Day 8: Celebrating 100 Miles

Location: Bear Lake Camp (100.3 miles)

Distance: (12.0 miles)

Achievements: 100 Miles

When I initially talked with Harriet, she said that I would be surprised by the difficulty.  Talking to southbounders, they said they averaged 10 miles a day.  I'm here to confirm that this trail has been rough the past two days.

The PCT is notorious for its climbs.  The hike into Wrightwood is a 16 mile, no water, uphill climb.  There are all the mountain passes where I would spend half the day assending up the pass.  What could the SHT do to compare to that?

Turns out the 12 miles without more than a minute of flat space before more altitude change is really exhausting.

I reached Bear Lake at three, giving me a decent body of water so I can rinse out my clothes.  When I returned, there was another hiker camped with me.

He is from Madison, was a councilor at my children's highschool for a while, and a really nice guy.

Better yet, he chooses to go stoveless so he can carry bourbon instead.  We talked until it was dark.  An awesome day.