We slept in a little today and took our time leaving town. I made good use of the coffee while it was available – it’ll be another week before civilization and my next cup. We chatted with some hikers for a while and grazed on the breakfast stuff we bought yesterday at the store. Turns out the Huskies will be staying another day – Matt caught a stomach bug Jamie had yesterday and it showed up right as they were packing to leave this morning.
We packed up all our gear and food and cleaned out our trailer. My bear canister doesn’t fit very well in my pack so I tried putting it on the top of the outside, lashing it down with the top strap. It felt pretty unwieldy but I decided to give it a shot until lunch. Keith can fit his canister horizontally in his pack, which is better for filling space and carries better. My pack is just a tiny bit too narrow for this. Fully loaded with food and water, our packs weighed 37 pounds each. This was more than I expected but we were carrying nearly a gallon of water each on such a hot day.
After our last goodbyes we set out back up the road to the trail. Right away we missed the umbrellas we’d sent home, but our wet bandanas and hats helped to keep us cool. We headed back to the open scrub and started north through a nearly treeless expanse, stopping to take a break under a tall cedar that offered the only shade around. We crossed numerous ATV roads and meandered closer to the river as we hiked the few miles to the forest service campground. Once we passed through the parking lot we started into sparse pine forest and wound gradually up and down as the river disappeared again.
Our goal was the next river crossing, where we planned to eat lunch and take a long break while the rest of the afternoon heat passed. We got there just as our shoulders were really starting to complain. We dropped our packs in the shade and went for a dip in the river before anything else. It took a few days longer than expected, but we finally got our swim! After soaking for a bit we got out and had lunch while we dried. I wasn’t happy l about how top heavy my pack felt with the bear canister on top, so I readjusted my gear to fit it vertically in the pack body. I can’t quite get the thing all the way closed but I’ll get better at it as we go along. After this we finally set off for a gradual climb up to our first Sierra meadow.
The pine was nice to hike through and the trail was very well-graded. Even with full loads we made good progress up the slope. Both our packs felt more comfortable after the minor readjustments at lunch. Eventually we reached a burned area and were put right back out in the sun, but by this point in the afternoon it had lost a lot of intensity. We climbed nearly 2000 feet, heading past the novelty of actual grass towards one particular saddle we couldn’t see over. When we reached the top we saw a long expanse of green stretched out before us, ringed by distant ridges. We had reached Beck Meadow. As we walked into the green and up the valley the sun was setting, treating us to an amazing blaze of orange and purple as it shone through some clouds over the ridge. It’s a shame that it will never come out as beautifully on camera.
Our goal was a small spring and trough a mile or so up the meadow. Our water report wasn’t clear on if it was still flowing but it would save us a few miles that night if it was. Once we got there we were disappointed to see that the trough was empty. Just before heading back I realized that I could still hear water. A moment of looking brought us to a small spring, nearly hidden in the grass. It wasn’t much more than a trickle except right where it emerged and formed a little pool perfect for dipping from. With that solved, we set up camp and finished our chores before crawling into our bags. It’s nice and cool now and the stars are incredible since it’s so dark out here. Tomorrow’s trail will take us up to 10k feet and we’re excited to see how the landscape keeps changing. We had a wonderful couple of days off but it’s good to be back on trail all on our own again.
– Posted from the PCT
Location:Pct mile 614