Brownwood resident Christopher Gaston on Wednesday provided his latest update from the Pacific Crest Trail as he began his fourth month hiking the 2,653-mile trek from Canada to Mexico.
The Facebook update is as follows:
PCT update: Have service after 11 days high up in the mountains. I came into independence for resupply. Today marks the 1st day of my 4th month on trail.
9-12 ~ 9-14 meditation retreat!!!
Retreat Notes: one of my friends saw my hiking shoes which had 1200 miles on them. He said, “you need new shoes. Let’s go get you some new shoes. That day we went to the sport store, and I got new shoes. Multiple times during the event someone would come to me and hand me cash via a handshake. When the event was over, I had exactly enough money to buy the gear I needed for the cold in the Sierra and enough to mail out some things at the post office. Additionally, all my groceries were provided for the next section of the trail.
9-15 drove from Leavenworth to Sacramento and stopped at crater lake on the way down. Got in between 1 & 2 am. Will head back to Yosemite tomorrow and get back on trail Friday.
9-16 awoke around 8. Spent much of the early morning helping my friend pack for her move from Sacramento to near San Francisco. We also made a run to the post office, REI, and the grocery store. I was able to purchase warm gloves and a technical fleece to add layering for warmth at night and in the early mornings. We drove a load of stuff to her new place and then drove to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. We arrived around 1 am. I got to sleep around 1:30 but did not sleep great. No sleep in a car is really ever great.
9-17 awoke at 5 am after about 3.5 hours of sleep and started hiking by 5:30. I hiked about 17 miles in about 12 hours. My whole body is tired and achy as if I had not been on the trail in two weeks and had not slept much. Started to smell smoke about 9. Recent fires in sequoia national park have brought smoke to the Sierras. Had a big 2000 foot climb over Donahue pass which brought me over 11000 feet. Climbed a total of about 3300 feet. At Donahue pass, I crossed over from Yosemite wilderness into Ansel Adams wilderness area. Much of the morning was walking along a clear flowing river whose tributaries flowed down from around Donahue pass. There was frost on most of the meadow grass until maybe 9:30. Went to bed around 7:30. Winds howled all night.
9-18 alarm went off at 5:30. Left camp at 7:30. Hiked through island pass and past the 1000 island lake. Started getting smoky around 9. Both the smell and visibility of the smoke comes and goes depending on the time of day and where I am. It tends to collect in the valleys and low places. Passed a number of nice flowing streams today. Not sure if they were all the same. Took an alternate route to go see the devil’s post pile. Camped in the monument campsite area. Not sure on my exact miles but it was between 18-19. No big climbs today. Lots of small up and down and up and down. Met Sonya from Ilo Ilo in the Philippines. She starts a northward hike to Yosemite tomorrow. She also camped at the monument.
9-19 left camp about 6:30. Passed back by the post pile and took more photos. The day was gorgeous and perfect. I had clear blue skies and light white wispy clouds. There was no smoke all day. I had a bit of service near red meadow resort junction. Took care of a few things. Around lunch time, I came upon a really nice stream in a sunny meadow area. I took a nice nap there and played my guitar a good bit. I camped near the duck lake outlet. Overall the day was low key with fewer overall miles. I hiked about 13 miles and climbed about 3000 feet. I may take two or three more low mileage days.
9-20 decided to do a fuller day today and will do lower mileage days tomorrow and the next day. It was a grry pretty day today. I passed by 10-12 high mountain lakes. I played my guitar on a ridge overlooking one of these lakes. Started with a small ridge that went by purple lake. Then went way down not a wide meadow with a fast moving river. Around noon I started a 1800 foot ascent to silver pass. This area looked very harsh. I had clear blue skies with no clouds and no smoke. There was no shade and the full sun beat down on me a good part of the afternoon. It was a strong double exposure day. While the terrain was harsh, it was still very pretty and had several of these mountain lakes. I crossed the pass and began descending down into a long, steep, and deep valley between two high mountains. It was gorgeous. The aspen trees were starting to turn. I did smell smoke intermittently after crossing the pass and did haze on the distant peaks to the west. I camped at the junction leading to the vermilion valley resort. I plan on 2 neros there. I hiked a total of 17 miles in about 12 hours. I ascended just under 3000 feet and descend over 5000 feet.
9-21 left camp around 6 this morning. I hiked about 6.7 miles to vermilion valley ranch. The hike took me along Edison lake which is mostly dry. It was extremely smoky early on but cleared after noon. I went through a recent heavy burn zone. On my way to the resort, I found a new wide brimmed sun hat with a mesh crown. It looked like it had never been worn. I asked at the resort if anyone had mentioned losing a new hat. No one had. I got a new hat to replace my lost cap. Thought, I do still hope to find that cap as I really loved it. The resort was wonderful. I got fed blueberry pancakes. I caught up with “Lamborghini” a hiker I had met on the third day of hiking. I spent most of the afternoon working with one of the employees in stacking fresh milled wood. In the evening, they fed me pork chops, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, a roll, and thick giblet gravy. I had fruit pie for dessert. It was a feast. I met Dell who is a triple crowner in his 70’s and “Tinman” who is in his 80’s and has hiked the John Muir Trail 14 times and has alpine ice climbed all over the world.
