9/19/2023
Section: Milepost 887.8 to 868
Total Trail Miles: 2069.2
Distance: 19.8 Miles
Moving Time: 9:24 Hrs
Elevation Gain: 4245 ft
Today had a wild finish for a stage with a pretty mundane start. We woke on our gorgeous bench with fabulous views down into the head of Fish Creek valley. The days are getting shorter. I know I've said this before but the change is really starting to become apparent. As we packed up, we managed to punch one of the silly little window’s out of Josh and Maddy’s tent vestibule. The adhesive had been looking bad for a while now but this morning, being a little chilly, it finally gave up the ghost. RIP corny little skylight.
As we got packed up, ate and started our warm-ups the Pika’s took it as a sign to begin their daily screams which echoed off the granite headwalls all around us. We were bathed in the prophetic warning calls of the alpine guardians. After getting caloried and warmed up, we started off.
The stage today begins from the shelf we stopped at the night before and climbs 600 feet to a crest at Silver Pass. From the pass the trail drops 3000 feet in 5 miles, past Silver Pass lake and into the North Fork Mono Creek drainage to Quail Meadows where the North Fork of Mono Creek joins into Mono Creek proper. From Quail Meadows, the trail climbs 2000 feet back up to the crest of Bear Ridge and dumps back down 1200 feet into the Bear Creek drainage which it commits to climbing out of on its way up to Seldon Pass over the next 6 miles. The stage ends on the East side of Marshal Lake, just before Seldon pass.
We started the day by winding up to Silver Pass where we found 3 thru-hikers already sitting on rocks, taking in the trail southwards. They weren’t the most social bunch and didn’t have much to say beyond hello. We kinda got the feeling they mistook us as JMT hikers because we don’t have one of the 4 different model backpacks that are ubiquitous among the PCTrs and, unfortunately, the elitism that sometimes operates just below the surface with some of our fellow hikers seems to get louder on these busier sections of trail. In any case, we left the “more-than-a-hobby” trifecta on the pass discussing whether their ultralight gear was going to be adequate for the impending storm or if they would have to jump out at Bishop and continue on down the pass. That is the nice thing about hiking with 3-season gear - it’s slightly heavier but the shoulder season doesn’t worry you as much.
We descended down to Quail Meadows, taking in the gorgeous North Fork Mono Creek. At the meadows we turned right back uphill and forged on. This is a potential place for PCTrs to pop out but, given most have a bucket sent to Muir Trail Ranch just a day south of us, few decide to come off here. The Sierra is an interesting place because, while there are many sections that feel stark and remote, there are also many places to bail that bring you to a well travelled road in 5-10 miles traveling either east or west.
As we gained the crest of Bear Ridge, we ran into Paper Boat taking a quick break. We stopped and talked to him for a bit before continuing on. Just before we were about to descend again, the “more-than-a-hobby” trifecta passed us. They had gone into Vermillion Valley Ranch to have lunch and gotten back on the trail. We said hi to them as they passed us and kept going.
We dropped off the ridge and down into another river valley before picking our way back up the hill. The up-and-down is really a mood crusher some days. As we climbed up the Mono Creek river valley, we heard thunder in the distance. This wasn’t super odd in the afternoon these days but I always get a little nervous going over a high pass in an electrical storm. We crossed Mono Creek and said hi, again, to the elite couple who had stopped for the night. Shortly after the creek crossing we broke tree-line and the thunder got a whole lot closer. The dimming evening was frequently broken by bright shards of light.
As we approached Seldon pass we stopped to discuss what to do next. The pass was moderately high and there was little-to-no tree cover on it. We’ve been trapped in lightning storms a number of times, one bad one in the Dolomites in 2021 so we were hesitant to go over at the same time as the storm. The tough part was that it was now dark and, looking back, we hadn’t seen a campsite in the last 2-3 miles. As hail started to come down, we found a little drainage off the side of the trail with a decently flat spot and crash-landed there. Amanda hurriedly set-up the tent while I went to get water and boil it.
Just as I got food ready the sky unloaded on us. Lightning struck all around us as we huddled in the Kelty, eating our freeze-dried meals. The ice pellets were so bad they actually bashed out the second little “sky-light” on the tent and we ended up stuffing our food sacks into the hole to try and keep the hail out. At one point, we just started laughing - it was that kind of day towards the end.
Eventually, the lightning and thunder stopped and, with them, the hail went away as well. We stayed put and fell asleep, listening to the slow drops of rain fall from the trees above us onto the bruised and battled tent.
