8/7/18 – Lone Pine

Day 48

Miles: 0

To hike or not to hike the approximately 100 miles we have left between Reds Meadow and Sonora Pass. We have that discussion over Eggs Benedict at Alabama Hills Cafe, the # 1 breakfast place in Lone Pine.

Ferguson Fire is now raging over 90,000 acres. Lions fire seems to have awaken and became more active as well. New fire at the northern part of our unfinished section closed Hwy 108 and is forcing Kennedy Meadows North into evacuation. PCT just north of Sonora Pass is closed due to yet another forest fire. Visibility is poor. Air quality unhealthy. There are many good reasons why not to hike the section at this time.

Thank you, Sierra, for another great adventure. We’re sad we could not reach the finish line. Sad but not upset. If anything, the years of snow and fire on the PCT taught us how to accept the ever changing environment on and around the trail.

In two hiking seasons we walked from Mexico to Canada. Not in one long single line we planned but in a tangle of skipping and flipping that made the journey uniquely ours. We’ll come back for the last 100 miles when they are safe to be hiked. In the meantime, other adventures are coming. Stay tuned.