Day 46: Yosemite

There is some bad weather forecasted in a few days. I had cell phone service at camp so I spent a few minutes in the morning researching the weather. After talking it through with Sandman, we agreed we felt comfortable enough pushing through the winter storm, but the other two who joined our crew decided to take the opportunity to go back into town to avoid the cold, snowy weather. Smart.

The exit point for them was 22 miles up trail and we first had to go over 2 passes. The first pass of the day was easy, but the second kicked my butt. Man, I was wore out after climbing that one. We took a break at the top of the pass and I took the opportunity to dry out my sleeping bag, which had some condensation on it from the night. The top of the pass was also the entrance to Yosemite National Park, another new park for me. 

The trails in the park are extremely well maintained so the miles came fast and easy in the afternoon. 

Sandman and I arrived first to the area where Wildlife and Slab would try to get a ride to exit. While we were sitting there, a park employee pulled up in a truck and exclaimed, “Are you PCT hikers? It’s your lucky day”. He’d hiked the AT, PCT, and CDT prior and offered to make us a pizza at his cabin and also gave us a sharing size bag of M&Ms. The pizza gave me the necessary fuel to hike another 10 miles to camp. He also offered to give the other two a ride into town. The trail provides yet again. 

We made it to camp before dark and are gearing up for a big day tomorrow. The bad weather is supposed to hit on Friday / Saturday so we want to get in as many miles as possible before the storm. 

Miles: 32.4

Total Miles: 1,174