I was told to go take a hike...: Bugs, Mile 1000, and the beginning of the end of the Sierra Nevada

It has been a while since my last post and I have covered a lot of ground since then. I have gotten to the end of the Sierra, it has got hotter and and less scenic, and I took a small break. Because my last post was from Mile 942ish and I am at Mile 1265, I am going to do two posts, so I can tell more stories and upload some more pictures.

My last post ended at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park and that was were I returned to with a small entourage, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece, after taking a few days off in Mammoth with them. My sister and her family hiked with me for a few miles and then left me to continue my hike. That meant for the next three days, I would be hiking with the granite domes, streams, and mosquitoes of Yosemite. It was interesting to see how the Sierra Nevada had changed between Sequoia/King's Canyon and Yosemite. There was still a ton of granite but it was smaller (the domes/mountains reached up hundreds of feet above me instead of thousands), it was hotter, wetter, and had the worst for bugs yet. I had been sleeping in my tent since Mile 800ish. First because of cold nights and then because of mosquitoes, but once I was past Tuolumne Meadows, the mosquitoes started to attack. There was not more taking a breakfast break because within seconds of sitting down a swarm would be all over and around me. This meant learning how to hike and eat (don't try while going uphill because it is hard to breathe and eat at the same time), taking breaks where the wind blew, and hanging out in my tent once I stopped hiking for the day because it was the only safe place. Essentially, it was three miserable days with great scenery and landscape. It was funny though when I crossed over Dorothy Lakes Pass, the official end of Yosemite, and it felt as if the mosquitoes stopped there. There were still a few, but I could actually take a break and not have to be in my tent at the end of the day. The torture had come to an end for the most part and I also crossed the 1000 mile mark!

For all hundred-mile markers, there is no sign saying you passed 300 or 800 miles. Instead there is the number made from rocks, pinecones, sticks, or whatever around to announce your passing of another hundred miles (see picture to understand). I got some Reese's Pieces from another hiker and went another quarter mile to take a break and celebrate by a stream that was close. I felt relieved and so ecstatic that I made it this far. I know Canada is still 1600 miles away but it seems really close.

After leaving Yosemite and completing my 1000th mile (all done in the same day), civilization started to creep back and get closer to the trail. This was how I knew that the Sierra Nevada were coming to an end but in my opinion, some of the best of the Sierra were around a place called Sonora Pass. To get to this pass (which was the only one to give me a little scare), I had to walk about 8 miles along a ridge. It was beautiful because you could see rugged mountains in the distance and look down on streams and lakes, but I had to walk on this ridge that was either a trip and a fall down one side or being blown over by the wind down the other side. This has been one of my favorite places so far.

After the ridge and Sonora Pass, I went over some other smaller passes and ended up in Echo Lake, which is near Lake Tahoe, on July 5th. I had wanted to get to Tahoe for the 4th, so I could see fireworks. As it got closer to that date, I realized that it would not happen, so on the 4th, I was really sad because I was going to have a boring day of hiking with no celebration; however, when I got to Carson pass, 20 miles south of Tahoe, and the Visitor Center there, the volunteers who were working there that day made my day. They provided us PCT hikers with a nice 4th of July lunch of fruit, cheese, hummus, chips, bread, butter, and guacamole (I realized when I ate the guac that I had completely forgot about it and how much I loved it). The volunteers made my day and we listened to some music from another hiker on his ukulele, talked, and had a good time. I wish I could have stayed all day but the trail is always calling and I needed to get to Tahoe. This meant back on the trail so I could be in Echo Lake the next day.

Here are some pictures from this part of the trip. Enjoy!