PCT Day 84 – PCT Mile 1027.4 to Sherald Lake (1050.1)

June 27, 2026

Total PCT miles: 22.7

Non PCT miles: 0.4

Total: 23.1 miles / 37.2 km

Total elevation gain: 6440 ft

Total elevation loss: 5823 ft

Steps: 55175

Well I came a little short of my goal of 25 miles today. But when you consider the elevation change today and a wonderful surprise at the end of the day I’m happy with the distance travelled.

Either I slept through my alarms or I didn’t actually turn them on last night but I still work up at 0430 and was on trail by 0530. The low last night was 5 degrees and there was significant wind so the hiking was chilly but not overly cold. The majority of my day today was spent hiking in the Carson-Iceberg wilderness. No idea why it’s called that as there certainly are no Icebergs around these parts. It’s part of the Toiyabe National Forest.

In the morning I was treated to a sunrise behind the mountains that illuminated the clouds above it. The clouds were moving really fast and it made for a great Timelapse. I haven’t taken many timelapses because unfortunately I’ve had so few interesting clouds on this hike.

Despite the elevation changes I hit 10 miles by 1000hrs for the first time since the desert section of the PCT and I was on pace to do well more that my 25 mile goal.

I reached the Saddle Above Noble Lake (9347 ft) shortly after 1300 hrs and the wind was howling! The scenery from the top and the entire way down was breathtaking and full of fields of wild flowers. This whole section north of Sonora Pass has been incredibly beautiful. I passed a few PCT hikers and a number of day hikers or weekend backpackers. It’s the weekend so the trails get “busy”.

As I approached Ebbets Pass I saw the best sign a thru hiker can see! Trail Magic 0.1 miles! I can’t remember the last time I was lucky enough to be the recipient of trail magic! Low and behold it was One Way Mike who I met in the desert along with his wife. There was also a second group doing trail magic Lunchbox, Pretty Legs and his partner. There was everything a thru hiker could need and even more! The generosity of people on this trail continues to amaze me. There were several other hikers here I’ve been leap frogging with over the past while even two that were at Nitzys when I was there. I stayed here for almost two hours.

I didn’t hike much further after his As I found a great camp site that is reasonably protected from the wind. It’s going down to 0 degrees tonight and the wind is still blowing hard.