Today was a day for meeting friends, both old and new. I even almost met a bear when I woke up in the morning. A Tahoe Rim Trail hiker passed me as I was breaking down my tent (the TRT and PCT coincide for 50 miles or so) and pointed out that a black bear had been rummaging around the forest floor just around the bend. I never spotted it though, and continued my streak of not seeing any bears through the entire trail.
I later crossed paths with another group of hikers, including Ashes, the girl who had warned me that I was starting my ascent of Mt. Whitney a little late in the day. We had lunch at the Barker Pass picnic tables (I have never appreciated the simple comfort of a picnic table as much as I did on the PCT). Passing the spot where I had turned off from Jason and Carly’s thru-hike in 2016 due to severe knee pain, I followed the trail along a series of open ridges and above the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. As I was setting up camp in a washed out basin next to a tiny waterfall, I ran into Pioneer, the hiker from South Africa, and her friend. Eating meals alone was for me the hardest part of doing a thru-hike solo, so I was very glad to cook up some veggie mac&cheese and join them and an older couple for dinner and chat well into the evening.
Russell on the Road 