Direction: Southbound
Trail location: 1724
Cumulative miles hiked 2019/2021: 2368
Cumulative miles hiked 2021: 352
Miles hiked today: 11.9
Elevation: 10513
High/low temp/humidity: 83/49/55
Spinning on the turntable: U2: All that you can’t leave behind: 20th Anniversary
During the past two days we went down into Lee Vining, and then into Mammoth Lakes for a little resupply. I managed to snag three more pairs of socks and quite a few freeze dried meals.
In my down time I worked on a little needle point and laundry.
This morning I wasn’t sad to leave Tuolumne Meadows behind. What a zoo of humanity!
The goal today is to start the climb to Donuhue Pass. The first 9 miles look pretty flat and easy!
It’s nice to actually see a PCT sign! They’re few and far between in Yosemite. Most of the time I’ve just been figuring out what’s coming up on the trail, like Donohue pass, and then following it’s signs.
I couldn’t swing a dead cat without snacking a day hiker upside their head today. Holy cow this is crazy busy. A grandma nearly face planted at my feet and I didn’t even think to move/twitch to help arrest her fall. Luckily she recovered, no thanks to me.
I bumped into a few multi-day backpackers and chatted with them about the upcoming pass. I laughed when one lady told me “It’s gonna suck climbing up with all that cobblestone shit.”
Another hiker told me that the “Cobblestone stairs and loose rock are total bullshit, and the park is adding more stairs!” He was worked up!
Just knowing that others are also annoyed with the cobblestones eases my irritation. I’m not alone in my annoyance!
The deer seem quite acclimated to hikers meandering by on the trail. I notice that the bucks don’t seem to be hanging out with the die or fawns though. Perhaps my sample size is too small.
The climb this afternoon wasn’t too bad. I fortified myself with peanut M&M’s and fresh podcasts. The hikers I passed coming down seemed uniform in their complaints about the trail. I didn’t find it that bad. I thought the cobblestone fiesta last week coming into toluene meadows was a total shit show.
My site tonight is pretty amazing! I’m next to a tiny lake and kind of in the middle of a valley. I truly feel tiny in this landscape. I meandered into this spot around 3PM and was debating continuing on and summiting the pass today when it began to rain. I abandoned my summiting consideration and put up my tent and crawled in.
So the needle lets the fluid out. But what’s with the string? OK google helped me out, but a podiatrist on google says no – too high risk of infection. Thread becomes path for infection to enter. He recommends using a sterile scalpel blade to lance a large hole or slice in blister. It is me or does that blister look small?
The thread allows the fluid to keep draining over a longer period of time than if I were to just poke it with a needle. I left the thread in for about six hours and then pulled it out. I’m pretty aggressive about going after blisters if they’re expanding into new territory. I was using Leuko tape on hot spots but that tape started pulling off good skin. 😣
FYI – the world went to hell in a hand basket. Don’t be in a hurry to rush back.
The bucks stop here!
You said “cobblestone fiesta”. Snorts.
The cobblestones were the worst. As I’ve since learned, it’s all about the non-human pack animals on the trail. I may need to write a book about my serious dislike for the cobblestones.