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Day 60
Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 7:30 AM
☀️ 54 °F
Altitude: 9,167 ft
United States Inyo County 36.772628, -118.33963436°46’21” N 118°20’23” W
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Day 51 - zero day at Lone Pine
June 14 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
Part of the fun with this hike is being able to drop in on different towns along the way. Lone Pine is a pretty small town located in the valley by Mt Whitney. I completed all the normal town tasks today of eating, shower, laundry, eating, shopping, resting, and od f course, more eating. 😋
Having a down day was good after the previous two days of hard hiking.Read more
Traveler Soooo picturesque!!!
6/15/25Reply
Traveler I am proud of your choices.
6/15/25Reply
Traveler Now that’s packing!!!
6/15/25Reply
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Day 61
Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 11:02 AM
☀️ 86 °F
Altitude: 3,707 ft
United States Lone Pine 36.608501, -118.05897136°36’31” N 118°3’32” W
Day 52 - back on the trail
June 15 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
A resupply story:
In the desert, this was a pretty straightforward thing. The trail would intersect a road. You would then stick out your thumb and hitch a ride to the nearest town.
In the Sierras, there are no roads nearby. So, for today, a big Thanks to the boy scout troop that gave us a ride from Lone Pine to Independence and also gave us apples and carrots to munch on.

Then a big Thanks to a JMT hiker that goes by Mango who gave us a ride from Independence up the canyon to the trail head. He also gave us some big donuts to enjoy during the ride.

From there, we set out on a nine mile hike over a crazy tall mountain in order to arrive back at the PCT with another 6-7 days' worth of food. During this hike, there were spectacular views with beautiful waterfalls and mountain lakes, but still a significant effort to get back on trail.

With all that, today was a fantastic day. The zero day yesterday is just what I needed. We climbed over that crazy big mountain in almost the same time it took to come down it last Friday. I'm ready for the next few days of adventure.

Side note: The John Muir Trail (JMT) starts at Mt Whitney and overlaps the PCT for the next 160 miles. The JMT is a very popular trail and is hard to get a permit to hike. We are now seeing more hikers on the trail. The JMT hikers are the fresh, cleaner, and sometimes more tired looking ones. 😃

Side note #2: Slider hasn't had the chance to sleep in a real bed since way back in Bear Lake. He is staying in town for an extra day or two to enjoy the comfort. We will be pressing ahead without him for now but expect to continue to cross paths in the future. Tramp and I are still hiking together and make a pretty good team. We hike about the same speed and have a similar approach to things.Read more
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Day 62
Monday, June 16, 2025 at 12:08 AM
🌙 48 °F
Altitude: 10,574 ft
United States 36.803144, -118.40287536°48’11” N 118°24’10” W
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Day 53 - mile 809 Glen and Pichot Passes
June 16 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 48 °F
I haven't done a very good job of taking notes after each day of hiking. Hiking in the Sierras is challenging and we ended up hiking longer hours than usual. What little time was left at the end of the day was spent eating, sleeping, and sometimes chatting with other hikers.

With that excuse, the next few days can all be described as beautiful, breathtaking, amazing, unforgettable. As I'm going through the pictures, they definitely don't capture the grandeur of what I'm seeing at every turn. I can definitely understand why this is such a popular section of trail.

Today we hiked over two mountain passes: Glen pass (11,957 ft) and Pinchot pass (12,127 ft). The wind was really blowing hard at Pinchot pass. I lost my sunglasses when they blew off my head. That was a problem when crossing snow fields later on. It was a spectacular and tiring dayRead more
TravelerA great accomplishment
6/24/25Reply
Traveler I bet it would be a cold one
6/24/25Reply
Traveler Agreed!
6/24/25Reply
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Day 63
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 7:12 AM
☀️ 41 °F
Altitude: 11,109 ft
United States 36.944847, -118.42875536°56’41” N 118°25’44” W
Day 54 - mile 832 Mather Pass
June 17 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 41 °F
Today was Mather pass (11,588 ft). Amazing views from the top and all day for that matter. We saw quite a few deer in the evening. They were very unafraid and came right into our campsite. Another fantastic day.Read more
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Day 64
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 8:02 AM
☀️ 50 °F
Altitude: 10,892 ft
United States 37.172964, -118.69857737°10’23” N 118°41’55” W
Day 55 - mile 851. Muir Pass
June 18 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
The terrain this morning was stunning. I keep saying that each day, but this morning, I was really taken in with the beauty of the mountains, waterfalls, trees, and deer along the trail.

