PCT Day 82 & 83 – Zero Day in Pinecrest Lake to PCT Mile 1027.4

June 25 & 26, 2026

Total PCT miles: 9.1

Non PCT miles: 2

Total: 11.1 miles / 17.9 km

Total elevation gain: 1588 ft

Total elevation loss: 3163 ft

Steps: 26316

Zero Day In Pinecrest

I have to say my zero day in Pinecrest was probably the most relaxing zero day I’ve had thus far on trail. I slept well, even had a mid day nap, and other than getting my resupply for the next section I did absolutely nothing. I have to give thanks to Rooster for cooking for everyone because that definitely allowed me more time to just chill.

It’s not like there was much to do in Pinecrest. There is a general store, a post office and a restaurant that was closed most of the time. The majority of the town is a giant campground next to a lake and many cottages. I wasn’t planning a zero day here but I’m glad I got to take one. Huge thanks goes to Cookie who opens up his cottage to PCT hikers. I’m surprised only 6 of us were there over the two nights.

June 26 – Back on Trail

I waited until High Stakes was done with her appointment and learned that she would be taking one or two more zeros in Pinecrest to recover from an injury. I wasn’t surprised by this and had been mentally preparing myself that I might be heading back on trail alone. I’m really hoping to get to Canada early September and that already means I need to hike 25+ mile days after Tahoe. I simply can’t afford to spend more time in town as I’ll probably have to skip a small section as it is to reach my goal.

I told her I would be heading out today and she understood. She came with me to the store and we had lunch and said our see you laters. Who knows it’s possible we meet up on trail again. We’ve hiked together since Wrightwood and been through some significant highs and lows together. Saying goodbye is never easy and I’ll absolutely miss having my hiking partner out here with me.

I made my way to HWY 108 to start the process of hitching back to the trail. Almost immediately I got picked up by Benjamin. He wasn’t going all the way but it was better than nothing. We talked a lot about hiking gear and my experience thus far on the PCT. The spot where he dropped me off wasn’t the best place to hitch in terms of safety but I wasn’t there long before I was picked up by a lady who was delivering mail. She got me to Kennedy Meadows North just in time to take the shuttle the rest of the way to Sonora Pass. It would have been nice to have had A few moments just to check out Kennedy Meadows north but that was not in the cards.

There were 11 of us in the van and we were dropped off at the trail at 1430. 15 mins later I was back at it Hoping to hike near 10 miles.

The trail started with a 1000 ft climb back up over 10500 ft. This is the last time I’ll be at or over 10000 ft on the trail. It also provided my last views of the Sierra behind me and incredible views of the valley in front. It was windy and cold a huge change from when I left trail 2 days ago. But at least there were zero mosquitoes!

From here I decended down into the valley along a reasonably graded trail. Im camped alone for the first time in a long time. It’s weird. I’m hoping tomorrow I can do 25 miles. Let’s see if I can ratchet up the miles to get myself home!