Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - June 27th
Day 72: Thursday 27th June Lost Lakes – Benwood Meadow Creek
It took me three hours in the morning to reach Carson Pass. This was where I ended
my hike on 3rd September 2,000, having camped in the partial shelter of the Elephant’s
Back in a blizzard, with wind gusting well above gale-force. My tent hadn’t coped with the
weather and I was cold and wet inside my sleeping bag. It persuaded me that I needed a
new backpacking tent. This unseasonable weather had caused the National park Rangers
to close the trails. This year the weather was lovely when I stopped for my second
breakfast at the visitor centre, looked after by two retired gentlemen. Carson Pass is
named after the famous scout, Kit Carson, who guided the Fremont expedition over the
Pass in 1844.
The trail then climbed up from the Pass through an area, which is renowned for its
wild flowers. I stopped to chat at the saddle with a group of elderly ladies from the
California Alpine Club. They fed me with fresh pineapple and a couple of them offered to
look after me when I arrived at Ashland, just across the Oregon border. Since Ashland
was where I was having my final break, I intended to take them up on the offer. They
were on a week’s holiday and had walked up from Carson Pass because of the flowers.
Two of the group had thru-hiked the PCT, but age and weight had now caught up with
them.
I stopped for lunch and a swim in Showers Lake; again relatively warm considering
the amount of snow on the corrie walls above the lake. A brisk breeze kept the
mosquitoes at bay. In the afternoon the chest strap, which I had added to my rucksack
to help keep weight off my shoulders, snapped when I slipped on a snow patch and landed
heavily on the rucksack, but I was able to improvise a repair.
I stopped early at 6pm since there was no point in getting to Echo Lake before the
Post Office opened in the morning. It had been an easy day but I still managed over 17
miles.
Day 72: 17.6 miles 7.34 hours Camp: Benwood Meadow Creek
It took me three hours in the morning to reach Carson Pass. This was where I ended
my hike on 3rd September 2,000, having camped in the partial shelter of the Elephant’s
Back in a blizzard, with wind gusting well above gale-force. My tent hadn’t coped with the
weather and I was cold and wet inside my sleeping bag. It persuaded me that I needed a
new backpacking tent. This unseasonable weather had caused the National park Rangers
to close the trails. This year the weather was lovely when I stopped for my second
breakfast at the visitor centre, looked after by two retired gentlemen. Carson Pass is
named after the famous scout, Kit Carson, who guided the Fremont expedition over the
Pass in 1844.
The trail then climbed up from the Pass through an area, which is renowned for its
wild flowers. I stopped to chat at the saddle with a group of elderly ladies from the
California Alpine Club. They fed me with fresh pineapple and a couple of them offered to
look after me when I arrived at Ashland, just across the Oregon border. Since Ashland
was where I was having my final break, I intended to take them up on the offer. They
were on a week’s holiday and had walked up from Carson Pass because of the flowers.
Two of the group had thru-hiked the PCT, but age and weight had now caught up with
them.
I stopped for lunch and a swim in Showers Lake; again relatively warm considering
the amount of snow on the corrie walls above the lake. A brisk breeze kept the
mosquitoes at bay. In the afternoon the chest strap, which I had added to my rucksack
to help keep weight off my shoulders, snapped when I slipped on a snow patch and landed
heavily on the rucksack, but I was able to improvise a repair.
I stopped early at 6pm since there was no point in getting to Echo Lake before the
Post Office opened in the morning. It had been an easy day but I still managed over 17
miles.
Day 72: 17.6 miles 7.34 hours Camp: Benwood Meadow Creek
Elephant's Back
Kit Carson plaque
Blue-pod Lupine
and Mule's Ear
and Mule's Ear
California Alpine Club
at Carson Pass Saddle
at Carson Pass Saddle
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