Muir pass was the most challenging so far. There were long snowfields for about two miles on the approach and again on the decent. Postholing is when you step on soft snow and sink into your hips. I've done that a few times on previous passes but even more so today. NOT fun!

We had quite a group join us around our campfire this evening. It is always fun chatting with other hikers. As it turns out, we don't get many opportunities to talk with other hikers during the day.Read more
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Day 66
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 3:49 AM
🌙 39 °F
Altitude: 9,167 ft
United States 37.376883, -118.90217537°22’37” N 118°54’8” W
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Day 56 - mile 876 Seldon pass
June 20 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 39 °F
Another day, another mountain pass along with amazing views at every turn. Today was Seldon pass (10,913 ft). This was the easiest pass so far, mostly because there wasn't much snow on either side.

We had quite a few river and creek crossings today. Some were pretty significant compared with others so far but we're not overly challenging. I've been taking extra effort to keep my shoes dry when possible. The sandals I purchased in Lone Pine have really come in handy.

A muscle or tendon in my front left ankle was really hurting badly when we started off this morning. I think I hurt it when coming down Mather pass two days ago and it has just been getting worse each day. After some painkillers, I was able to proceed ok.Read more
Traveler Uggghhhh.
6/29/25Reply
Traveler Boots or sandals on for that?
6/29/25Reply
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Day 66
Friday, June 20, 2025 at 6:02 AM
☀️ 43 °F
Altitude: 7,612 ft
United States 37.393551, -118.95184837°23’37” N 118°57’7” W
Day 57 - mile 880. Vermilion Valley Ranc
June 20 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F
The trail passes pretty close to a remote 'resort'. It sounded too good to pass by so we decided to take a bit of a detour. To get there, we got up early and started hiking at 5:30am, in order to not miss a ferry. There was a 1.5 mile side trail that took us to where we jumped on the ferry which took us to the resort located on the other side of a reservoir.

Today was a welcome day of rest, especially with the issue with my ankle (which seems to be manageable but hasn't gone away yet). There were lots of hikers at the resort, some I knew but most I didn't.

Side note: over the last three days we have caught up with several people from our bubble before taking off for the reunion. That includes pretty much everyone I did the aquaduct hike with. These are people I didn't expect to see again, so this was a pleasant surprise.Read more
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Day 67
Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 1:13 PM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: 10,377 ft
United States 37.459673, -118.91890637°27’35” N 118°55’8” W
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Day 58 - mile 897 Silver pass
June 21 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
Today, we took the first ferry out of VVR. That was a fun detour, but we were ready to get back on the trail.

The next mountain pass to conquer was Silver pass (10,778 ft). The passes have been getting easier with this one being pretty straightforward. There was very little snow, and the elevation gain was more gradual on the approach. As always, the view from the top was spectacular.

The temperature today was noticeably cooler. That made for great hiking weather during the day. By evening, it was becoming rather cold. There were a couple of river crossings where the cold weather and cold water made for an invigorating experience.Read more
Traveler Beautiful
6/24/25Reply
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Day 68
Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 7:00 AM
⛅ 34 °F
Altitude: 9,892 ft
United States 37.536526, -118.97491337°32’11” N 118°58’30” W
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Day 59 - mile 904 Mammoth Lakes
June 22 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 34 °F
Brrrr, we woke up to temperatures in the teens. This was the coldest day so far on the PCT, and apparently, it is fairly unusual to have this cold of weather in June.

Today is town day. We hiked seven miles on the PCT then 3.5 miles on a side trail to a point where we could catch a ride to Mammoth Lakes. It is definitely time to resupply since our food supplies were depleted. As for me, I'm pretty tired from the last week and can use some rest.Read more
Traveler Wow! Beauuuuuutiful!!!
6/24/25Reply
Traveler Brrrrrr
6/24/25Reply
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Day 68
Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
☀️ 50 °F
Altitude: 7,864 ft
United States Mammoth Lakes 37.647822, -118.97293237°38’52” N 118°58’23” W
Day 60 - zero day
June 22 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
Zero days are great after a tough week of hiking. Mammoth lakes is a fun location with lots of tourists and hikers everywhere. Public transportation is free, so it is easy to get around the town. I took care of all the normal town chores with plenty of extra time to relax.

I haven't mentioned much about my trail name(s). At first, I was going by 'Soaker' because of my enjoying long hot showers or soaking in hot tubs. This caused some confusion since 'soaker' is a trail term for someone who doesn't carry a stove so they cold soak their food (that is not me at all).

