As I said in my previous post, goodbyes are painful out here and the day I parted with Brian it was rainy, cold, and miserable. It was a sad day. I resisted getting out of my tent the next morning because it was still raining, but eventually I did and prepared myself for a day of hiking in the rain again. That day ended up being so incredibly beautiful, one of the most beautiful days hiking I’ve had on the PCT. The forest comes alive when it rains, birds stay out all day because it was like the morning never faded away. Clouds majestically rested on mountain tops, feeding distant waterfalls and lakes while all the plants were covered in dew. Hiking in the rain isn’t so bad! Getting out of my tent and sucking up my complaints was a good decision and I had a great day hiking. One of the many lessons on the trail.
I hiked into Tuolumne Meadows which was gorgeous. There is so much water here in the Sierra’s, rivers flowing all over the place. Tuolumne River was one of the most beautiful of them all. Deep, lazy, and blue-green. I couldn’t resist jumping into its freezing cold waters! After some food and phone calls I hit the trail again for the final stretch to Sonora Pass. I was very excited to reach this destination because my friend Julie and her parents will be picking me up so we can celebrate 4th of July in Bridgeport! Which is something I had done many times as a kid, so this outing really got me motivated. I love having something to look forward to, it helps me a lot! My parents will be coming to see me in about 2 weeks also. It is sad to think that I only have 2 weeks left in the Sierra’s. Next is a bland spot in Northern California before I get to the Cascades!

This past section on the trail was different than the past month because it was a lot of gradual ups and downs instead of an 11,000 foot pass on a daily basis. It has been a nice break, but still challenging.

As I came up over Sonora Pass I was the only person on the mountain, which is normally no big deal but this time a huge thunder storm was looming overhead as I tried to beat it down the mountain. Didn’t happen, it started pouring rain, thundering, and lightening on an extremely exposed ridge with no tree’s. I was terrified being the tallest thing above 10,000 feet. I prayed aloud to make it down the mountain safely, and I did thankfully. However, down here at the Northern Kennedy Meadows Resort where I am waiting for Julie, I have been told that a woman down here in the valley was actually struck by lightening and killed while I was up on the mountain. Very sad and eye opening.

Well, I am going to enjoy this rest day and sit by the river, Life is good. I am strong!