Solitudious TYT 2009 Day 4

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Yes, that's the word I used on the hike to describe this day. What a day it was! We got to spend most of the day above tree line as we traversed along the Sierra crest. The views were phenomenal. I found myself hollering out loud in delight.

We started the morning excited due to the fact that we were meeting a friend at Sorora Pass (todays end point) and he was bringing chips and salsa and some fresh fruit!!! On any multi-day hike it is so wonderful to have something fresh and non-dehydrated. Needless to say, we all had a spring in our step. Today we got rolling around 7AM. I love hiking in the morning, things are so peaceful and quiet.

Tammy and Christy were hard-charging this morning and Easty was hanging back a bit so I hiked solo for about an hour, stopping to take photos and enjoy the silent beauty of the day. We got to meander through more meadows on our way towards Kirkwood Pass.

We all joined back up just as we got above tree line and we could see the trail winding its way up to the pass. I think it is so cool when you can see the trail stretching out before you like a ribbon draped across the landscape.

Once we reached the pass,we could see the PCT continuing along the treeless crest on its way to Sonora Pass nearly 8 miles away. The landscape was such that it seemed we were walking on the surface of the moon and the views spread out before us were awe inspiring. We could see for miles in every direction.

We stopped for a lunch break and were enjoying the views. We were all commenting on how spectacular this particular day was. That's when I said how "Solitudious" I thought it was. Everyone got a good laugh. ( I still think it's a real word or at least it should be!). The landscape, the views and the scale of it all were very humbling.

Soon after lunch we came upon a snow field that we had to cross. It fell away quite steeply and I was wondering how Tammy might do. She just strolled right across it like it was no big deal. I was so proud of her. Easty turned to her and said, "Now you're a thru-hiker." Talking to Tam later about the event she said to me, "I didn't know I was supposed to be scared". Perfect! What a stud.

After getting to spend most of the day above 11,000ft we began the 3 mile descent down to Sonora Pass on Highway 108. A little bit of trivia, this is the highest paved road pass in the Sierra.

Tammy and I got to Sonora Pass to find Christy relaxing in the shade reading a book while Easty was doing a little reconnoitering (man, that's a fun word). Within minutes Kent showed up with our food drop for the next four days, but more importantly, chips, salsa and fresh peaches! And even more importantly, he was going to take our bear canisters (they are only mandatory in Yosemite). Getting rid of the infernal canister meant my pack would instantly become TWO POUNDS LIGHTER!!! Hooray!!!!! We all hung out at the picnic area, re-sorting and repacking our backpacks and inhaling all the snacks that Kent had brought for us (Many blessings Kent!)

We had a couple more miles of hiking to do in order to find a camp site for the evening so we said fair well to Kent and good riddance to our bear canisters. After about an hour of hiking we found a spot in some trees with room for a couple of shelters. We dropped our packs, set up camp and were all snoring before the sun went down. What a truly glorious, solitudious day!