April 21, Day 22, kilometer 306
Today’s hike, mostly uphill, is considered demanding. In about 5 km we’ll reach the last waterhole for 25 kilometers, which is tricky because the long descent from Jacinto can be quite hot. It means rationing our water supplies carefully, maybe even forgoing our beloved hot coffee tomorrow morning. This morning’s breakfast, btw, consisted of instant mountain cheesecake: open packet, add water, stir, add crumble, and let sit for 10 minutes. Delicious!
This was followed by 11.5 kilometers of hiking through snow – challenging, to say the least! Every time we thought we’d left the snow behind us, another snow-covered slope beckoned ahead. It took hours - just as we’d been warned in an e-mail by Troy, an American hiker we met about two weeks ago who passed through this part of the trail two days earlier: take extreme care between miles 185 and 190; more difficult than anything encountered before! In between, we thought he might have erred - some of the snow had already melted - but in the end his exactitude – as one would expect for an engineer and attorney ;-) - proved extremely helpful. The last two hours we were forced to hike with headlamps. (For which we send a heartfelt thanks to our noble benefactors Silvia and Carlo!) Olli fell down once, bending a trekking pole in the process. Fortunately, it didn't break; we need his poles for the tent.
We had a great encounter with 80-year-old Mel, from Colombia (see pic). As a birthday present to himself, he's hiking the PCT solo. Simply amazing! Tomorrow it's all downhill. We’re thrilled! Slowly heading toward Big Bear ...
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