Day 81: Donner Pass

Date: Sat 7/7

PCT Start Mile: 1137.9

PCT End Mile: 1160.7

PCT Mileage for Day: 22.8

Total PCT Mileage: 1160.7

The Highlights: Tinker Knob, Donner Pass, a reunion, trail magic, Castle Pass, Peter Grub Hut

What a day! So many great things.

Shawn and I set out at 6am, as usual, with 15.5 miles to get to Donner Pass, where we would be reuniting with Squishy!

We hadn’t originally made plans for a reunion because she hadn’t been sure what day she was going to get to Donner Pass originally for her family visit, which was going to determine how long she wanted to spend with them.

However, after arriving at Donner Pass earlier than expected (July 3), she decided to get back on trail on July 7th, which was when we were going to be passing through Donner Pass, so it only made sense to make plans to link up again. Woo hoo!

Our fifteen plus miles to get to the pass included two longer climbs in the first ten miles, again with many sections of waltzing through fields of wildflowers. The hills are alive….

The second of the climbs was 2.7 miles to the top of Tinker Knob. Shawn stopped a bit before the base of this hill to… send a fax… so I kept going, knowing he would eventually catch me up.

I was moving pretty good up the climb though, so was actually hoping he wouldn’t catch me up. Because, you know, I’m so fast. But, this was a pipe dream.

He didn’t catch me until the last half mile of the climb though, so… progress. One day I will wait for him at the top of a climb!!

The hike along the top of Tinker Knob was very windy. The trail continued along a high ridge for quite a ways, a rollercoaster of undulating hills along the ridge.

Somewhere along the ridge/descent we met Thomas. He had started the trail two years ago and took a fall somewhere around the South Lake Tahoe area, injuring his shoulder. He wasn’t able to move the shoulder for 9 months. He had just returned to the trail three days ago, with plans to finally make it to Canada this year. To Canada!

A beautiful, albeit windy, Saturday morning, the descent from Tinker Knob into Donner Pass was full of day hikers and trail runners. A shocking number actually – we had no idea how popular this section of the trail was.

With many rocky scree areas, it also wasn’t a section of trail I’d choose to run, but to each their own. I’m just a stinky thru-hiker, what do I know.

At 12pm, we stumbled off the trail and into civilization, the parking lots around Donner Pass absolutely full of cars from hikers and from some sort of rock crawling event.

The crazy busy sight of the pass today seemed remarkably at odds with the history of the pass, named for a party that became stranded on the east side of the pass in the winter of 1846, many starving to death while others resorted to cannibalism to survive. Of the party of 81 settlers, only 45 survived to reach California. A gruesome tale for how happy and lively the area was today, with families and friends out for hikes in the beautiful weather.

*Not to be confused with Jeffrey Dahmer… though his story also involves cannibalism.*

With Squishy still about 45 minutes out, we made our way to the Donner Ski Ranch so Shawn could claim his free 40, a deal they give to all the PCT hikers. We had heard you could get the beer or a fountain drink, but when we asked if I could get soda instead of beer, the bartender said the deal was only for the beer.

We talked to some hikers later who were merrily offered sodas as a substitute, so I guess I just got the wrong guy. Not to worry because Squishy and her family soon arrived, with… Chick-fil-A!!! Texting with her the previous day, she had told us to place our orders for her to bring to Donner Pass when we met today. It had been a huge push for our hike that morning. So much awesome. Not that we don’t like cold soaked ramens…

*Good beer doesn’t come in 40s. Cheers!*

Full up on chicken sandwiches, nuggets, and cheap beer (Shawn), it was time to hit the trail again. We only planned to hike about 7.5 more miles for the day, so there was no rush and we took it easy, allowing Squishy to get her hiking legs back under her after three full zeros with her family.

The trail climbed up the other side of the pass, around cliffsides filled with rock climbers and more day hikers. One man we passed asked if we had camped last night or were camping tonight. We told him, “both”. He seemed genuinely surprised that we were PCT thru-hikers, saying that most of the thru-hikers he’d met looked more “gaunt” than we did. Well! Excuse us, move aside, fatties on the trail!

After 3.5 miles, we hit the trail intersection with I-80. Hiking through tunnels below the roadways, the trail eventually made its way to the north side of the freeway and we took the short detour to visit the roadside rest stop.

Fatties and all, we wanted to visit the ice cream vending machine that was supposed to be here. And use the toilets, because: never pass up the chance to use a flush toilet.

After taking care of business and enjoying our ice cream, we started back to the trail. But… on our way out, a couple stopped us, “interested in some trail magic?”, they asked. With only another 3.5-ish miles to hike, we still weren’t in much of a hurry so – sure – why not.

They had a cooler of cold sodas, Coronas, and granola bars, a variety box of single serving chip bags, and a big bowl of fresh cherries. So, we sat and enjoyed sodas and more snacks while we chatted with them about the trail.

They had a nephew planning to do the hike next year, so were very excited about this and enjoyed providing trail magic and helping with rides when they could. They were super nice and we enjoyed chatting with them. And eating more, because we definitely aren’t gaunt hikers.

It was around 4:20pm when we finally hit the trail again for our final hike toward camp, a pretty hike that passed over Castle Pass en route to the Peter Grub Hut, a Sierra Club Hut that lies just off the PCT.

While there are several Sierra Club huts scattered through the mountains, I believe this is the only one near the trail, so we thought it’d be a cool place to camp for the night.

Arriving at the hut, there was a big group of Sierra Club volunteers staying for the weekend, beginning preparation for the winter months, the main time of year the huts are used.

After a day of chopping firewood, most of the group had made a 45-minute hike to a lake to swim, but we chatted with those that had stayed behind at the hut, eating our dinners with them and a steadily growing swarm of mosquitos. Still nothing can compare to the section through eastern Yosemite.

*Squishy and some of the Sierra Club volunteers.*

We also talked with some of the PCT hikers that stopped through, some en route to tent sites further up the trail, and others staying for the night.

With the hut full of volunteers, all of the PCT hikers opted to camp nearby and we have a pretty good group of hikers we know here tonight – including Squishy (duh), Rainman (who I mistakenly referred to as Rainmaker in the past couple posts), Thumb, Mouse, and Bang, along with a few others.

Conflicted is also amidst the crew – a very nice guy, he is also a self-described Chatty Cathy, so we handle him best in small doses. “You guys just can’t get rid of me!”, he said when he came into camp tonight. Don’t we know it!

The sunset tonight was epic, but with a mass of mosquitos outside, I was unwilling to leave the confines of our tent, so only captured some of the pretty colors of the sky through the mesh walls. Another awesome day in the books.

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