A WALK THROUGH TIME
PCT DAY 62: Mile 1025.7 – Mile 1047
Tuesday June 14, 2016: 21.3 miles (34 km)
Ever since we’ve been in the Sierra mountains hiking the PCT has been a challenge and today was no different. Our challenge today was a lot more snow to navigate through and combined with the coldest and strongest wind we’ve had since Tehachapi. The howling of the wind this morning drowned out the roar of the nearby river. At one stage while hiking, the wind was so strong it felt it would knock you sideways. Each mountain side we would go around we hoped the wind would be blocked but it just was as strong as ever.
Despite the wind and the snow we traversed such a geologically varied terrain it was difficult to believe that it was all in one day. The sun was still shining and glistening on the snowy mountain slopes and that made the wind a little bit more bearable.
Today we hiked a bit with a Swiss girl we met a few a little while ago at Walker Pass, her trail name is Red Cross (Noemie). She is an excellent navigator. Between the three of us we did not lose the trail too long this morning. We separated at lunch and we followed her footprints in the snow in the afternoon. Very reliable which made the afternoon fly by.
We ended up camping near Red Cross that evening. She was cowboy camping (no tent). It was so very windy and cold. We camped beside a huge fallen log which provided excellent shelter from the wind. One of those days you just want to get the miles done.
