As I hiked North on the PCT, I came across some more nice views.

Unfortunately, they were great views with nice campsites nearby. I should have kept going a little further the day before. Sigh. That was an all too common reaction on the trail… especially after a long time on the trail like this has been. Day 19, with 16 of those being since I restarted my PCT Section H hike from Onion Valley.

Across the valley that separated the High Trail from the mountains to the West, I could see Shadow Lake poking through a gap. I knew that the JMT passed next to Shadow Lake before climbing up the steep mountainside to it’s South. It was a nice sight from across the valley.

The High Trail had some great views, including all the way North to Donahue Peak and Pass. The immediate goal was Thousand Island Lake where the PCT re-joined the JMT. That would mark the spot where I had officially hiked all 175.5 miles of PCT Section H (in 2020 and this year).

But I would like to go all the way to Tuolumne Meadows during this second hike to cover the entire Section H this calendar year.

But first things first, I had to finish the last 6 miles to Thousand Island Lake. The High Trail eventually started descending down into the North side of Agnew Meadows. I was close.

After the meadow, I had to climb into some rocky terrain, weaving in and around small pools of water formed where the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River started at the outlet of Thousand Island Lake.

Closer…

Closer…

And first sight of the lake beyond one of the pools along the river…

And GOAL!!!

It was actually a bit anti-climatic of an end to the main goal of this hike. And a very easy morning hike.

Too easy…

I celebrated my accomplishment by taking a lot of pictures, resting, and having my lunch break.

The problem I faced then was not my physical ability to continue North towards Tuolumne Meadows (nineteen and a half miles further North on the PCT), it was all in my mind. nI found my desire to continue North… lacking.

The morning was so easy, I was tempted to return to my Jeep and celebrate with a pizza!

But my Jeep was 9 miles away along the River Trail, then I had to catch a bus or ride up Reds Meadow Road. That might not be possible with the amount of daylight left that day. And with the road construction on Reds Meadow Road, there would be no bus or cars to get a ride from the next day.

BUT if I backtracked a bit and then exited the wilderness along the trail that went past Clark Lakes and Agnew Lake, it would be a mostly downhill 7 miles to Silver Lake. Very tempting as I rested at Thousand Island Lake.

Island Pass was just a little over a mile to the North along the PCT. It was a great spot to camp at, but it would be a very early stop for the day. I could push to camp at Donahue Pass or the lakes beyond, but I worried that I would be too late the next day reaching Tuolumne Meadows to catch the last YARTS bus from there to get back to my Jeep. Or even taking two more nights to reach Tuolumne Meadows.

The dark clouds rolling in overhead were also a growing concern.

Maybe because the end of the hike from Reds Meadow was so easy and so anti-climatic (even with the gorgeous views from Thousand Island Lake), I didn’t have the energy or motivation to continue Northward. My goal was complete.

It also might have been the past 16 days of hiking and exhaustion catching up to me.

And it might be because the second 8 days of hiking since I left Muir Trail Ranch was not quite as spectacular as the first 8 days and not as hard.

In the end, going Southbound on the JMT ended with the spectacular four 12k passes, Forester Pass, and finally the summit of Mt Whitney. Going Northbound ended at Tuolumne Meadows or Yosemite Valley and just wasn’t as big of a spectacular end to the trek.

So, I let myself take the easy exit for the day, ignoring the PCT Section H finish at Tuolumne Meadows a day or two ahead of me. 🙁🙁

I backtracked back towards Agnew Meadows, then too the fork to climb up a bit to the basin containing Clark Lakes.

Very nice area and could have been a nice area to camp in.

But, I had made my choice and it shouldn’t be a problem to reach the June Lakes Loop Highway where I should be able to get a ride back to my Jeep.

That was what I thought when I started.

But the trail dissolved into steep, rocky switchbacks as it neared Agnew Lake. It was too late to change my mind and turn back at that point, so I made my way slowly down along side that lake.

Above Agnew Lake, I saw the dam that had created Gem Lake.

The Rush Creek Trail that ran along Gem Lake and then down past the dam and Agnew Lake looked like a lot easier of a descent. I wished I had kept going North on the PCT and put off the final choice to exit that day when the Rush Creek Trail intersected with the PCT. I might not have been tempted to leave the PCT at that point.

Sigh.

Always some regrets on any hike. I tried not to dwell on it as I continued down to civilization.

Or in the days that followed.

As I finsiehd the exit out of the wilderness near Silver Lake, I at least had the opportunity to get a cold Diet Coke as I waited for a shuttle ride back to my Jeep. Again, felt a little anti-climatic after the long hike and finishing hiking all 175.5 miles of the PCT (in 2020 and 2024).

It also meant that I had completed *ALL* of PCT Sections G, H, I, J, and K over the past 4 years (okay, 4 years and 2 months). Thant felt like a great accomplishment to me. It wasn’t all at once, unfortunately, but all together it was 505 miles out of the 2650 miles of the entire PCT.

So, I could say I had hiked 20% of the entire PCT after this hike.

Considering how overweight and out of shape I had been 14 years earlier, THAT was at least something I could celebrate at the end of this long year of twin long hikes!!

156 miles of Section H plus 115 for Section G, meant I had done 271 miles of hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail this year! The JMT was only 211 (+11 to get out to the Whitney Portal), so at least I had a new record for miles that I hiked in a single year.

Goal for the day: Spectacular success!!! But disappointment at leaving the PCT early.

Day 19 – 14.3 miles – 11 hours 55 minutes
PCT section H – 156 trail miles out of 175.5 total miles

PCT Sections G, H, I, J, K – Completed all five sections! 505 miles hiked out of the 2650 total miles making up the PCT.

20% of the PCT completed in 4 years and 2 months.

So, only 80% more to go. It’ll take me 16 more years to do the entire PCT at that rate. Might need to pick up the pace if I want to do every mile of the PCT.

Someday… maybe…