Day 64: ⛺ @ mile 803.3 - ⛺ @ mile 823.00

Date: 10.06.2018 Miles hiked today: 19.7 miles Total Mileage: Mile 823.00 The night was calm and the wind stopped later in the evening. I got up and could only see blue sky above me. Also Flash gets up and we get ready for our hike today. It's just about 4 miles uphill to Pinchot Pass and about 5 miles downhill again. I haven't seen Joanne and Peter so far. Hopefully they catch up today. Flash is ready to go and I'm leaving just a couple of minutes later. The uphill is nice to hike as the sun starts rising. I run into Flash again half way up and together we hike up the rest. It's really nice that Flash is there because I've passed a couple of other people and now there is now one ahead of me. The last mile or two of a pass are normally covered in snow and the trail disappears. You have to find your own way up between snow fields, lakes and river crossings. The app of the trail helps not to get too far away from the original trail but hiking like that takes much more time and you are constantly checking the app, trying to find the trail or footprints on the snow from previous hikers. The last 0.5 miles are really hard. It's steep uphill and often on snow fields and I haven't eaten yet any breakfast. There is no power in my legs and also the altitude doesn't help! So I quickly have to stopp to eat a bar just infront of the top of the pass! Feeling slightly better I climb the rest. The view is stunning as on all passes. Together with Flash we put on our microspikes and start the downhill hike. There are some river crossings, totally normal for the Sierras, but despite taking my shoes and socks off to cross the river as on the first day, I long ago stopped doing so. Also to look for stones or a log to cross the river with dry shoes takes too much time. It's much easier to just hike through the river with your shoes on. There are many more rivers to cross and to keep you shoes and socks dry is quite a challenge. Sometimes the trail looks more like a creek rather than a trail too! The rivers are mostly very safe to cross. Not like last year where there was such a big snow melt that the river crossings where really though. Today I also passed a river where a girl died last year while trying to cross it. This year it's only a small stream. Down at the valley, from where the uphill hike to the next pass starts we pump into other people. And there is Philly! I was hoping to see her already yesterday as she left Bishop with us. She camped only less than a mile ahead of me! Also there is Mr. Giggles from the US and Hamster and Smiles from Germany. All of them are going to do the next pass, Mather Pass, also today and shortly leave after we arrive there. I normally only do one pass a day and that as early in the morning g as possible. The snow is then still hard and postholing is no issue. It's obviously mich safer and faster in the mornings. But Mather Pass is only 5 uphill miles ahead of us and it's not yet even lunch time! However, while Mather pass is not the tallest pass on the trail, it's one of the most fear-inducing due to the steep headwall on the south side of the pass. One person commented on the mobile app in 2016 "the steep head wall of Mather Pass induced so much fear in me that I lost control of my bodily functions". Let's see how it really looks like, I'm curios now! Flash is hiking it too today and I decide to do so too. We prepared some breakfast-lunch to get energy for the hike and left about 30 to 40 minutes later. I thought I am a rather slow hiker and told Flash not to wait for me. But I passed the German couple and an American couple after about 2 miles, and they left when we just arrived and prepared food! I wasn't that slow then. Just before the pass I also caught up to Mr. Giggles and his friend. I had to get some water and stopped there while they kept on moving on. The trail is snow covered and I have to figure out my way to the pass trail trying to avoid post holing. The snow is already quite soft and it takes a long time to pass snow fields or to hike around them if possible. I once had to turn back to the trail after post holing until my hips and figure out a better way. The last mile up to the pass is very very steep again but it's a nice zick zack trail. I break for a minute and run up the zick zack trail lines until I need a break again. I just cought up with Mr. Giggles and his friend again on top of the pass. We are so bad ass hiking two passes in one day!! I hiked uphill about 1'300 hight meters today. Mr. Giggles and his companion could hardly believe that I caught up with them. They told me they have seeing me running up the pass below them but never thought it's me! I wanted to catch up so I don't have to hike the downhill - which normally is much more covered in snow - on my own. Also because of the pass description saying it's very fear inducing. Specially with that slushy snow it's nicer to have someone to hike with. After hiking two passes I can feel that I am getting tired. The downhill is actually very steep too. And because the trail is covered in snow we make our own trail. I'm happy my mum didn't see how we hiked/climbed the way down! The snow however was holding quite well and post holing was not that much of an issue. It could have been worse. But the trail was covered in snow for a long time and I wished the trail back! After 3 miles it seems like we have left the snow behind. I was looking for a campsite to break and have lunch. Just when I say so I can hear, but not see, Philly's voice. She is hidden behind a rock and a tree having lunch on a rock overseeing Lake Palisade. I join her while Mr. Giggles and his companion are moving on. Philly is planning on hiking on for 4 miles or so before setting camp. Tomorrow, Philly and me both plan to hike as close as possible to Muir Pass but only hike the pass the next morning. Apparently, Muir Pass is still covered in snow for 7 miles and I definitely don't want to hike it in the late morning or afternoon where the snow is soft already. Philly soon leaves but I still need a couple of minutes rest. Its 19.something miles from here to Muir Pass. If I hike 4 miles more today, only 15 miles are left and I am not hiking up to the pass tomorrow. That means that I only have to hike something around 10 miles tomorrow, if I do 4 more miles today. That would be wonderful. A totally relaxed day. Sleeping in, no pass to hike and only a short hiking day. Let's do it. But the last 4 downhill miles are really wearing on me. The views are epic and I stopp often to take a picture or to enjoy or to rest because I'm tired. My feet stumble along and I am really fighting for every mile hiking. Less than 0.5 miles before Philly's camp site I run into Flash again! I decide to stopp here for the night as even 0.5 miles seem far away for me. We make a fire, cook our ramen on it and chat for long after the sun set. It was a very nice evening. Flash wants to hike Muir Pass tomorrow while I for sure sleep in and only hike it the next morning. It has been a long and hard day and as soon as I'm in my sleeping back I fall asleep.