Kearsarge Pass to Mammoth Lakes

I thought that the Southern Sierra would be perhaps the most difficult section I’d face. I thought that the long food carry and trip up the highest peak in the US and highest pass on the trail would be the hardest days I’d face, and that it would feel easy and simple from there. This section in the Central Sierra showed me just how wrong I was. Here’s how it went.

June 9th -Day 58

With my pack full of eight days worth of food I got a ride back to the Kearsarge Pass trailhead bright and early at 6:30. The plan was to accomplish not one, but two passes that day. I needed to get over 11,700 ft Kearsarge Pass to get back to the PCT and then over 12,200 ft Glenn Pass to get to a campsite with a bear locker, as I was only able to fit six days of food in my bear can and I needed some way to keep the rest of my food safe.

The climb over Kearsage Pass was much easier than I’d thought it would be, and I made great time. This was counteracted by the climb over Glenn Pass, which was much more difficult than I’d expected. The trail was incredibly steep, and suddenly I could feel the weight of eight days of food on my back. I gasped my way up and finally made it in the early afternoon. Fortunately, the backside of Glenn Pass had much less snow than I’d thought it would, and I was able to make up time on the descent into Rae Lakes, where I took a long rest break with Zod, Legs, Baby Bigfoot, Pez, and Wiggles.

The day never got very warm, and as the afternoon wore on the wind picked up. It was clear that it would be a cold night, so I headed as far down the valley as I could to make camp. Finally at the low point for the day at 8,900 ft I set up my tent near a bear locker. Clearly, many other hikers had the same idea, as the place was PACKED. Tent sites were numerous, but it was still difficult to find a spot. I ate dinner quickly and then got into my tent right away to wait out the cold night.

June 10th – Day 59

The morning was freezing, and because I was camped near the bottom of a canyon the sun did not make an appearance until late in the morning. By the time I finally got ready and left camp it was 8:45, a full two hours past when I’d been used to leaving. I started the nearly eight mile climb up Pinchot Pass and knew immediately that it would be a difficult one. Pinchot Pass is not generally known to be one of the more difficult passes in this section, but the climb was full of stone steps that were too high for my short legs. I had to really work to get myself up each of them, and after over four miles of these steps I was completely exhausted.

I took a long break, feeling frustrated with myself at how little progress I was making. Never before had I gone so short a distance by noon. I felt weak, and as I went through my bear can looking for snacks I realized that my resupply was extremely protein deficient. In an effort to fit as many calories in my bear can as possible I’d loaded up on cheap, low quality carbs instead of varied snacks or balanced meals, and I could feel the effect it was having on my body. It wasn’t even food I wanted to eat. What’s more, I’d also spent the last day in Bishop eating only the extra snacks I had, so at this point I was about two and a half days protein deficient. I felt afraid. I didn’t have many options, so I’d just have to ration the few protein snacks I had and hope that I could find the strength to get through this section.

I resigned myself to falling behind my group. There was no way I’d be able to catch them at the pace I was going and the way I was feeling. As I sat there feeling pretty down about myself Science Sloth caught up and joined me for a break. Even at over 6′ tall, he found the steps difficult. He told me he couldn’t imagine how hard short people would have to work to get up, and I felt a lot better about my slow progress. Sometimes it’s easy to feel like everyone else is breezing through the trail and I’m the only one struggling, so it’s good to talk about how difficult the trail can be so I don’t feel as alone in my experience.

I finally made it over Pinchot Pass after 2 pm. The descent was pretty easy, and the trail only descends for a few miles before heading up over the next pass, Mather pass. Most of the hikers that passed me on the way up planned on doing both passes in the same day, but as I started the climb up Mather Pass I knew there was no way that would be possible for me. It was late, and I was exhausted. Not wanted to get caught on top of a pass after dark, I decided to get as close as I could with the daylight I had and camp there. Mather Pass is known for being perhaps the easiest pass in this section, but I was completely wiped out. Despite the easy to navigate trail and more gradual incline I took breaks every few tenths of a mile. I finally made camp above the treeline completely spent. It would be another very cold night, so I got in my sleeping bag early and hoped for the best.

