The Third Time’s the Charm: Beginning the Sierra Nevada Pacific Crest Trail

July 26, 2021

Five years ago, in 2016, we attempted to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Mexico to Canada. While we didn’t finish the entire 2,650-mile path that year, we did complete over 1,800 miles in California and Oregon before stopping after 4 ½ months. Since then we have tried to get back on the trail in California to finish the 300 miles we had remaining in the state. In 2017 we obtained a permit, but couldn’t use it due to flooding. And last year we secured a permit, but wildfires closed the trail.

This year we got a California permit for the third time. Our permit authorized us to trek the full 300-mile distance in 23 stages over 25 days. Given our previous permit attempts, we hoped that this third time would be the charm. While making our final preparations at home, we kept our fingers crossed that we would actually make it onto the trail.

Our initial route (including passes) through the Sierra Nevada Mountains

Out of Breath on Our First Day’s Mountain Pass

On Friday, July 16 we were dropped off by a shuttle at the Onion Valley Parking lot (9,200 feet), located above the town of Independence, California. Soon after we started up the trail toward Kearsarge Pass (11,760 feet).

We had done some conditioning day hikes at altitude in preparation. But now we were each carrying 2-pound, 9-ounce bear canisters filled with five days of food. That extra weight made the ascent to the pass challenging for both of us.  Just a half-mile from the pass, I had to stop and sit on a rock until I could completely catch my breath. After a few minutes, we continued to the top and a proper lunch break.

Feeling better after the break, we continued into Kings Canyon National Park and some welcome downhill trail.

After 7.5 miles from the trailhead, we met the PCT path. We turned north on the trail and climbed up 450 feet in a mile before setting up our camp for the night near a tarn at about 11,200 feet. A short first day and a camp at high elevation would hopefully assist us with our acclimation, as we continued climbing over several high Sierra Nevada Mountain passes in the coming stages. 

Heading Past Our Turnaround Point from Five Years Ago

The Pacific Crest Trail runs concurrently with the John Muir Trail (JMT) for about 180 of the JMT’s 210 total miles. As we began our hike the next day, we passed many JMT hikers going southbound, getting ever so closer to that trail’s terminus at the top of Mount Whitney (14,505 feet). It was fun to have long chats with them, but we soon realized that it slowed our progress down. Going forward, we had to be more selective in our conversations. 

The first PCT / JMT pass of our trek was Glen Pass (11,947 feet). It was a slow, rocky climb to the top and just as steep going down. As we descended, we had a beautiful vista of the Rae Lakes to the north of us. One of our first backpacking trips (in 1996) was a 46-mile loop through these lakes, and we met other hikers completing the same trek.

As we were now hiking over a series of high passes, our goal was to reach the top of each one as early in the day as possible and to camp close to the next one at night. This was to mitigate the risk of getting caught above the tree line during potential afternoon thunderstorms. So we descended from Glen Pass to Woods Creek and its suspension bridge before starting up toward the next day’s summit at Pinchot Pass (named after Gifford Pinchot, the first director of the U.S. Forest Service). 

It was on the climb to Pinchot Pass that we had left the PCT five years ago, due to the swollen creek and river crossings that I was not comfortable crossing. But this year the snow had melted weeks earlier and the water levels were much lower. When we reached the precise point that we turned around, it was just a simple rock-hop across a lightly flowing stream. Going forward, it was an all-new trail for us to the north. 

The lack of snowfall over the winter made for easier water crossings and fewer mosquitoes, but the weather was hot, challenging us on the afternoon climbs. After our afternoon’s ascent, we were happy to reach a campsite about four miles from Pinchot Pass and relax for the night. 

A Beautiful Climb to Pinchot Pass

The next day we climbed about 2,500 feet further to Pinchot Pass (12,139 feet), the tallest on our trek. It was a scenic ascent with colorful mountain and lake views. We stopped often to take in all the beauty as we climbed.

