Day 163: mile 784.3-788.5 + Keasarge
Day 164: accidental zero in Independence, oops
Day 165: mile 788.5-793 + Keasarge
Day 163
I’m so pumped, I had such a great day yesterday, and I get to head into town today! Although, I will say I have been dreading the fact I have to do so many off trail miles to get there. It’s about 8 miles over Kearsarge Pass once I leave the PCT. That means around 16 “extra” miles altogether (you’re welcome for solving that tough math equation for you). Non-trail miles are kind of a big deal out here since we all have enough miles to walk as it is.
The morning started out mostly flat for the first few miles, so that was a nice little warm up before I started my climb. Funny enough the hardest part of my day was before I even got to the pass. There’s a piece of trail just before the turnoff for Kearsarge where you gain 1,000 feet in a mile, I felt it.
To my delight the hike over Kearsarge was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t even mind the fact it wasn’t part of the PCT! I was already scoping out potential campsites for when I made it back over.
The top of the pass was crazy windy, so I didn’t stay long to enjoy the view. It was all downhill from here, so I started jogging. Town food was calling to me! On my way I ran into my friend Lizard who was headed south and about to finish up the trail. It was so fun to see her!
Once to the parking lot I quickly found a ride into Independence. Unfortunately nothing too exciting there, so I settled for a giant sub and checked into the bunks at the Courthouse Motel. Nobody else was there, so I had the whole place to myself! Later I walked down to the taco truck (so good!) and grabbed some beer from the gas station and called it a night.
164
The next day I planned to leave and as usual it took me longer than expected to finish up my chores, which included changing my permit to reflect my flip, so I ended up taking a zero. A guy from France who was hiking the JMT joined me in the bunks the second night. It was nice to have the company.
165
The two of us joined by another hiker all hitched back to the trail the next morning. I made it up and back over Kearsarge and continued on to make my way over Glen Pass to stay the night at Rae Lakes.
The top of Glen was tough, but the view on the other side was amazing! I chatted with a few guys at the top who were out for a couple days, and then made my way down. They said they’d share their whiskey if I found them at camp, but unfortunately I didn’t. I did find a beautiful spot right above the lake.
I enjoyed the sunset and even more than that I enjoyed dinner with my new spoon! My parents were nice enough to send me a new one after my spork incident. I was planning on using a plastic spoon the rest of the trail, but this was so much better. Thanks Mom and Dad! It’s the little things!
Goodnight!
XOXO Green Light