PCT Day 77 – Yosemite Backpackers Campground to PCT mile 952.2

June 20, 2026

Total PCT miles: 8,5

Non PCT miles: 1.9

Total: 10.4 miles / 16.7 km

Total elevation gain: 1516 ft

Total elevation loss: 1339 ft

Steps: 26964

I woke up earlier than I needed to today just so I could sit outside my tent and enjoy the feeling of being in Yosemite Valley. Despite the sea of tents in the backpackers campground and the valley in general this place does truly feel magical. I had to get up at around 1 am to use the facilities and was surprised just how many stars I could see. I guess i expected a lot more light pollution.

I packed up my tent slowly pretty much directly under half dome and waited for High Stakes and Patches to be ready. We had to be at the Yosemite Lodge for 0820 hrs to catch the Tuolomme Meadows hiker shuttle as it only runs once a day. My preference was to take the bus over hitching back as I wasn’t even sure where in the valley I would even attempt a hitch. The lodge was about 2.5 miles from our campsite but because we attempted to wait for the bus to take us to the bus we got there just in time. We ended up taking one bus half of the way but the other bus we needed did not show up so we just walked. Patches and another hiker ultimately decided last minute for some reason to stay in the Valley.

The hikers shuttle takes about 2 hours to get from the Valley to Tuolomme Medows. It was one of those big comfortable coach buses and it provided a great chance to have a short nap.

We arrived at Tuolomme Meadows at 10:30 to a whole new batch of hikers, most of which I’ve never met. It still seems strange to me that while on trail I see almost no PCT hikers but at these junctions or towns there seems to be quite a few.

I grabbed a second breakfast and packed out a sandwich for dinner tonight but just before we were about to leave Pinecone and Sage showed up. They had done an overnight hike in the valley and were just getting back onto the PCT.

Finally High Stakes and I left the General store at 1230 and made our way towards the trail, briefly going the wrong way. The first 6.3 miles of the trail it is illegal to disperse camp so we had to walk at least that far. The backcountry here is beautiful but no where near as much as the valley.

We made a quick stop at Soda Springs which is a natural carbonated spring water that apparently science can’t explain why it’s there. We then followed a river along fairly flat trail which then became a waterfall. Over all the trail is in amazing condition but I’m not sure who decided that steps should be made out of small sharp pointed rocks because they are extreamly annoying to walk on.

At the end of the waterfall we started climbing and finally exited the no camping zone. We were with Sage and Pinecone and tried multiple times to find a place to camp together but ultimately ended up at different spots.

My leg pain continues to annoy me. It starts after a few miles of hiking and goes away after a bit of rest only to come back again. It might be sciatic pain? I don’t know.