Day 37, mile 478.1 to 492.9, 14.8 total. Elevation start 3411, end 4670. Total ascent 3514, total descent 2238, average grade 391 feet per mile. Sunny cool, high 61, low 40, dead calm, even on the ridge.
It sure was nice to see the sun again! Today would be a pleasant cool largely uphill hike. This hike was mostly uneventful except for a huge snake I saw!
The top of this mountain range is mostly pine and really tall Manzanita. This is a rare section of the PCT that hasn’t burned in recent years. The story of this day we’re the butterflies. They were everywhere! There is no shortage of butterflies in So. Cal!
Another oddity I’m noticing in this particular ridge top campground is the lack of noise. There are no birds chirping, no crickets, and just a slight breeze stirring across the treetops.
I only have a short time left in this mountain range before descending into the Mojave Desert. There is ANOTHER cold front scheduled to approach within the next few days. It may be in the 60’s for my crossing of the Mojave. It should be well into the 90s during a normal year in May, even approaching 100 degrees. Sometimes it just pays to be lucky!
Tonight’s topic of conversation was about the Sierra Mountains we’re approaching. Word is out that they’re continuing to get hit with snow on s weekly basis. Currently, there is ABSOLUTELY NO resupply for 300+ miles after Kennedy Meadows, and about 1,000 straight miles of deep snow!!!! The resupply towns are either closed or the side trails are completely inaccessible and will remain so for quite a while. So, basically, the Sierra Mountains are currently not hikable to anyone, even mountaineering experts! There is about 200% of normal snowpack at Toulemine Meadows, and that snowpack contains above average moisture content! The 2017 snowpack had slightly below average moisture content. I’m currently planning on “plan B”.
