Tuesday, July 10, 2018

D65-D70 Leaving the high Sierras 離開內華達山脈的高山


Days 65 to 70:

After two weeks of the PCT overlapping with the John Muir Trail, they finally split here in Yosemite National Park. It was nice to finally see some signage for the PCT again, like an old friend had finally returned for a visit.

PCT和JMT這兩條步道這兩個禮拜都走同一條路,終於在優勝美地國家公園裡分開,PCT指標最近都沒看到只看到JMT的,在南加一直陪我的夥伴今天回來了。

Yosemite continued to impress with rocky peaks, waterfalls, lakeside camping, great swimming holes, and green forests.

優勝美地的美這幾天也不斷的出現,有尖尖的山頂、瀑布、湖邊營地、可以玩水的地方、深綠色的森林。






The mosquitoes, unfortunately, were still just as bad as when I had started with Kirk two weeks ago. In the evening, it was almost impossible to stop walking, even for a few seconds for a drink of water or to take a picture, as the mosquitoes would instantly attack my non-moving limbs, ears, neck, etc. It got to be very frustrating after two weeks of this. One night I decided to have a campfire, thinking the smoke might keep the mosquitoes away.

可惜的是蚊子跟兩個禮拜前Kirk開始跟我走的時侯一樣多,傍晚要一直走,不能稍微停下來喝水或拍照,幾秒鐘也不行,否則蚊子會馬上來攻擊暫時不動的四肢、脖子、耳朵等等。兩個禮拜中每天都要面對這樣的情形我已經快沒耐心了。有一天我決定在營地營火,有煙就應該就不會有蚊子,對吧?
I had my face right up as close as I could to the fire so that it was almost burning and still those mosquitoes were diving in for blood. They’re monsters!!

我的臉盡量靠近火,再近就會燒起來,小魔鬼的蚊子竟然還敢飛過來叮我的臉。

Finally the day came when I would leave Yosemite. I could see the pass far in the distance beyond this meadow that I would have to cross to leave the park.

離開優勝美地的那一天,從遠放就看得到出去的路,草地後方的埡口過後就等於離開國家公園。
Just below the pass was the large Dorothy Lake. This was the location of my daily swim; scenic but the water was pretty cold!

埡口下方有一個大面積的湖泊Dorothy Lake。這是今天下去游泳的地方,雖然很美但水溫低,有點難受。
Arriving at the pass, the view on the other side was surprising. Ahead there were mountains, but they were not the bare grey rock of the Sierras, but much rounder and greener. The transition was quite abrupt.

到了埡口的時侯看到後面的風景讓我驚訝,我眼前有山,不過山頂比較圓也都長滿了樹,不像這兩個禮拜看到的尖尖花崗岩山頂,變化很突然。
Luckily, although the terrain looked different, there was still ample water around. Here are Sugar Bear and his mom, Pink Panther, crossing a stream just outside Yosemite. Sugar Bear is the youngest person I’ve seen doing the PCT this year and is only fourteen!

雖然地形變了但水源沒有變少,出來後馬上又要過溪。這兩位是Sugar Bear和他媽媽Pink Panther,Sugar Bear是我今年看過要走PCT全程最年輕的人,他才十四歲。
An important milestone is reached just outside Yosemite as well. I have now walked 1000 miles on the trail, or over 1600 km.

離開優勝美地不久也有一個重要的里程碑,我今天完成了PCT的前一千英里,大概一千六百公里。
As this is a popular spot for hikers to rest and eat, of course there are marmots around waiting to find some scraps of food.

很多人會在一千英里這裡休息吃東西,旱獺自然會在這裡找丟棄的食物。

What followed was possibly my favourite scenery on the trail so far. The terrain got very dry and the slopes were mostly scree. There was a huge ascent, but the trail was graded nicely so that it wasn’t a huge effort to get up.

接下來走的路可能是我在PCT走過最美的一段,地上是很乾的岩屑,要爬很高但坡度很低,不會很難走。



Then the trail followed the ridge for a long time, offering great views for hours.

之後步道沿著稜線走,這幾個小時一直有很好的展望。



Finally, the terrain below turned into green, rolling hills as I descended to a highway crossing, Sonora Pass.

最後出現了綠色的小山頭,這時候步道開始下切到公路上的Sonora埡口。


That evening I camped a few miles further up the trail and, miraculously, there were no more mosquitoes! What a relief!
那天晚上我在Sonora埡口過後幾公里處紮營,終於沒有蚊子了耶,好舒鬆!

