October 4

Distance: 9.3 miles

Mile marker: 1823.6

Lunch: J – Denver omelet (A), A – corned beef (A+)

Dinner: J&A – Italian sandwich and chicken tenders (A+)

---

We finished the hike out of Bishop Pass and made it to the trailhead by late morning. It was absolutely freezing when we got up, but we trudged on with numb fingers and toes. We slipped on patches of ice, falling a few times. Jason needs a thicker pair of gloves. We both need microspikes, if the passes ahead are similarly icy. The views were mind-blowing though. Totally worth the discomfort and bruises.

Once we had crossed over and descended Bishop Pass, it felt almost like summer again! The last few miles of trail were filled with tourists and locals alike, out to see the summery lakes, fall leaves, and wintery peaks all at once. The popularity of the trail, on a Saturday no less, made it easy to get a ride into town.

In Bishop, we immediately picked up our resupply box and headed to a diner for lunch. We ordered a lot, having hiked many miles looking forward to this warm meal! The waitress saw our packs and understood.

While eating, we looked for a hotel room for the night. Apparently, we got to Bishop during the busiest day of the year. TWO events were scheduled: a car show and some vague autumn thing. What this meant was almost every hotel room in town was booked. And compared to most of the towns we’ve visited from trail, Bishop has a LOT of hotels! We found one room at a Motel 6 for ~$230. Pricey, but we had a place to stay for the night! Unfortunately, at the end of the meal, the person at the Motel 6 called, informing us that they were overbooked and would be canceling our reservation. Scrambling, we found a room at a Super 8 for $276! Has anyone every paid more for a room at a ****** motel? We will definitely be getting our money’s worth with long hot showers and the continental breakfast in the morning, even if it is basic.

After lunch, we went to a gear store in town. Jason got a pair of warmer gloves. We both got microspikes (like studded tires, but for feet) in case we have more snow or ice at some of the future passes, including the high point of the PCT: Forester Pass, over 13,000 ft high!

We checked into our overpriced motel room, got long showers, washed our clothes, dried our gear, and rethought our plan for the next section.

For dinner, we walked to the grocery store and got some prepared foods to gorge. Cheaper than a restaurant per calorie. And, we got some extra food for the next section. We are aiming to complete it in 6.5 days but recognize the snow may slow us down.

We’re back on trail tomorrow and with a new plan to get through the south Sierras. Usually, our plan is as follows: we have a mileage goal for each section determined by taking the total mileage between stops and dividing by the number of days. It’s pretty sophisticated, we know. However, because we’ll be going up and over some high passes (>12,000′), we looked ahead a bit more than usual to find suitable campsites at lower elevations for the upcoming nights. If we just did the usual mileage-divided-by-days plan, it might have us planning to camp atop a pass or push higher mileage than our legs can carry us. With the snow, cold, wind, and exposure, camping at the top isn’t a great idea. And, this section is hard by comparison; the difficulty of a day is often how hilly the trail is (i.e., the ‘ascent’ and ‘descent’ we put in the header of each post). By actually planning our hike in this section, we’re making sure the mileage per day is reasonable considering the altitude and elevation gain during that day, and ensuring our campsites are a bit more comfortable, relatively.