Day 63, June 19: Mile 856 to 875/Into VVR
Start: Mile 855.9
End: Vermillion Valley Resort - Mile 874.5
Miles: 18.6 (Total miles: 26.7)
Ascent: 4365 | Descent: 2444
It was hard to get out of my warm quilt again, and I got a little later start hiking than usual, around 6:30am. Squirrel Daddy said he would start hiking at 5am to make it to VVR (Vermillion Valley Resort) that evening, but he didn’t end up leaving until after me. I was pretty set on not making it to VVR today, and was planning to go in first thing tomorrow morning.
The day started with a short rolling descent before starting another long climb. I was freezing while hiking, even in my puffy, and was moving very quickly to try to get warm. I was ascending through a pretty pine forest.
After a bit, I saw Erick and Manon on the side of the trail, enjoying breakfast in a patch of sun. They were also chatting with an older hiker named Red Panda, who I learned will be hiking his birthday miles (I think he said 56) sometime in Oregon, in one day. Impressive! I also got a kick out of how Erick and Manon have an entire half size bear canister filled straight up with oats. I have learned on this trail that Dutch people (and Germans too, apparently) generally love oats and eat them everyday.
I was cold so I kept hiking on after chatting for a bit. The climb through the pines continued. I felt sort of out of it and don’t remember too many details, but I eventually made it up towards some beautiful lakes, including Heart Lake. I saw the first water striders that I’ve seen on trail. I love them, with their funny little shadows where you can see the surface tension bubbles around each of their legs.
Pretty soon, I made it up to Selden Pass, and Rookie and Red Panda were having a break up there. I sat down and joined them, and learned Squirrel Daddy had just flown by in his quest to make it to VVR by the end of the day. I also learned that Rookie was trying to make it there as well, which amused me because he was sitting and having a leisurely break, cooking food on top of the pass. I poked fun at him, asking if he didn’t need to keep hiking on?
I continued down the north side of the pass towards yet more beautiful dark blue alpine lakes. Selden has definitely been the easiest pass, and I was grateful for the lack of snow or route finding. I put in an audiobook and zoned out a bit.
I passed by more pines, more rivers, more beautiful granite rocky faces. At one point, there was another knee-deep river crossing. I decided to take my shoes off and cross in my sandals so I wouldn’t be dealing with wet shoes again. The crossing went smoothly, and Lucky Charm, Zippo, and Rookie were hanging out in the sun on the other side. Rookie took off soon after I got there but I hung out and chatted with LC and Zippo for a bit.
We kept hiking on and I was pretty zoned out listening to my audiobook. The flora changed from dark foresty greens and browns to bright green aspens and bushes. I swore at one point that I smelled the barbecue cooking at VVR, but it might have been a small forest fire.
After a short but tough climb, I came to the junction where Squirrel Daddy, Rookie and others had turned off of to get down to VVR. My plan was to keep hiking past this first junction and get to the second one, but I sat at the first junction for 30 minutes, trying to decide what I was going to. I was too late to catch the shuttle that would save me 2.5 miles, but I could still hike the whole 7 miles and make it in time for dinner. The temptation of hot dinner and beer was indeed very tempting.
Lucky Charm and Zippo showed up at the junction and I told them my dilemma. They weren’t planning on going to VVR at all, but once we talked about how good it would be to have a hot meal and a beer, we all immediately convinced each other we needed to hike down. It didn’t take much after all to persuade each other.
So we set off. It was getting late and we needed to get down no later than 7:30pm as they stopped serving dinner at 8, so I started run-hiking as fast as I could with my pack. Luckily it was mostly all downhill, and I was enjoying the movement.
At the bottom of the trail, we hit the 2.5 mile stretch of road. Zippo had caught up to me by then, and we power hiked this section. The last half mile to VVR was downhill, and I was running quickly, excited by the imminent taste of town food and beer on my mind.
Then I saw it! The sign for VVR! I ran, yelling with joy, and saw all my friends playing ping pong out front. They stared at me, not believing what they saw, as I had said with no shadow of doubt that I would get to VVR the following morning. They then greeted me excitedly and pointed me towards the store where I could order food and get my free beer (first one’s free for PCT hikers!). The menu had two options- beef fajitas plate and a veggie burrito bowl. I ordered the beef option and it came out quickly. It was so delicious- perfectly cooked and flavorful meat wrapped up in a huge quesadilla. I downed the fajitas and packed the remaining beans and rice into a ziploc for a burrito tomorrow.
After chowing down, I went outside to hang out with my friends. Cathole, Squirrel Daddy, Gus and I played corn hole and SD and I won in a close game! After that, I set up my tent, drank some beers by the campfire, and laughed and chatted with my friends. Once I finally crawled into my tent, I was exhausted and happy. I ended up doing slightly longer than a marathon for the day, all motivated by food and beer, and it was very, very much worth it.