TD's Peterson passes mile 950 on PCT, climbs up to meet the bears
Emily Peterson of The Dalles has surpassed 950 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. She is beyond the one-third mark of the 2,650-mile trail that stretches from the border of Mexico to Canada. She recently made it to Yosemite National Park.
They hit mile 900 on the PCT on June 29th.
By Tom, Celia and Peggy Peterson
Pacific Crest Trail hiker Emily Peterson, AKA Zombie, has hit a lot of highs and lows during the past 13 days while surpassing the 950-mile marker in the Sierras near Sacramento.
“The rest in Bishop was just what I needed,” the 2017 TDHS grad said. “It’s been so much better than the last stretch.”
Peterson with trail buddy “Crocs” hiked the section between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes between June 23 and June 28th.
And it was hellacious climbing.
On most days the pair were pushing 3,000 feet of elevation gain.
The pair was up and down more than the stock market.
But first, they met up with some four-footed friends.
Peterson ran into a black bear and her two cubs outside Glen Pass.
“I was alone at first,” she said. “And I’m like, Oh my gosh, that's a momma bear and her two cubs.”
Peterson said a second hiker soon joined her in observing the three bears as they bumbled up the hillside.
“It was just a black bear. They’re not as dangerous,” she tried to convince us. “We just chilled and watched them from a safe distance. Oh, and I am seeing so many Pika.”
Peterson and Crocs spent six days covering a little more than 100 miles and climbing seven different passes where the PCT and John Muir Trail converge. Pinchot Pass was at an elevation of 12,127 feet for a high. “That was a slog,” she said.
And Silver Pass was at an elevation of 10,778 feet for a low.
Crocs, Zombie and another hiker using every tool they have to fend off the bloodsuckers.
They are also fighting mosquitos, using nets, DEET and citronella to keep the buggers at bay.
Peterson said she also donned her rain jacket to keep them from poking her through her light shirt.
They encountered, rain, snow, and hail storms during the afternoons of the first three days of the section.
She also discovered her tent, backpack and rain jacket were all water-resistant, not proof.
So a purchase of garbage bags to keep the moisture off was going to be necessary.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “We have these intense climbs and then we drop back down and then hike past all these high mountain lakes.”
They stopped for a dip at Marie Lake after Seldon Pass at 10,913 feet on June 27. They enjoyed washing the dust and dirt off, but not for long as a dunk was about all they could stand due to cold water temperatures.
On June 29th, they took a side trail and caught a hitch into the town of Mammoth Lakes.
The town of Mammoth Lakes also brings a mammoth donut. Are those chocolate bars sticking out of the maple glaze? Well, at least the chocolate chips are providing some balanced nutrition.
She and her group rented a condo at Mammoth Lakes, re-supplied, and did their laundry.
Peterson also found her Bear Canister, which is required for that section of trail, doubled nicely to make margaritas.
On July 1st, they set their sights on Yosemite National Park, reaching it on July 3.
“It’s like Disneyland,” she said, pointing out that they hit the park on one of the busiest weekends of the year. They had to enter a lottery to see if they could get a permit to hike the trail to Half Dome.
Both her hiking buddies lucked out and got a permit. Emily was not so lucky, but enjoyed other trails in the area and the mist of waterfalls.
She said the addition of butter and hot chocolate has been a game-changer for getting enough calories.
“What we’ve been doing (in elevation gain) has been crazy,” she said. “It’s a lot. But I am getting my trail legs back.”
Crocs said she was behind Emily back on June 23rd as they were climbing Kearsarge.
Emily’s bear canister, a plastic, bear-proof cylinder containing all her food, slipped out of the straps and bounced down the steep hill of switchbacks.
Emily said she prayed the can would stop rolling, as its loss would require a return to Bishop for another food re-supply.
But it caught in a rock where they could retrieve it.
Click here to read how Peterson got her trail name, Zombie - Peterson’s hike on the PCT.
Peterson with her replaced treking poles, the first pair broke back in the Mojave Desert, stops for a little lake time in the Sierra Nevada range in California on June 23. That bear canister, the black circle on her pack with the red center, holds all her food in bear country. It can also apparently fall off a pack and bounce down a mountain, possibly leaving its owner high, dry and hungry.