Now I'm going by 'Sweet tooth' from my enjoyment of pastries, cookies, and ice cream.

A few days ago, some hikers started calling Luca, my hiking buddy 'Indie', since his hat looks like Indiana Jones. Then they started calling me Sean Connery because of my beard. Hmmm... what do you think?Read more
TravelerI’ve got to go with Sean Connery… but I might be a bit biased! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 How’s your ankle feeling?
6/24/25Reply
TravelerHa - I was going to ask about your name again and I saw this. I like sweet tooth personally! But that Santa beard is looking good and see the Connery resemblance.
7/2/25Reply
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Day 70
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
☀️ 54 °F
Altitude: 9,816 ft
United States Madera County 37.729291, -119.17322437°43’45” N 119°10’24” W
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Day 61 - mile 924
June 24 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
I'm back on the trail again after a needed break. There was a bit of a hiccup when we found a road was closed that caused us to walk a bit further in order to get back on the PCT, but we made it. We found a beautiful spot to call home for the night.Read more
Traveler Who is your furry friend?
6/27/25Reply
TravelerThat was a friendly dog that joined us as we were getting back on the trail.
6/27/25Reply
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Day 71
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 7:59 AM
☀️ 46 °F
Altitude: 8,868 ft
United States Tuolumne County 37.831801, -119.2817637°49’54” N 119°16’54” W
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Day 62 - mile 937. Donohoue pass
June 25 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F
It was a pretty chilly morning when we woke up this morning (below freezing). There was quite a bit of frost and condensation on the tents. Our sleeping bags were also a bit wet where they touched the tent walls. Since we weren't in much of a hurry today, we took the time to dry everything before packing and heading out on the trail.

Today was a shorter hiking day since we are planning on going into Yosemite village tomorrow. We hiked over Donohue pass (11,083 ft) which had spectacular views like most of the other passes. This was a relatively easy pass to conquer since there was very little snow on the trail and there was a gradual climb on the approach.Read more
Traveler Do you have a permit? BTW looks like beautiful days (blue skies) for the beautiful mountains you’re enjoying…
7/2/25Reply
Traveler Did you share?
7/2/25Reply
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Day 72
Thursday, June 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
☀️ 70 °F
Altitude: 3,944 ft
United States Mariposa County 37.720688, -119.6483837°43’14” N 119°38’54” W
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Day 63 - mile 944 Yosemite
June 26 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
Woke up with temperatures below freezing again this morning. That has been more of the norm since we have been in the Sierras.

The PCT passes through the east side of Yosemite national park. We decided to take a detour to see the main part of the park in Yosemite Valley. That was a worthwhile detour since this part of the park is amazing. We hiked some side trails to the base of El Capitan and close to Half Dome. We enjoyed talking with quite a few other PCT hikers we saw in the park.

We saw several deer today and had our first bear sighting (it was a brief sighting, not long enough to get a picture).Read more
Traveler Amazing! Love the water falls!!
6/27/25Reply
Traveler I wish I had climbed half dome when we lived in Cali. Nice pic!
6/27/25Reply
Traveler 😮😃😊!!
6/27/25Reply
Traveler Great pic
7/2/25Reply
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Day 73
Friday, June 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
☀️ 59 °F
Altitude: 8,875 ft
United States Tuolumne County 37.831724, -119.28190437°49’54” N 119°16’55” W
Day 64 - End of an amazing adventure
June 27 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
This may seem like an abrupt end to this fantastic voyage; however, the injury to my left foot over a week ago has been getting progressively worse even with my efforts to pamper it as best I could. The last few days of hiking were pretty painful. While I could settle in somewhere to let it heal, I'm not sure I have the motivation to keep going. My body is pretty tired out at this point.

So, I am ending on a high point (literally and figuratively). I will always remember this fantastic voyage and the amazing people I have met along the way. For now, this little penguin is returning to the lap of luxury and hanging up his trekking poles. Thanks everyone who followed me on this adventure.Read more
TravelerThank you for sharing this amazing journey with us. As sad as I am for your journey to end, I'm excited to have you home again!
6/27/25Reply
*MarianneI enjoyed following your journey Mark. Thanks for sharing all the amazing photos & videos. I wish your ankle a speedy recovery…
6/28/25Reply
TravelerYou have had an amazing adventure and so many miles on those feet. Thanks for sharing with us a taste of what it’s like hiking the PCT. I’m sure bitter sweet to make the decision to hang up the trekking poles for the time being. Hope the ankle heals quickly.
6/28/25Reply
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Trip end
June 27, 2025