Day 49 : Stormy Lake

Start – Stormy Lake (1850 m)
Finish – Maiden Peak Shelter (1840 m)
Daily Distance – 34 km
Ascent – 760 m
Descent – 770 m

I half expected to crest a rise and find the Statue of Liberty crumbling in the sand.

Apparently, there are burn areas, and there are BURN areas, with today featuring an example of the latter. With smoke filled nostrils, a combination of ongoing fires to the south and the charred remains that surrounded me, I trudged through a seemingly lifeless scene of devastation. Deviating from the path, my feet would sink into the loose mix of ash and baked earth, which blanketed the ground. The pink flowers and small bushes, which usually lighten the scene, were absent from all but a few places. The only sign of life were some deer tracks clearly visible in the soft dirt. The only sounds, the gentle whistling of the wind and the rasping tread of my feet. It was hard to believe that this wasteland had ever existed as a dense and shady forest. Hour 1 was ok, full of wonder at the Mordorian scene, but after almost 2 hours of not seeing another living soul (an unusual occurrence on trail), my imagination was beginning to get end of days, last man on earth, vibes. My sanity was greatly relieved to finally meet another poor soul, journeying through the blasted land, and finally, after almost 2.5 hours, exiting into a more customary burned area and eventually back into the normal forest.

The anxious talk amongst hikers on trail today has been centred on the fire south of Shelter Cove, which is my destination for tomorrow. I don’t know how far to the south it is as I havent had phone recep in days, but smoke has been in my nose since yesterday, and small flakes of ash fall upon my black shorts when I pause to take a break. The PCT trail isn’t officially closed, but with the fire being within 5 miles of the trail and the smoke that close being eye wateringly thick, the consensus opinion seems to be to skip around that section. Those who planned to walk every single mile of the trail are hoping to get dropped off just south of the fire in the hope that the prevailing northerly wind continues. Others, especially SOBOs who are now realising that they are well behind schedule to get through the Sierra Nevada mountains before the winter snows, will most likely try to skip down to just north of Crater Lake. This skips 90km of trail but looks from an initial look to offer the easiest road route away from Shelter Cove and back to the trail.

Home for this evening is the Maiden Peak Ski Association cabin. Due to the remote location, it has no toilet, water, or phone reception. On the other hand, it does offer luxuries such as electric lighting, a table to cook on, not having to pitch my tent, and a little nostalgia for my days in New Zealand backcountry huts.