Day 77,    28.5 miles

Yosemite National Park

At 5:20 am Sweet poked her head in my tent.  She already had her pack on.  She was off to do a 30.  I said I’d try, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

The morning was streams, mosquitoes, muddy meadows, and lakes.  In the afternoon the hike went up over a mountain, down a rock canyon, and over the first of three dreaded river crossings.   These are the high flowing crossings that I had heard scary stories of.  Swollen rivers due to snow runoff, chest high rapids.  Freezing temperatures. Packs getting swept away.  A couple from Germany had to be helicopter rescued when they lost everything.

Almost all the snow is gone now.   The  crossings were all easy peasy.  The last one was suppose to be the worst.  It came up to my waist.  The current was a bit of a challenge, but I made it.  What a relief it wasn’t too scary.

Sweet left me several notes.  One after 25 miles, saying she was going to do 32.  The other to celebrate our half way mark.

Today I saw and heard lots of little birds including chickadees.  I heard frogs at the lakes. I watched a deer eat grass by the little lake I’m camped alone at.  The best thing that happened is I saw two marmots.   One big one ran up the trail towards me then went into a rock hole beside the trail just a few feet from me.

Oh yes!  Today I have hiked 1325 miles of the pct!   That’s half of the total 2,650 miles.