Day 25. Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Mileage: 1010 – 1020.8 (10.8 miles)

Because it was a town day, I woke up extra early and eager to get to Bridgeport. The morning was all uphill en route to Sonora Pass. We accidently went off trail and completed a considerably steeper route for almost 2 miles on some jeep road, which explains why the brutal gradient felt so unlike the PCT’s by and large fair grade.

Sonora Pass was remarkably different from what we have seen so far. Deep brown and red mountains gave the intensity of the Bad Lands, and some of the mountains looked like the muddy drip castles children make on the shore of the beach.

Because this area was starkly absent of trees and greenery, the PCT was visible and it was feasible to predict the trail’s direction with the exposure, which is rare in the Sierras. Some snow remained on sections of the pass, which is of course not unusual to me at this point but it somehow remains shocking to walk through snow in mid-July. Other sections of the terrain were composed of pebbles and sand, which makes every step take extra energy as the foot sinks in an inch.

I could tell that I hadn’t eaten enough in the last few days, because every limb of my body was without its usually energy and force. But the moon was high in the sky and the scenery was inspiring. We had hiked 10.8 miles to Sonora Pass by 11:45 am and bummed around with some motorcyclists and Vocal until we finally got a viable hitch.

Completely out of food and with only green tea in the pack, we hitched 30 miles into Bridgeport, CA with a young Israeli couple for a major resupply for the last leg of the trek. We cruised around town to find the cheapest hotel for the night that could take us. As we waited for The Bridgeport Inn to open, we hit a deli for fruit, guacamole and chips and ate it all like happy vagrants in a parking lot.

Shower! Laundry! Resupply! Pizza! Beer! Bed-y!