PCT SOBO DAY 85 – Selden Pass
7th October 2016
Campsite - Sallie Keyes lake
9.5 miles
1993ft up 890ft down
I was so toasty last night. My hot water lasted until about 1 am then I removed it from my sleeping bag, but it was much warmer than it has been, my water didn't freeze and I even slept with my head out of my sleeping bag for a bit!
I woke naturally at 6 and everything was warm and dry. I stayed lying down and I read a bit of my book until 8am. No need to rush today. I only have about 10 miles to do to let Catwater catch up. The sun hit my tent and I packed up and got going around 9am. Pure luxury! Although my tent poles broke some more, now the elastic holding the poles together broke so it's now being held together with a wing and a prayer!
The trail climbed for 7 miles up to Selden Pass. It was a little cloudy but still warm. Perfect hiking weather. I took my time. Looked around. Enjoying the easy creek crossings. Saw another discarded shoe. Weird.
Stopped at Marie Lake for a bit to watch a crow eating something. Then made the final climb up to Selden pass. I stayed up there for a little while until the wind picked up and it got chilly. It's a fairly easy climb up to the pass and so much easier without the snow! It's a beautiful pass too.
On the way down the other side I stopped for a while next to Heart lake, then continued on to Sallie Keyes lake where I planned to stop so Catwater could catch up as she had to do more miles today to get out of VVR.
I arrived just after 2:30. This is what I had been dreaming about, low miles, time out next to beautiful lakes. I planned to lay in the sun for a couple of hours and relax, but...it's boring! After 10 minutes I'm itching to get going again. Maybe because I'm on my own. It got cold so I set up my tent and reorganised my food. Read a bit. Ate dinner from a bag. Stared out for signs of life other than the angry squirrels.
Then around 5:30 I saw Catwater coming down the trail. She had made good time. She filled me in on the events at VVR. Broken Toe, Whiskey Nikki, Decaf, Melissa, the JMTers and a couple of others were there. Quite the bonfire and beer party!