Day 2. Backpacking Day 1.
Horseshoe Meadow to Siberian Plateau

The morning was chilly, so Liz and I didn't get up too early, and then Liz fixed us a nice breakfast and packed a lunch. I planned to only hike 5 miles, so there was no urgency in getting started.

From the Cottonwood Pass Trailhead, we started on the trail together. We walked 2 miles up the trail to where things started getting steep and ate lunch together. We parted ways with me headed up the trail while Liz headed down. After a few close-up waves and a few far-off waves, we each disappeared into the forest.

With a 50-pound pack, I hiked up to the crest of the Sierras at Cottonwood Pass and intersected the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). After resting in the warm mid-day sun while enjoying grand views east and west, I started north on the PCT. Fortunately the altitude didn't affect me too much, so it was definitely worth arriving a day early and spending a night at Horseshoe Meadow.

I hiked up the PCT and then over to Chicken Spring Lake where I intended to spend the night. I set up camp, got water, lounged in the sun, and ate dinner. By them, campsites at the lake were fulling up with noisy people, and I decided to press on and find a wilderness campsite. Little did I know, this is how things are all along these trails.

I hiked on figuring there would be lots of places to lay my sleeping back, but that wasn't the case. Part of the problem was that hikers can't camp on vegetation these days. Just at dark, in an area called the Siberian Plateau, I finally found a nice flat, unvegetated place to throw down my bag.

To my dismay, I found that my headlamp must have turned on during the day draining the batteries despite the 150-hour rating. And worse, my backup light was dead too. How do these things happen? I set off my SPOT device, then sparingly used the SPOT batteries to power the headlamp.

In total, I walked 10.7 miles today (too many for a first day).