June 19

907-917

Our final chores were completed in the morning, and then we lingered around town while awaiting the results of a family member’s medical procedure, eating our final meal.

Once we received good news, we attempted our return to trail. Reds meadow road remains closed, but we hoped we could still walk it. As we made our way back to trail we were asked to wait until the road construction workers had completed their work for the day by some of the foremen at the job site. We lingered at the ski lodge at mammoth mountain until it was our time to go.

After a few miles road walk we are back on trail, and we entered the ansel Adams wilderness.

In the evening we camp with a great view of a series of high Sierra peaks and we reflect on the last few weeks on the PCT. Hiking this trail in an above average snow year is a crazy thing. You start hiking in the desert and it is a fairly ordinary backpacking trip, though one with limited water. Then, with a day of transition time, the trail turns into a mountaineering adventure. Yet you are carrying ultralight backpacking gear, and hiking in tennis shoes, instead of being fully kitted out appropriately for mountaineering consitions. Then, as suddenly as the mountaineering trip began it transitions back into a normal backpacking trip. We have whiplash from the sudden changes. Before we left, I told amber that the PCT was relatively easy for a 2600 mile trail. Whoops.