June 11th – Day 60

While my sleeping bag and thermals had kept me warm enough, the cold had drained the batteries of my electronics at night. With less than half of my battery bank left and still 5-6 days to go, I resigned myself to using my phone as little as possible. I guess I wouldn’t be listening to music anymore this stretch. I turned my phone off and resolved to only turn it on if I needed navigation help, so I don’t have as many pictures for this stretch. It was a very cold morning, so I started hiking in my thermals to keep warm and decided to take them off later in the day once it warmed up.

I made it over Mather Pass early in the morning but then struggled more than I expected on the descent. Even on flat or gently slopping sections I could feel myself getting out of breath and gasping for air. I began to worry that maybe I couldn’t make it. My progress was so slow, and I was days in either direction from any way back to civilization. I’d felt so strong at the end of the last section, which had higher peaks and passes, but I didn’t feel strong now. I felt very weak. Even on flat ground my legs felt like Jello, like I might collapse at any moment. I wondered if this is what the dehydrated hiker felt like before he collapsed back at the Whitewater Preserve. I wondered what would happen if I collapsed. I hadn’t seen any other hikers since the afternoon the day before. Who would be there to help me? My heart started racing, even when I was stopped, and I could start to feel the onset of a panic attack.

I stopped for a while and calmed myself as I tried to slow my breathing. I reminded myself that I still had 5 days of food left, and I was ahead of schedule, so even if I needed to take it slow I would be alright. I was able to ground myself watching the leaves of the Aspen trees in the valleys blow in the breeze. When the sun hit them just right they almost shimmered. I counted the numerous shades of green that I saw and admired the towering peaks above me, and after a while I felt much better and was able to keep moving. There was something comforting about the valleys. The passes felt inhospitable; I always felt like once I was above the treeline it was a race to get back down. But the valleys felt safe and inviting. They felt like places I could actually live.

I ran into Ghost as I started up the next pass, Muir Pass. Somehow, on one of the most famous sections of one of the most famous trails in the world, he was the first person I’d seen all day. I’m not even sure how it is possible to not see anyone on the PCT/JMT in either direction in prime season, but it might be a testament to just how deep into the mountains I was. It felt incredible to feel alone in such a stunning place, but also slightly unnerving. Ghost said that he was wiped out from the descent from Mather and would be camping lower in the valley. As beautiful as it was, it was still early in the afternoon and I was feeling better, so I continued on. I finally made camp at a great spot just below the treeline. A line from The Chicks’ song “Wide Open Spaces” came to mind; “I want to be the only one for miles and miles,” and for once I felt like I actually might be.

June 12th – Day 61

Muir Pass is usually considered one of the most difficult passes on the PCT, as it has a reputation for having miles of snow covered trail in either direction late into the season. As I suspected, the miles of snow covered trail did not materialize in this shockingly low snow year, but there were significant patches of snow, and as I climbed towards the pass it did feel like late spring conditions. All vegetation disappeared entirely, leaving only rock, snow, and partially frozen lakes.

At the top of the pass was Muir Hut, a shelter built by the Sierra Club in the 1930’s. I was surprised by how nice of a shelter it was. I was also surprised to see no vegetation on the back side of Muir Pass, either. Looking at my map, I could see that the descent down Muir Pass would be very long and gradual. I started down feeling much better than I had the days before, with a renewed commitment to be kind to myself on this difficult section of trail.

The descent really was gradual. It took nearly six miles to get below the treeline from the top of the pass, and then another almost fourteen miles to get to the lowest point of the canyon. After days of a cold snap, the weather was finally warming, and while it made the evenings and early mornings more pleasant also meant that the mosquitos were back out in full force. I had to choose my break locations carefully so as to avoid becoming a mosquito buffet.