The following day I passed what appeared to be some kind of volcanic bubble, as the rock sticking up was clearly different than all the surrounding rock and looked dark.
我隔天經過石頭突然很不一樣的地方,我猜是火山活動造成的。
I had been carrying dehydrated refried beans for over 300 miles and today was the day to finally deal with them. I created possibly my best trail lunch yet using rice and veggies, refried beans, cheese, tuna with rice and beans in hot sauce, and tortillas. TASTY!

我有一些乾燥墨西哥豆已經揹了快500公里,今天終於把它們吃掉了。今天的午餐是我在PCT自己做的午餐中最好吃的,墨西哥豆、飯、綜合乾燥蔬菜、起司、辣味飯加豆口味鮪魚都混在一起用墨西哥餅皮來捲,好好吃!

The scenery and terrain today continued to impress me. It was easy walking like the desert section, but not so dry and a lot more colourful.

今天的風景和地形也很棒,像南加一樣很好走,但不像南加這裡沒有那麼乾,植物的顏色也比較漂亮。
Apparently there had been some trail magic at Sonora Pass the night before that I had missed because I didn’t go down a little side road. I made up for it today, however, when I reached the next highway crossing in the evening. There were three hikers there who had done the PCT last year. They had a great trail magic setup here with cookies, cake, fruit, ice-cold soda, and even hamburgers! What a surprise! I got there just in time, too, as they were getting ready to turn off the grill and pack up.

今天聽說昨天在Sonora埡口有trail magic,好像有人在幫登山客做鬆餅,但是我因為沒有轉彎走一個柏油路上去就沒吃到,聽到的時侯有點失望。不過今天晚上有補回來,我走到下一條馬路的時侯發現有三位去年完成PCT的人在那裡做trail magic,有餅乾、蛋糕、水果、冰的汽水,他們甚至會幫我們先考漢堡。我好感激他們,也覺得自己的運氣太好了,我到達的時侯已經很晚了,他們差不多要開始收東西但我還來的及吃到漢堡。
The next day was full of more beautiful scenery and easy walking.

隔天一樣風景美又很好走。



This one reminds me of Daba in Taiwan.

這座山我覺得很像台灣的一座名山不過它在美國,所以我自己把它稱為『美霸尖山』。
By evening I had reached the next road crossing. There was a map showing the current location on the PCT. I’m not halfway yet but I sure have made some progress!

晚上又走到一條公路,這裡有個PCT全程的地圖,看一看我發現雖然還沒走完一半但有進度了。

Climbing up after the road I passed a nice meadow and got a view of something strange to the north. It was so large and flat that I thought it was a low cloud layer in a valley ahead. Looking closer I figured out it was actually a massive lake! This must be Lake Tahoe. I had no idea a mountain lake could get this large.

過馬路後我爬到一個草地,然後在北方看到一個很怪的東西,又大又平,一大塊白色填滿了前面遠方的一個山谷。我本來以為是一層雲,想一想好像不是,應該是很大的湖泊,應該是Tahoe湖泊。我根本不知道高山湖泊可以長這麼大。


The sunset this evening was one of the nicest I’ve seen on trail so far and I was glad to be out walking still to witness it.

今天的夕陽特別美,我很高興今天走這麼晚,不然我可能根本不會注意到夕陽。


The following morning I got to the next highway and hitched a ride into South Lake Tahoe. This turned out to be clear and blue despite its huge size and the amount of traffic and tourists around. I went for a swim in it of course, and was happy to discover that it was so much warmer than the other lakes higher up.

隔天早上我走到下一條公路,搭便車到附近的小鎮South Lake Tahoe。昨天看到的湖泊超級大,雖然湖邊的人口與觀光客多,湖水還很乾淨,顏色是純藍色。我當然下去游泳,很高興這裡的湖水比山上的溫暖多了。
I had to get to Canada for my cousin’s wedding at this point and the easiest transport hub nearby was Reno, Nevada. Kirk’s uncle Scott lives there and graciously agreed to come pick me up at Lake Tahoe and put me up for a night in Reno at his place. This was incredibly helpful and I really can’t thank him enough for his generosity. He even cooked up some more of his elk for me!

這時候我要離開步道幾天去加拿大參加我表妹的婚禮,交通最容易的起點是內華達州的Reno。Kirk的叔叔Scott剛好住那裡,也主動說他要來載我到Reno,讓我在他們家過夜,隔天又載我去坐車。甚至又煮了一些加拿大馬鹿肉給我吃。他這樣幫我很大的忙,非常感謝他的好心。

I will be off the trail for a week now for a wedding in Vancouver, Canada. It’s time to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!!

我要離開步道一個禮拜去溫哥華參加婚禮,這幾天要大吃,狂吃,盡量增肥。


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