Day 83 – 13 Jun 19. Nero and Resupply at Sonora Pass and Walking the Impossible

Today 12.1 km (7.5 mi), Total Distance 1648.9 km (1024.6 mi) 4 hours 50 minutes (1310-1800)

I tried to sleep in knowing I had a later start but my body said otherwise and as it got light I was wide awake. I typed my blog which I had not done the previous night and read until it was time to get ready.

Just before 0830 I was packed and headed down to the road and up the road to the pass.

At the pass was a modified box body truck and inside the back I met Casey, the co owner of Sonora Pass Resupply. He immediately offered me a coffee and when it arrived it was in a pint glass an offered with sugar and real milk. He definitely knows hikers. He pulled a table out of the back of the vehicle for me to organise my stuff and handed over my box.

My first priority was to get my electronics charging as for some reason I had used more battery power in the 7 day section than I did on the 10 day section.

Then I sat in the chair he gave me enjoying my coffee and we started talking. He is a hiker and like me prefers to hike solo. He also enjoys exploring routes off trail, something that is much easier to do here with the open forests, meadows and mountains, unlike New Zealand with the thick bush. He knows the PCT route well, having walked most of it in the Sierras and we were able to talk about the tricky bits and the worst of the rivers. He told me about some near misses people had had over the years as well as the circumstances around the two drownings in 2017.

We talked for ages, and had another coffee before I started sorting out my resupply. I was able to get rid of my Bear Can as Casey would ship it for me, for a very reasonable price.

I had been surprised at how low their prices were for all the food, most of it was cheaper than I would pay at a camping store, and because I spent $50 there was no delivery fee. Casey and his wife are definitely not making much profit on this, especially when you consider their time spent sitting waiting for hikers to arrive and then for them to stuff around and charge their electronics. I strongly recommend Sonora Pass Resupply as an option for resupply due to their excellent service and cheap prices.

I had some different food from normal. Some new flavours of Freeze Dry, Dorito and Frito corn chips, a new chocolate bar, a new granola bar and sour Jolly Ranchers which are hard lollies (sweets).
I repackaged everything and put it in my pack. I need to try some new ways of packing it to readjust to the freedom of no Bear Can. Despite having around 7 days food I was able to fit everything in the pack, including my tent and it looked small again. The only thing outside is my corn chips so they don’t get squished.

My camera and power bank had still not charged and Casey was great and said he was willing to wait. This is despite having no resupplies for a couple of days and planning to head home for a break. He got me another coffee and even cooked me an egg and sausage burger which tasted great. He refused any extra money for the coffee or burger saying he enjoyed occasionally doing Trail Angel things.

As I waited for my electronics to finish charging we talked about hiking, life and politics in USA and even religion. He also talked about his past and why he started doing this business. The time passed really quickly.

Once my camera batteries had charged I finished packing and he was able to head home. I felt bad for delaying his return home but relieved I managed to get my phone and camera batteries charged as well as a little extra into my power banks. Because the navigation has been tricky I have been using the GPS on my phone with the Guthooks app a lot to keep on the right route.

While we were sitting there we had watched people do stupid things in their efforts to get photos of the Sonora Pass signs. I was surprised there were no accidents as people stopped on the brow of the hill just around a blind corner. It was a very popular spot. Several people came up and talked to us about the PCT.

I had one older man tell me that the next section climbing the hill was impossible. He said he was a ranger and knew the area and that the snow was too steep and dangerous to be able to traverse. He came back 10 minutes later with a photo of the mountain showing me the route and the spots I would not be able to pass. I just kept telling him thanks for the advice but I would assess it when I got there. Casey seemed quietly amused and at one stage did tell the guy that I had already covered some pretty tricky terrain.

I was just after 1300 when I departed. Just before I left Casey gave some advise on the trail ahead which was practical and useful, unlike Mr “it is impossible”.

I headed back down the road to the picnic area road and up to where I left the trail yesterday then headed up a now patch to the trail which was clear of snow, for a few hundred meters. Then it was largely snow as I made my way up to the mountain.

Once I got higher it was an even mix of snow and dirt, with the snow being on steep slopes but nothing worse than I had already done. There were footprints a day or two old which gave a bit of a base to make kicking steps easier.

The snow was in great condition and as long as I did my stamp, half weight, pause, full weight, I found it very stable. There were a couple of patches which were a bit firmer so I put my crampons on and did the same technique. I never felt scared and never felt unstable, which I can not say for the last section.

The terrain was pretty neat, jagged pillars of rocks rising up like monsters teeth and snowy mountains. I was loving it and glad I had not let someone else’s opinion of what was impossible affect me, even though he was a Ranger, Park Ranger not Army Ranger.

The final bit to get through the gap to the other side was a steep patch of snow I had to kick steps in to get up which I laughed at – the trail making me work for every pass.

Once over the other side it was in the snow across the side of hill. It was a little steep in places but generally a much more gentle slope to traverse. Then it eased off and I was not having to think about my steps anymore.

I dropped across the hill down to a saddle then had a fun steep bit to run down before following a river down the valley. I was enjoying weaving between the trees again. It was solid snow and I made good time.

At 1730 I filled up with water for camp and just before 1800 started looking for a campsite, finding one shortly afterwards.

My night routine is a little different now I don’t have a Bear Can. Once my tent was up and I had emptied my pack contents into it I grabbed my rock bag and cord and looked for a suitable place for my food bag to hang. None of the trees had long branches but I did find one with a sturdy branch quite high, but within reach of my throwing ability. I am good at a lot of physical tasks but throwing is something I have always been bad at.

It took me several attempts to get my rock bag over the branch. I was surprised how far off some of my attempts were and had to unhook the rock bag each time so I could recover the cord. I had the far end of the cord attached to my belt so I wouldn’t loose everything if I stuffed up.

Once the cord was up I clipped the two ends together with a caribiner and went back to my tent. I had dinner and desert (a Babe Ruth chocolate bar) and then gathered all of my food into my food bag. I then went back to where I had the cord ready, clipped my food bag to the carabiner attached to one end of the string, clipped the cord on the other side through the carabiner and pulled the bag up as far as it would go. I then tied a stick to the cord (using a clove hitch) as high as I could reach and slowly released the cord. This resulted in my bag hanging my height below the branch, but well above the ground. It was probably 3 meters off the ground. It should be higher but I was pretty happy with my first ever Bear Bag hang. I had watched this on a You Tube video so was happy I remembered how to do it and that it worked.

This is called the PCT method of hanging a bear bag. The other method is to tie the cord to a tree, which a bear can break, or to use two trees and get the bag to hang between, but this is more complicated and I will have to watch a video again as I cannot remember how to doo it.

I miss not snacking while I read but prefer to have the bag hung early, before I settle down for the night.

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