Day 26. Wednesday, July 15, 2009. Mileage: 1020.8 – 1035.2 (14.6 miles)

It is day 26 and I am feeling the ambivalent weight of the PCT trip coming to an end in less than 110 miles. Since we have hit Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite, both stunning and vastly diverse, I feel like I’ve really found my stride. I now sleep better in the tent than I do in the hostel or motels at resupply points. Waking up at midnight to a pack of coyotes howling from a nearby cliff has become less jarring than the hum of an air conditioning unit in a curtained room that conceals the sunrise. And relative to previous sections, the elevation has recently been a bit lower and we have had more time for swimming in the big, quiet lakes that rest in snow-crested mountains.

After a big breakfast at the hotel, Gravy, Dangermouse and I hitched with a Vietnam Vet back to Sonora Pass by noon. Just North of the pass, the gradient was the most enjoyably moderate slope. We went from 9,600 ft to 10,250 ft to 8,100, to 8,600. It began with open terrain and ridge walking alongside scores of colorful wildflowers. At the top of the ridge, I looked up to find about 20 men in a dark camouflage standing together at the summit. It was an alarming and kind of scary sight at first, but it turns out they were British soldiers in the midst of training.

A couple hours in, I was surprised to find myself on uphill switchbacks. Gravy, Danger nor I had the impression that we would be climbing uphill at this particular mile point. Danger, ever energetic, jogged ahead to see if there were any markers nearby. No luck. After some map consultation, I reassured the gang that we were on the PCT and we forged on with minor hesitance. Once we saw the expected marker for Boulder Lake Trail, we were relieved. I think uncertainties about being off trail coalesce in a group and a larger, collective anxiety emerges that makes everyone second guess more intently.

We camped at Boulder Creek, which made for a shorter mileage day than I was mentally planning. Danger had suggested that we stop for the night there, and I’m happy that she got me to snap out of it and slow down. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to do this hike at all but I am angsty over its approaching end.