I admired the aspen trees as I headed down the long valley and made good time on my to the base of the descent. I also started passing hikers, finally feeling like it was more than just me on trail. By the time I’d reached the low point of the trail it was HOT. I had a significant climb ahead of me, so I decided to push on to break up the climb I’d need to do the next day. I headed up switchbacks with views of the Western Sierra, an area unfamiliar to me. I admired the views sparingly, as I constantly had to run from mosquitos.

Soon I was less than a mile away from where I’d planned to camp. It was almost 8, so I powered ahead. I almost walked right by a couple familiar tents until I heard Pez say “Fire Ant?” from one of them. I’d managed to catch the group. Pez told me I’d must have had a very long day. I counted it out and realized I had done nearly 26 miles. Not bad for a day including one of the most difficult passes of this section. I abandoned my planned campsite and camped with Pez and Baby Bigfoot instead.

June 13th – Day 62

It was my two month anniversary on trail! I made good time in the morning towards Seldon Pass, the pass of the day. There were some beautiful lakes on the way up, but I couldn’t stop there because the mosquitos were vicious that morning. The view from the top of Seldon Pass was incredible, and it felt good to be able to get up the comparably lower pass (11,000 ft) without struggling as much. As I’d expected, snow was not an issue at all.

I spent most of the day doing my best to avoid mosquitos. The trick was to find somewhere mosquito free and away from others. The more people in one spot, the greater the chance that the mosquitos would “discover” the spot and swarm everyone there. While I did have bug spray that provided some protection, it definitely wasn’t perfect, so I generally opted to try to keep moving to avoid them. It was another hot day as I headed back down into a valley and then back up towards Silver Pass.

As I approached my planned campsite for the night at a lake near Silver Pass I saw Poppy in front of me stopped on the trail. As I got closer I could see that she was holder her head. When she took her hand away I couldn’t hide my gasp of horror – she’d tripped and cut her forehead on a rock, and her face was covered in blood. I helped her wash out the cut and got her a disinfectant wipe to clean the area. Pez got gauze and Leuko tape to cover the gash. Once it was clean, it was clear that she had a pretty deep cut about an inch and a half long that went directly though her eyebrow. The area was very swollen, so it was difficult to tell, but I didn’t think it looked like she had a gap in her eyebrow at all. We wrapped up the wound, gave her some pain killers, and kept an eye on her for signs of a concussion. She did nearly throw up, which had us worried, but she assured us she otherwise felt fine. We went to bed early as Poppy hoped to get to Mammoth as early as possible the next day for medical attention.

June 14th – Day 63

Poppy felt better in the morning but I gave her more painkillers anyway. She had a black eye, and her gash had bled a little in the night, but it was manageable. She took off in the morning hoping to get out at the first exit point to get stitches. At the very least we hoped that the doctor might be able to minimize the scarring. I was over Silver Pass quickly and then headed down. The mosquitos were terrible again, but I tried to put it out of my mind as I headed towards Mammoth. I’d get to see my parents that day, who were heading up in their camper for a few days. I was very excited to see them and spend some time in Mammoth.

As I continued my hike I used my satellite messenger to text my parents to tell them when and where to pick me up. They mentioned that they weren’t bringing the camper and would actually just be getting a hotel room. After the week I’d had, my emotions were heightened, and I was unreasonably disappointed about this. I can get a hotel room in any town, and I’d been so looking forward to having a beautiful spot in a campground. In a hotel, you have to be indoors to rest, and I was craving the ability to rest outside at a picnic table in the beautiful weather. I’d been looking forward to grilling and having a fridge full of food at my disposal, and even seeing my parents’ dog. I’d been talking about it all week, and Pez had even asked to camp at our campsite for a night because I’d hyped it up so much. I tried not to be too upset, but I had a sinking feeling that they’d gotten the hotel because it was what they thought I wanted. My dad hates hotel rooms after decades working as an airline pilot, so I didn’t think he’d chose to stay in one over a camper. I’d liked the idea that maybe my parents were taking a vacation that would happen to overlap with my time in Mammoth rather than come to Mammoth for me only. Seeing that they’d gotten a hotel room for me made me feel guilty, and I spent the rest of the day ruminating on all of the ways that my decision to do this hike inconvenienced other people. Despite the nice views, it was a pretty low day.

