The top of the Golden Staircase
5-31
Mile 820ish
Another great day in the Sierras! Even though I slept in till 8:30 today, everyday of the PCT seems like it goes on forever. The morning today seems like a week ago. Well, I was last out of camp and did 4 miles to the top of Mather Pass where I met up with all 5 of the group. My compass and map skills have greatly improved up here because it's easier to take some time to get a read, then make a different path instead of following the trail that squiggles and curves and disappears under snow. It's fun to do, makes the hike quicker, and I'm improving my skills for the Continental Divide Trail. There's not much trail on the CDT so you have to be very good at that stuff. On the way down Mather Pass, we did some glisading, or sliding on your butt down the snow. It was very fun and we got some good videos. That wore us out so Team Siesta (Spitfire, Dora and I) took a siesta. We got to hiking along a lake at about 11,000 feet and Spitfire and I decided to jump in. It was cold to say the least. The pictures and video prove it because the other side of the lake is still ice and snow. Very refreshing though. We made our way down after that and hit the top of the Golden Staircase. Going down was amazing, going up would be rough. It's probably something that required a lot of man power and was made back during The Depression. I'm just guessing though. It's very steep switchbacks carved out of the rock. It's an amazing site. The top and going down is probably the best view so far on the PCT. What I should mention is that from Whitney to Yosemite, we are on the John Muir Trail, also PCT. JMT is more popular and gets a lot of revenue and all that stuff, so the trail is very well maintained. So the JMT is basically a part of the PCT. Most, maybe all, JMT hikers go south when there's little to no snow. I have only seen one hiker so far. Now we're camped at another great campsite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail
http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/photo-gallery/2013-photo-contest-winners/ PCTA Photo winners
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir_Trail
Mile 820ish
Another great day in the Sierras! Even though I slept in till 8:30 today, everyday of the PCT seems like it goes on forever. The morning today seems like a week ago. Well, I was last out of camp and did 4 miles to the top of Mather Pass where I met up with all 5 of the group. My compass and map skills have greatly improved up here because it's easier to take some time to get a read, then make a different path instead of following the trail that squiggles and curves and disappears under snow. It's fun to do, makes the hike quicker, and I'm improving my skills for the Continental Divide Trail. There's not much trail on the CDT so you have to be very good at that stuff. On the way down Mather Pass, we did some glisading, or sliding on your butt down the snow. It was very fun and we got some good videos. That wore us out so Team Siesta (Spitfire, Dora and I) took a siesta. We got to hiking along a lake at about 11,000 feet and Spitfire and I decided to jump in. It was cold to say the least. The pictures and video prove it because the other side of the lake is still ice and snow. Very refreshing though. We made our way down after that and hit the top of the Golden Staircase. Going down was amazing, going up would be rough. It's probably something that required a lot of man power and was made back during The Depression. I'm just guessing though. It's very steep switchbacks carved out of the rock. It's an amazing site. The top and going down is probably the best view so far on the PCT. What I should mention is that from Whitney to Yosemite, we are on the John Muir Trail, also PCT. JMT is more popular and gets a lot of revenue and all that stuff, so the trail is very well maintained. So the JMT is basically a part of the PCT. Most, maybe all, JMT hikers go south when there's little to no snow. I have only seen one hiker so far. Now we're camped at another great campsite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail
http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/photo-gallery/2013-photo-contest-winners/ PCTA Photo winners
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir_Trail
There's a reason the trail exists: so that people don't go tramping all over everything. Please stay on the trail when possible.
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