PCT SECTION HIKE | DAY 14 Purple Lake to Vermillion Valley Resort
Miles Hiked: 18.9 miles
Elevation: 2922 ft ascent | 5177 ft descent
Uphill first thing in the morning. Not my favorite, but a normal occurrence on trail. My calves were sore and stiff. But that view as soon as you drop into Lake Virginia, stunning. The further south you go, the more beautiful the trail gets in my opinion. Indian Paintbrush everywhere. Pikas *meeping* in the rocks.
After walking around the vibrant blue waters of the lake, the trail starts to drop into Tully Hole. Switchback after switchback, down down down. Then a gradual descent down into the canyon. A bridge takes you across the river before descending to a small stream, my go-to water source before starting the climb up to Squaw Lake. Storms are forecasted for today, so I knew I needed to push as hard as possible to get up and over Goodale Pass. The last thing I wanted was to have another experience like last year's hail and lightning storm. Luckily, it was still sunny when I got to the lake. There were large storm clouds, but they looked like they were moving away from the pass. I didn't want to risk it. I skipped lunch, with the intention of eating once I was over the pass.
Goodale is definitely a harder climb up than Silver Pass was. Granted, when we were hiking up Silver we were pumped with adrenaline from the passing storms. After the junction, the trail drops down to a small lake and leads to another junction for the pass and Lone Indian Lake. Then up. And more up. Tall rock stairs, switchbacks. Then a gradual smooth trail before a steep incline once more. Raindrops started falling just as I made my way up the last switchback. Sprinkles, but nothing more. The other side of the pass was just as steep. It was all downhill from here. Over 5,000 feet down to VVR! Only a couple more miles, then I would be done for the day. There are still 9.5 miles to VVR, so I don't think I will make it tonight.
Could I make it? It is downhill from here. It would be a late night, but what if…
There is no one on the trail. I expected more people to be hiking Goodale. At the base of the first big descent, I met two ladies hiking up from VVR. We talked about the trail, gear (Smartube and Kula Cloth). One of the ladies is friends with Anastasia and was taking pictures of Kulas spotted on the trail. 8.5 more miles. Could I make it? It is downhill from here. It would be a late night, but what if…
Since I hadn't seen any other hikers, I played episodes of @hikingthrupodcast on my speaker to pass the time hiking through the forest. Down down down. Mile after mile. I eventually reached the “5 miles to VVR” point and was still feeling pretty good. Maybe I could do this? I picked up my pace a little faster. 4 miles. 3 miles. Okay, it is 1800. It's VVR time. I’ve got this.
The last few miles of trail are burned from the Creek Fore last year. Nothing but black trees and sandy ground, scarred by last year's events and the trail sometimes hard to follow due to the recent heavy rains that flooded an already damaged forest floor.
Less than 3 miles left. I start to feel raindrops. Camera cover on. Rain jacket on. Feet start moving even faster.
What time does the store close?
Am I going to get there in time for dinner and a cold drink?
I'm at the trailhead parking. I'm actually here. I start seeing tents set up in the main campground. I follow the road up to the store and grill. I hear hikers talking and laughing. I head straight to the store. It's open. I drop my pack, my clothes soaked from sweat and rain, and immediately go inside and grab a drink. My heart is racing. It slows as I stand in line to pay. The first drink is free. I order a steak and lemon berry pie. I walk back to the seating area and hear someone tell my name. It's Shannon. She is sitting with Kaiya, who I had met with the 3H group last year, and some other hikers (Danii, Sonja, Monica). I join them, still high on the feeling of making it to VVR.
After dinner, I soaked my feet in a hot Epsom salt bath, a tip from another hiker, Jill, and found a place to set up my tent in Mushroom City. I bought a couple more drinks for the night before the store closed, then sat around the fire with a couple of other hikers.