9-22 casual morning, visited more with “Tinman” and ate another slice of fruit pie and monkey bread for breakfast. Helped out again by cleaning and organizing the two hiker boxes. Got my free root beer and was taken by “Tinman” to the bear creek trail head. I got back on trail about 11:30. I wore my new hat today. It kept the sun off my face and neck. The initial section of trail had magnificent rocks with thousands of colors and all of them sparkling with a million sparkles. Afterwards, the trail turned and ran along bear creek most of the way back to the main pct trail. At some point, I lost the trail and wandered about for 45ish minutes. I eventually found the trail, reconnected with the pct and made several more miles until I camped at the rose lake junction. I hiked about 13 miles and not sure on ascents as there is no data off trail. Got to camp a few minutes to 7.
9-23 heard two loud growls/howls about 20 minutes apart. Last one was at midnight. Could have been a bear. I just turned over and went back to sleep. Very cold morning definitely did not want to get out of the sleeping bag. Ended up Staying in the bag until 6. There was frost on the tent and my water bottle had a bit of ice in it. Hiked over seldon pass and down past several lakes. Around noon, I arrived at the Muir Trail Ranch. My friends who work here prepared a huge bucket of food for my next section of the trail. I spent most of the afternoon visiting with them and then joined them for supper of lentil soup, potatoes, avocado, quinoa, and salad. We visited for some time and played a game of Yahtzee. Hiked about 9.4 miles.
9-24. Very challenging day. Heavy pack from a fresh resupply, long miles, and big ascents. Hiked 20.5 miles and climbed just in Nader 5000 feet to an elevation of 11969 feet on Muir pass. Highest elevation so far on the trail. It took just over 12 hours. Left the John Muir wilderness and entered the king’s canyon wilderness and national park. Passed along evolution valley and creek. Passed evolution lake, sapphire lake, and Wanda lake. Wanda lake was absolutely beautiful with clear deep blu waters. I stayed the night at Muir hut on top of the pass. I saw it on the map early this morning and new I wanted to stay in the place built to honor a man who loved creation and who worked passionately to protect, conserve, and preserve it.
9-25 tried to watch the sunrise from Muir pass. But the peaks surrounding were too high. Followed alongside one or more flowing cascade creeks. There were many many falls. Hiked 18 miles and climbed about 2800 feet most of which was in the last great miles of the day. Hiked right at 12 hours. I camped about 1/3 of the way up Mather pass at lake palisades. The last few miles were surrounded by remarkable rock faces. I will tackle the pass early in the morning and also try to get Pinchot pass as well.
9-26 big day. Climbed the remaining distance up Mather pass (@12,094 feet), went down the other side, climbed Pinchot pass(@12,122 feet), went down the other side, and camped at the lowest place between Pinchot and glen pass. I hiked almost 21 miles and climbed about 3500 feet. The rocks going south from Pinchot were remarkable. Passed several small streams. The last river was another long cascading river with tons of wonderful little falls. Noticed quite a bit of red and orange in the ferns as well as quite a bit of yellow in the aspen. Time has no meaning and no demands on the hike. It is easy to lose all track of times, days, and months. Looking at the date, I guess it is the fall season.
9-27 climbed until I got to Rae lake. I took a short break and ate a snack. Rae lake was pristine with turquoise-green, crystal-clear water. It was breathtaking. I then began the steep ascent up glen pass. It was quite windy and chilled me to the core. As I was climbing, I came to a place where the wind stopped all sound dropped away. Only my breath and footsteps could be heard. When I stopped to listen, only silence remained. I had this same encounter in a few places when climbing Mather pass as well. Glen pass was an amazing display of different rocks of differing colors, sizes, and textures. The colors ranged from brilliant whit e to jet black and every possible shade of grey in between. There were tan, beige, yellow, and khaki rocks. An absolutely wonderful display. Glen pass is at an elevation of 11,950. Shorter day today as I only hiked 20.6 miles to the junction of the Kearsarge pass trail. Stopped to setup camp at 3:30. I will head that way tomorrow and go down into Independence.
9-28 very cold night with frost on the tent. I did not want to get out of the sleeping bag. I stayed in until almost 6. I had done a lot the day prior to speed the morning process so that helped. I hiked up and over kearsarge pass. It was at the golden hour when the lighting was perfect for photos. I came over the pass to a large high mountain lake some ways below. I sat and watched the light and wind dancing on the water’s surface for at least an hour. The whole place was amazing. The sky was so clear and blue. The rocks on the pass and distant mountains were all breathtaking. After some time, I came down and got a ride into independence. I only hiked about 10 miles today. I’m not sure how high I climbed but the pass is at 11,791 feet. Today marks the end of my 3rd month on trail. I stayed at Base Camp: Mt. Williamson Motel. I got a hot shower, had laundry done, ate a hot meal, and got a shave. It was wonderful beyond description. The people here are absolute gems and I would recommend this place to everyone.