Feeling really SORE day. Day 4. 11 miles. 25,033 steps.

Duck Lake Outlet

Long, long haul uphill from Red's Meadow this morning. Kevin and Bodie joined us for a few hours and then we said our goodbye's. Sad but so nice that we had him as our trail angel for a couple of days. Our packs were heavy again with our bear cans full from our resupply at Red's. Boy, that is a weird experience with resupplies. So happy to get the weight off but the bear can is heavy now. It's like Christmas with all new food.
It was a rather icky walk for a bit as you walk through the remains of the Rainbow Fire, 22 years ago

After a few hours we got through the remains of the fire. Didn't really see anyone on the trail for hours and then came upon 2 hikers. Faith and Transit - they introduced themselves as PCT hikers!  Tried not to be too negative, but, Holy Cow they are a little late in the game. I told them about the Dinsmores (last Trail angels you have in Washington) and to be super careful before leaving their house and making their last trek into Canada. Weather turns quick at that point. I hope they make it.

Hikers continue to amaze me. Everyone is so nice and we are all out there for the same reasons. You never feel alone if you don't want to be. You never feel like you're intruding on anyone's space, even if you have to camp close at times. The weather continues to be a mental challenge.
Kathleen is chatting with a sweet Australian man and his hiking buddy that are camping across from us. It's chilly and we are just below 10,000 ft so they decided to try and make a fire. We all sat around the fire for a bit until we couldn't stay awake. Hiker's Midnight - 9pm.

Today was a challenging day.  We all felt the extra weight of our packs.

If someone wanted to do a Pinecone project, today's hike would be the spot.  We saw every fir, pine tree there is. The Red fir was my favorite. After finishing up our long 5 mile climb out of Red's we went another 5 miles through a beautiful forest with the Mammoth Crest to our North. I could see the backside of Mammoth Mtn., which I've skied down many times.

Good ol' Howard Shecter ( local weather man for the high Sierra's) continues to report a week of showers. I'm prepared for rain, but nothing like this?
Everyone is feeling aches all over today. We despise our bear cans. We talk a lot about massages and pedicures and those chairs you get to sit in when you have a pedicure !
We are camping in a sweet spot that BeeMan told me about near the Duck Lake outlet. I did carry a botabox of Cabernet Sauvignon in my resupply from yesterday so we all had a small cup of wine with dinner. It was heavenly.

Tomorrow is Silver Pass, not supposed to be so bad. But our packs are heavy and our bodies are sore and ache. Love my Aleve.

Tip of the Day. Take your pack cover and make a pouch that all your "stuff" fits in. Then cinch it up, and put it at the bottom of your feet in the tent, voila keeps everything dry.