After a final delicious fresh breakfast and plenty of coffee, Carlin and Sara dropped me back at Ebbet’s Pass on their way to San Francisco. I hiked a short way along the narrow highway to the north trailhead and who do I run into but Pioneer and Bubblewrap, the two hikers I had first met on Day 3! I had last seen them over two weeks before at Muir Pass in King’s Canyon. You never know when someone you’ve meet on the trail will suddenly pop up again. Unfortunately I couldn’t stop to hang out as I had a wedding in Tahoe to get to, and I pushed on alone into Mokelumne Wilderness.
The pine and fir forests alternating with open hillsides covered in sagebrush and mule’s ear plants began to look more and more like the mountains around my parents’ house, bringing a strong sense of homecoming to my chest and an idea to my head: the possibility of ending my trek once I got to Tahoe. After all, I had hiked the High Sierra, the section of the PCT I had been most excited to see, and the upcoming Northern California section sounded none too popular among veteran hikers. What could I look forward too now that the most beautiful section of the trail was behind me? I pondered this question as I cooked a bowl of ramen noodles, the light fading among the smooth-barked trees and hardscrabble rocks of camp.
Russell on the Road 