Tag: camping

Day 32: Grover Hot Springs

In the month since I began hiking the PCT, I had not yet taken what is called a “zero” day: a day during which a hiker clocks zero trail miles, usually spent in town getting supplies, resting, and eating copious amounts of restaurant food (the greasier the better). I did take a couple of “nearo” days, hiking only a few miles to get into/out of town, but today would be my first true zero day. I was very much looking forward to it.

Of course, with my friend Kaitlin I should’ve known that lazing around camp in a hammock was not in the cards. Instead we hiked eight miles almost straight up the hot mountainside to Burnside Lake. I jumped straight in with my trekking clothes still on, hoping the cool water would wash away some of the grime and stink they had accumulated over the past week. We later stopped in at the hot springs themselves, which consisted of a large man-made pool of greenish water crowded with bathers. I found a spot near the steps and lowered my sore body into the pool, sinking into a state of bliss interrupted only by the noise of kids shouting and running around the deck. Zero day or non-zero day, it was a day well spent.

Day 31: Wolf Creek Tributary to Ebbet’s Pass

Every year my college friend Kaitlin plans a camping trip for her birthday, and this year the site she picked at Grover Hot Springs just so happened to be not too far off the PCT. I had some extra time to relax in the morning before meeting her and her fiance Scott where the trail crosses Highway 4 at Ebbet’s Pass, so I decided to make the most of it. I enjoyed a hot breakfast of instant oatmeal and tea, a nice break from my standard cliff bar. Taking a leisurely pace through forest that began to look more and more like where I grew up in Lake Tahoe, I passed a couple of small lakes before climbing up to a saddle with some nice views above Noble Lake.

After several days hiking more or less alone on the trail and the physical and emotional challenges of the past week, I was very excited to meet up with an old friend and spend a couple of nights hanging around a fire in an established campground. I got to the rendezvous point an hour early and waited on a rock by the side of the road. When Kaitlin finally pulled in to the trailhead, I jumped in the car and we drove the short distance past the tiny town of Markleeville to the campground. Thruhiking definitely makes you appreciate the small luxuries of potable water, toilets and fire pits, and a real cooked meal. Our friends Carlin and Sara joined the party a couple of hours later. Seeing my old friends really lifted my spirits and we happily shared a few beers while catching up around the campfire.