I finally felt so bad that I stopped to take a break to cry. I noticed that near me was a large, flat rock in the sun. The wind had also picked up, which kept the mosquitos away. It was probably the best break spot I’d seen in a while, so I took a nap in the shade to try to feel better. I still felt a little down after my nap, but the calm spot definitely left me more at peace.

I passed the 900 mile mark and took a quick picture. Only 1750 miles to go! And while that number does still seem like a lot, for the first time I felt like I was making real progress towards Canada. I continued on to a side trail that would take me to the town of Mammoth. On the way I passed a couple on a day hike who were so impressed with my PCT journey that they offered to let me stay with them. I thanked them, but told them I already had a place to stay. When I got to the trailhead and saw my parents there was another set of PCT parents meeting their son there. It was kind of cute to see all of the reunions, and I was very glad to see my family.

When I got to the hotel I realized I was in worse shape than I’d thought. This section had been so challenging that I was too exhausted to reapply sunscreen on my breaks; all I could do was sit there and try to regain energy to walk. As a result, I was sunburned and I had severely chapped lips. I was also very dehydrated because my Sawyer filter was slow and it took a lot of effort to filter water, and I had hardly eaten anything all day in my rush to get into town. I sat in a chair for a while before I got the strength to start to shower and put myself back together.

I was glad to be in a hotel to watch “The Bachelorette”, a guilty pleasure of mine, although this episode was a rather awkward one to watch with my parents. When I tried to go to bed in the evening I had a startling realization that I was more comfortable sleeping outside. The room was too hot, the alarm clock lights too bright, the walls were too thin and I could hear the family in the room next to us clearly. After hours awake, I briefly considered taking my sleeping pad and quilt and sleeping in the bed of my Dad’s truck, but I eventually managed to fall asleep.

June 15th – Day 64

I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but I hadn’t yet gotten my second dose of the covid vaccine. I was able to get the first dose only a few days before I left for the trail, but I’d never been able to get an appointment for the second dose in a trail town. I was finally able to get an appointment in Mammoth, so I headed to the RiteAid to get the vaccine. I was embarrassed that it had been so long since my first dose, but the pharmacist assured me it was fine. I was a little worried about the side effects, but it needed to be done. Afterwards I did some laundry and drove to a beautiful viewpoint with my parents.

By the evening I was starting to feel feverish. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner but I could hardly eat anything. That night I slept worse than I ever had on trail. I was way too hot and couldn’t cool down, slipping in out out of sleep every hour all night. I was so miserable. I hadn’t gotten sick in maybe three years, and I’d forgotten what it felt like. I tried to tell myself that this is what was supposed to happen, and that my body was producing a strong immune response, but I just felt so terrible.

June 16th – Day 65

I spent most of the day in bed waiting for my fever to break. Finally by the late afternoon I started to feel better, so I went to a gear store to get a new water filter, went to a grocery store to get my resupply for the next section, and then headed to a tavern for a great dinner. I decided that I would be well enough to leave the next day, so I packed up my stuff and prepared to leave in the morning. Covid vaccine side effects aside, I’d had a nice time in Mammoth. The food especially was incredible.

Despite all of the challenges, this really was a beautiful section. It took blood, sweat, and tears, but I am proud of myself. I only have three days to go to my next resupply point in Tuolumne Meadows, so I’m looking forward to a shorter food carry after two very long ones. I’m also excited to explore the Eastern side of Yosemite, which I haven’t been to yet. Here’s to hoping my more protein packed resupply will keep my feeling strong this section.

Until next time,

Megan “Fire Ant” Spencer