PCT Day 68 – PCT mile 865.4 to Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) via Bear Ridge Trail

June 11, 2026

Total PCT miles: 10.3

Non PCT miles: 7

Total: 17.3 miles / 27.8 km

Total elevation gain: 2379 ft

Total elevation loss: 4921 ft

Steps: 41062

I’m not sure what to write about today. This stretch in the Sierra has definitely been the hardest physical thing I have ever done. Everything hurt by the end of the day. My knees from the constant rock stairs I follow to go down a mountain pass. My ankles from all the weird awkward steps I take on various rocks. My hips from carrying the bulk of weight of my pack and subsequent rash I’ve developed. My back and shoulders, also from said pack. My arms from using my trekking poles constantly to help me along my way and my head. Oh don’t forget my poor feet that spent a good part of the day wet. Thruhiking is hard work.

I was shocked when I woke up at 0400 this morning to get ready to leave that I didn’t have much of any condensation in or on my tent. Camped literally next to an alpine lake I expected to wake up a semi soggy mess. Small victory! By 0500 we were moving up the final 1.7 miles and 1000ish feet of elevation to the top of Selden Pass (10913 ft). There was barely any snow on the accent and the maybe quarter mile on the decent was surprisingly solid. There would be no post holing today! The views from the top of the pass as the sun was rising were beautiful but no where near as dramatic as some of the higher passes.

From here we started a long descent following Bear Creek. As we continued to descend the creek for larger and more ominous. In a few short miles we would cross it. Bear Creek is another notorious water crossing on the PCT and today it was flowing. The water was up to my mid thigh, maybe slightly higher and the current was strong. I almost lost my footing more than once. Looking back on it our group just kinda went for it individually instead of working together to make it safer. Fortunately everyone passed safely and other than my shoes being wet for most of the rest of the day no harm was done.

We continued along the side of Bear Creek for a few more miles crossing many streams that feed into it getting feet and shoes wet more than once. Then started the second climb of the day.

By now my legs were screaming at me and most of the group was feeling the pain of the last several days. But we took limited to no breaks as VVR and the promise of real food was calling our names. We reached the Bear Ridge Trail around 11:00 and started the long decent. By now we were basically marching zombies with one thing on our mind “foooooooooood”.

Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) is a common stop for PCT hikers to break of the Bishop to Mammoth food carry. There is free camping and thru hikers get one free drink but everything else is pricey. Want to do Landry 10$. Want to have a shower 10$. WiFi 20$! Food from the restaurant is expensive and so is the resupply. Fortunately they are nice enough to open a tab for you so you don’t know how much you spent until you leave. Also fortunate is Mammoth isn’t far away so you don’t need a large resupply. It was nice to get here around 1400 hrs. But 17 miles in the Sierra without breaks by 1400 is a long hard day.

There is a weight scale here. When I started the trail I weighed about 230lbs. Today I weighed in at 195 lbs. My hip belt on my pack is almost as tight as it can go and my pants that were tight when I started the trail are a number of sizes too large. It’s safe to say if you want to loose weight the PCT diet is the way to go.

High Stakes and I have decided to take a slower pace and take two and a half days to get to Mammoth instead of just two. The rest of our group is pushing forward on the original timeline but we are both exhausted. This will also allow us to get into town early and maybe actually relax.

The good news of the day is my replacement back pack has arrived in Mammoth and im already starting to make a mental list of the things I can start to mail home to lighten the load and hopefully reduce some of the pain.