Written: 7/17/14
Posted: 7/22/14
For the fourth time in a row we end our day in a wet tent huddled in our sleeping bags while our clothes hang to dry. The only difference of today is that it ended with us in our tent by 4pm. We had our most miserable experience to date when we got caught in a flash thunderstorm near the top of an exposed climb. Things started out warm and sunny but by 1pm it began to rain. We made it to a nice covered campsite and waited out the storm with Guy On Buffalo. Guy had started from Mexico on June 1st and had caught up with us (averaging 25 miles/day)!!!! We all stayed dry and happy and took off when the sun reappeared.
The skies looked clear as we continued our climb, then all of a sudden it got dark and very windy. Mike and I decided to take cover in a small grove of trees which were becoming considerably more scarce while Guy pressed on. As soon as we took refuge and nestled in the trees, the rain started back up and quickly progressed into hail. This was almost comical at first but the hail continued to come down harder and larger. After about 15 minutes of getting pummeled with now marble sized hail it wasn't looking like it was going to pass in the near future. When a bolt of lightning struck near the top of the ridge, we decided to make for lower, less exposed ground and immediately scrambled down the hill. Another 15 minutes and the hail had subsided and turned back to rain and the storm seemed to be over. We were cold and a bit shaken but decided to press on since the horizon looked less cloudy. The trail was completely covered in a layer of hail, making it look like it had just snowed; not something we anticipated in mid-July. After walking for about five minutes the skies turned grey again and we heard more thunder; this is when we decided to call it a day. We hurried back down the switch-backs for about a mile down canyon and set up shop. This is the first time we were forced to turn around and retrace our steps on the PCT but it was definitely the right decision. Our stuff was wet but we got our tent up in a good site and are relatively comfy. Things could've gotten ugly had we continued, and we're hoping that Guy made it safely over the ridge. That was easily the most danger we felt since we started hiking but we were able to get out of the storm quickly and safely. I wish we had the time to take pictures of the storm in progress but it was so crazy!!! Here's a picture from just before the hail storm:
We started the day in happier spirits, as we officially left Yosemite's boundaries and passed PCT mile 1000 (our 350th mile)!!!!
The scenery has already started changing pretty dramatically as it's turning more desert like again. The hiking is getting easier since the ups and downs are smaller. If the weather cooperates and the miles remain this mellow, we'll be in South Lake Tahoe in no time!!! Our fingers are crossed that we get a dry day tomorrow. We only have 10 miles until we get to Northern Kennedy Meadows resort where our next resupply and perhaps a rib-dinner await!
Here are some pics of the sunset at our camp last night:
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