Day 17 - Lacey Creek - Mile 1172'ish

Even though I slept well last night, I started the day out tired. As it turns out, the 700' climb up to Mules Ears Creek would have been too much for me last night. In fact I was pretty slow at it this morning, as it took me more than an hour to hike less than two miles. 

Part of the difficulty is that my ribs are sore and when I have my pack on I can't get a full breath on the uphills. With out the pack on I have much less discomfort but, the pack is part of my daily wear right about now so there is nothing for it but to suck it up. 

One good thing about stopping to suck air on the climbs is I am able to take more pictures. Here are early morning shots. 

And what a great place to eat breakfast, eh?

I stopped for lunch and to make a decision about my plan for the day. I am feeling the effects of my tumble yesterday so I think I'm just gonna let go of trying to get to the PO tomorrow before 4pm and just have a couple of leisurely days, getting there on Saturday. This for sure means I won't get to Tuolumne Meadows this trip. Too many down days have put me far off my schedule so that's just the way of it. It also likely puts me in South Lake Tahoe on Labor Day weekend so I don't know where I'll find a place to stay. I have a box of food at a hostel there so I have to go in. I'll call them the next time I get reception. Anyone know of any other options?

The lunchtime view from my hammock. 

I'm glad I decided to take it easy today. After lunch I climbed up onto a bald area, which is the highest I've been so far on this trip. Here's a screen shot of the app I use for the PCT. 

As you can see it tells me lots of information, most of which I ignore. PCT mile and elevation are the two things I generally look at. The rest could be important for an emergency or if I were somehow lost. I must say though, it would be pretty hard to get lost on this trail. 

After that high point I wound down to my spot for the night. The flowers were stunning, the snow must have just melted around here. 

After hiking around 9 miles, I'm settled in here at Lacey Creek. 

(That is good to know.)

By 4:30pm I've finished dinner, washed up and gathered water. It's slightly harder to do here since the water is a bit low, so I had to use my scoop and transfer the water to my containers. 

The only downside to camping here by this creek is that it is the lowest spot in this area and at night the cold air drops down to the lowest spot, so it could get cool tonight. I did put the tarp up in case of condensation. I'll find out!