Day 51: Chicken Spring Lake
Date: Thu 6/7
PCT Start Mile: 730.8
PCT End Mile: 750.8
PCT Mileage for Day: 20
Total PCT Mileage: 750.8
The Highlights: snow, Chicken Spring Lake
This morning was so cold… probably the only annoyance with hiking in the Sierras is the very cold mornings. My fingers were so cold, I couldn’t get my fold-out travel toothbrush opened. I decided to save this until later.
As finger numbing as camp tear-down was, we were warming up in no time at all, beginning the day with a 5 mile climb. It wasn’t long until I was back down to my shorts.
We had two climbs today, the first – 5 miles, with an elevation gain of 2,000 ft, climbing to approximately 10,700 ft. The second climbs also gained almost 2,000 ft but was a much more gradual climb at nearly 9 miles long.
Our first snow along the trail.
We ended our day at Chicken Spring Lake, which sits at 11,220 ft. The lake is beautiful, surrounded by towering cliffs, and the freezing cold water was great for soaking our feet.
It was also a day of reunions as we met up with several hikers we hadn’t seen in a long time – several from our original start date hiking bubble, so that was cool.
Though the lake was beautiful, we opted to camp far away from it and closer to the trail, not wanting to wake up to a frozen tent from condensation. After ramen du jour, it was into the sleeping bag. Hoping I will stay nice and toasty in here despite what will probably be a very cold night over 11,000 ft.