Still not quite used to the altitude, we also took frequent breaks to catch our breath. But we still reached the pass at about 10:30 am.

It began to rain about an hour later. Since we were on the other side of the pass and back in the tree line, we decided to keep moving. The rain stopped a couple of hours later as we began climbing toward Mather Pass (named for Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service).

After we set up camp for the night another rain cell moved through, causing us to retreat into our tent for about 90 minutes. Eventually, we enjoyed our dinner outdoors before retiring for the night. 

Climbing Mather Pass and Encountering Stormy Weather

On the morning of day 4, we were less than three miles from Mather Pass (12,096 feet). With a few days of hiking now under our belts, we made better progress up the rocky and barren switchbacks.

The weather was inclement, with dark clouds to the south of us. However, we had clear skies ahead.

We got over the pass just before 9:00 am.  On the north side was a spectacular view of the Palisade Lakes.

It was a steep descent to the lakes but very scenic.

Keeping one eye on the weather, we joined the Golden Staircase, composed of three miles of rugged stone stairs.

We stopped about two-thirds of the way down the Golden Staircase to eat some lunch. However, it turned out to be a short break because the sky ahead of us was getting darker by the minute. 

As we packed up our lunch to continue down, we began to hear thunder in the distance. Soon it came closer. Then we saw cloud to cloud lightning just as the rain started. The tree line and bushes were just a short distance ahead, so we quickened our pace. We reached vegetation just as it began to rain harder, mixing with hail. After quickly setting up our shelter near some other hikers, we waited out the storm. 

About 45 minutes later the cell had moved through, so we began hiking again. The trail flattened out, and we hiked a little further than planned while we warmed back up. After we completed our day’s distance of 13 miles, we were able to dry out our tent and rainfly in the sun before setting up camp for the night. 

A Respite from the Passes but with a Steep Canyon Climb

The next day was our first without climbing a pass, but we had over 3,000 feet of elevation gain in just 9.7 miles of hiking.

We trekked through the beautiful Le Conte Canyon and along the Middle Fork of the Kings River before beginning a climb toward Muir Pass. The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped often to take breaks and photos.

After hiking up a steep rocky section, we took a lunch break near a huge waterfall.

We arrived at the final camping area below the tree line at about 2:30 pm. It was only two more miles to Muir Pass, but we decided to set up camp early. The weather looked a little iffy, and we were feeling weary and sore from our first few days of hiking. There were just a couple of places to pitch our tent among the rocks. After finding a spot, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Later, other people also stopped to set up camp, and there were eventually seven people clustered in the small area. It was fun to swap trail stories with the others. And it was here that we met a young woman named Brenda. She was hiking the John Muir Trail (on her first backpacking trip) in our direction. We would spend several more nights camping next to her during our time on the JMT.

Climbing to an Iconic Hut and Descending to Scenic Lakes and Evolution Valley

The final pass above 11,500 feet on our trek was Muir Pass (named for John Muir) at 11,973 feet. Even though we were only two miles away, it was still a steep and slow climb the next morning to the iconic hut on top of the pass.

Constructed in 1930, the hut functions as an emergency structure since both sides of the pass have a long approach above the tree line. From our vantage point at the hut, we had one of the most amazing views of our entire trek. Below us were a series of lakes that we spent the next several hours hiking along, as we headed downhill for the remainder of the day.

After passing the lakes, we descended into Evolution Valley.

Along the way, there were a couple of long rock hops across the water, as well as a log crossing. Previously, these types of crossings would have petrified me, but I surprised myself at how well I did on each one. I felt so much improved as a hiker over my experiences of five years ago.

As we set up camp for the night near Evolution Creek, we felt grateful to be on the trail after all of our permit attempts. The five passes we ascended during our 69.1 miles of trekking over six days provided us with so much natural scenery that it was difficult for us to process everything we had seen.

We looked forward to more scenic Sierra Nevada Mountain passes in the coming stages. And we greatly anticipated a break in Mammoth Lakes in just a few days’ time.