Tuesday, July 16, 2024
8 miles – PCT mile 1145-1137
I didn’t go nearly as far as I should have on this day, but sometimes water sources and terrain dictate the day, rather than a mileage goal. It was totally worth hanging out at Five Lakes for a couple of hours to swim.
I woke up and was packed and on trail just after 7am as the sun was starting to peek over the peaks.
I would soon reach the boundary of the Granite Chief Wilderness, one of two wilderness areas I would hike through on this trip. Wilderness areas were first designated by the 1964 Wilderness Act (click this link for more info).
An excerpt from that act: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
No motorized equipment of any kind (chainsaws, ATVs, etc) are allowed in wilderness areas, meaning any trail maintenance has to be done purely by hand.
I hiked on and got to the 5 Lakes Basin early in the afternoon, where I decided it was time to swim. I couldn’t camp right by the lake, but it was worth the .2 mile detour.
Once I was done with my swim I headed back to camp and realized I had only gone 8 miles today, instead of my intended 12-15, which threw me into a momentary panic about mileage. I was faced with a 1000 foot climb out of camp and no water for several miles if I were to continue today. After a campsite mate talked me down from the ledge, I realized I would just have to push mileage a bit more than I wanted the next couple of days to get back on track. I settled in for the evening and prepared for a long day tomorrow.
Mexico to Canada 2023 (and beyond) 