9/12/2023
Section: Milepost 1027.2 to 1003.6
Total Trail Miles: 1933.6
Distance: 23.6 Miles
Moving Time: 10:56 hrs
Elevation Gain: 4797 ft
We made an attempt to get up early this morning but… fell back asleep. The packs are finally feeling lighter but all the up and down at the end of yesterday and the low light that filtered into this river canyon lulled us back to sleep so… we didn’t get started ‘till about 7:15.
The route today takes us up to the edge of Yosemite national park. The stage begins by making a slow ascent up into the cirque of the East Fork of the Carson River and climbing out of it over a saddle on the east side of Sonora Peak. Here the PCT crosses out of the Carson-Iceberg wilderness and into the Stanislaus National forest while rounding south, around Sonora Peak and down to Sonora Pass (Hwy 108). After crossing the pass, the trail picks back up and climbs the north head of a ridge running up to Levitt Peak and passes it on the east side before running southeast and eventually dropping off the ridge and winding into a large cirque draining into the West Fork of the West Walker River. The stage ends on the river near Upper and Lower Lang lake.
Despite the touch-and-go morning we were eventually up and running. Today was day 4 of a continuous stretch of 8 and the packs were starting to feel a bit better. At least, shouldering them didn’t feel like putting another person on your back anymore. We started our slow climb up and out of the river valley, climbing over 2500 feet in the first 5 miles. If we needed any other signs that we were back in the Sierra - this was it. Long, steady climbs that delivered you up over 10,000 feet. This was basically a summit bid day on Mt. Baker back home but instead of leading you to a summit, we were deposited out onto some nondescript saddle on the east shoulder of Sonora peak - a mountain that stood another 1000 or so feet above that!
On the way up, Amanda picked up a trail maintenance helmet visor. We eventually tracked down the guy who had dropped it near the top and returned it to him, which he was very thankful for. At the saddle we relaxed for a while, taking in the views. I could pick the PCT out on the north facing ridge across the pass and pointed it out to Amanda before we continued on. We traversed the shoulder and found ourselves looking at a long descent down to Sonora pass. Begrudgingly, we gave up all the good elevation we had gained and cruised down the south side. The trail was in pretty bad shape in spots, and would have been downright harrowing to traverse in the deep snow. I tried not to think about that as we sank down to Sonora Pass.
At the pass, we stopped at the trailhead parking lot. I finished off my Fritos which made me sad. I’ve never been a fan of Fritos but out here, I’m loving them. They have a recipe on the back that makes my eyes roll into the back of my head every time I take them out of my pack. They call it a Frito pie and it's just basically Fritos, Chili, Sour Cream, and everything else you would have on a table set for a Sunday Football watch party. I’ve gotten a little misty-eyed every time I’ve brought them out and now I have to throw the bag away. Super sad. We relaxed at the vacant parking lot for a bit before making good use of the trash can and toilet. Sonora Pass would typically be where most thru-hikers pop out to the other Kennedy Meadows (Kennedy Meadows North) for resupply. This is a long stretch, made even longer because the store at Tuolumne meadows is closed but we’ve prepped for it and have 4 days more worth of food to get through Yosemite, so we carried on.
We climbed for what seemed like forever out of Sonora Pass. It was only 1000 feet but after the morning’s climb we were a bit taxed. At the top we ran into another group of PCT’rs coming out of Kennedy Meadows North. We talked to them for a bit near the top but eventually carried on. The wind was really whipping and the feel of this area was a bit of a Cascade throw-back with lots of lava rock. We crossed through a very defined saddle which opened onto a large, scree-filled basin with a small lake 4-500 feet below. We circled the top of the basin before climbing a moderate snowfield on the southeastern flanks of Leavitt peak. It’s crazy that snow has survived here into mid-September. A little further on we were delivered to the south end of Leavitt ridge and treated to an amazing view into Yosemite. A solid mass of granite dotted with trees as far as the eye could see. “That’s the park,” I said to Amanda and we smiled at each other, both excited to get into, arguably, the most notable park on the whole trail.
From the ridge we dropped down 2000 feet into Walker Meadows. The sun set on us. It’s doing that pretty much every night now, but eventually we arrived on the banks of the West Fork of the West Walker River where we took a quick peek at the bridge that was supposedly damaged by the harsh 2023 winter. Amanda got to setting up Josh and Maddy’s Kelty while I collected water and got dinner started. There were a couple tents nearby which was nice to see and we chatted for a while as we enjoyed our Peak Refuel dehydrated meals. We stayed up a bit after, looking up at the crystal clear skies and enjoying the stars before crawling into the tent and falling asleep - excited to cross into Yosemite the next day.
