July 12th, 2020
Mile 0 to Mile 11.4
The first real day on the PCT!!! Woop woop! We slept in a little this morning (if setting a 7am alarm counts as sleeping in) and started our ascent away from Canada. We spent some time at the border to take pics with the monument and sign the trail registry.
The first few miles today were pretty rough because it had sprinkled and little last night and was misting a bit today so all the brush was soaking wet. And because the trail was so overgrown we got drenched. It was like going through a human car wash.
It was fun though because we passed three different groups of PCT hikers all going to tag the border. We stopped to trade information about the trail and ask about their trips. I’m hoping to see more people, especially after Matt leaves me tomorrow.
We had a shorter day today which was nice, and the miles seemed to come a lot faster than yesterday. I was shocked by how much snow had melted in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, Matt and I had to cross snowfield after snowfield north of Woody Pass and today there was almost no snow on that part of the trail.
We decided to go over Rock Pass tomorrow for three reasons: more snow has melted, we’ll be climbing up which is easier than going down, and another group told us about a snow free section to take to avoid the cornice. Plus, the alternate route we were considering is apparently a mess. Some other hikers that took it on the way in said they lost the trail multiple times and it was full of blow downs.
Tonight Matt and I are camped at the closest campsite to Rock Pass so we can cross it first thing in the morning. Because we got to camp so early we had time to enjoy dinner (ramen) and hang our bear bag with no stress. I’m charging up all my devices and pretty soon will be heading to bed in preparation for our early start tomorrow.
