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。

D56-D64 Hot springs, new stuff, and a nice family 溫泉、新裝備、一個好家庭

Days 56 to 64:

After Muir Trail Ranch, we only had one more big mountain pass to get over, and then we were going off trail for a couple days to some nearby mountain resorts. The huge climb to Selden Pass was long and hot, but we had Sour Patch Kids to reward ourselves with at the top, and the view on the other side made it worth the effort:

離開度家牧場後只剩一個比較高的埡口要過，之後要離開步道本身大概兩天，走去附近的獨家露營區。爬上Selden埡口是很長又陡的路，所以我們把昨天撿到的軟糖當作登上埡口的獎勵，給我們多一點動力爬坡，看到埡口背面的風景也覺得努力全都值得。

Then it was all downhill the rest of the day, and the next day when we took the Bear Creek Trail to leave the PCT temporarily. This trail follows the clear, green waters of Bear Creek. 

那天剩下的路都是下坡，隔天走的熊溪支線也是。熊溪本身水清澈翠綠。

It also presented us with the best swimming hole I’ve seen on the trail so far, found by Kirk. A little waterfall dropped into a deep pool here, and the water was warm enough so stay in for a long time, as the current washed away the day’s sweat and dirt.

Kirk在這條溪也發現我在這裡看過最幫可以玩水的地方，有一個小瀑布，下面的水潭不冰，可以泡很久，水流又強，不用動身體溪水就會沖掉身上的灰塵與汗水。

At the end of the trail and after a few more miles of road walking, we arrived at Mono Hot Springs Resort. Bird had mentioned this place to us a few days earlier and it immediately piqued our interest. It’s not commonly known among PCT hikers and very few make it down here, but it’s actually not the far from the trail and should be more popular than it is. There is a general store, cabin and camping options for sleeping, a restaurant, a creek for swimming, and natural hot springs!

支線走完要走馬路，馬路再走一小段就到了Mono溫泉度假村。我本來不知道有這個地方但幾天前Bird跟我們提到的時侯我跟Kirk都同意要去看看。比較少走PCT的人知道這個地方，我覺得很可惜，這裡離步道不遠，有商店、餐廳、溪流跟自然溫泉可以泡，登山客需要的或想要的都有。

We sat down to eat at the restaurant, and Bird soon appeared with her partner Mikey. We weren’t sure if she would be here the same day as us, but it was a pleasant surprise and we all ate dinner together. Bird even brought some wine, made from her own grapes!

我們才剛在餐廳坐下的時侯Bird和她男朋友Mikey就出現了。我們本來不知道她會不會跟我們同一天到，看到她我就很開心。她男朋友還帶了一瓶紅酒跟我們分享，紅酒的葡萄是Bird自己種的。

We went for a soak in the hot springs at night, and I went again in the morning for a soak and to get pictures. The setting couldn’t be nicer, and soaking in hot water feels incredibly good for the muscles after days of hiking.

晚上我們去泡溫泉，早上我又去泡一次並拍照。這裡的環境太適合泡湯了，泡熱水也幫痠痛的肌肉放鬆。

Next, we went up the road to Vermilion Valley Resort.

今天我們也去另一個度假露營區VVR。

Years ago, the valley was flooded when a dam was installed for hydroelectric power. Edison Lake was created in the process, and VVR sits on the shores of this lake. The resort is accessible by another side trail from the PCT or by water taxi and is a far more common stop for hikers. It’s similar to Mono, except there are no hot springs of course.

幾十年前這裡蓋了一個水壩來作水力發電場，原本的溪流就變成現在的Edison湖，VVR位在這個湖的岸邊。從PCT可以走支線到這裡，也可以付錢坐船過來。這裡是非常多PCT登山客會來的地方，沒有來的人耶都知道VVR這個地方，不像Mono溫泉。

We were planning to have lunch and get out the same day, but later decided to spend the night and leave in the morning. Lunch wasn’t happening because they were having a water problem that would take a couple hours to fix, the camping was free, and Kirk needed to rest his leg. Not having to stick to a tight schedule is one of the great things about this trip. It turned out to be well worth it to stay for dinner:

我們本來要吃午餐再回PCT，後來決定在這裡過夜。他們那天因為抽水機故障而沒有提供午餐，Kirk的腳會痛，在店旁邊露營也不用錢，所以臨時決定留下來。我好喜歡這種生活模式，不用一直趕時間，隨時都可以改行程。等抽水機好了然後在這裡吃晚餐果然很值得：

The next day we left Edison Lake behind and had one more night camping on trail. The following day we walked through a recent burn area that was just starting to recover, before arriving at Red’s Meadow. This is a campground and resort area, and the end of a paved road that goes down to Mammoth Lakes, a resort town.

隔天我們離開Edison湖，在步道上過夜。之後我們又經過森林火災燒掉的地方，最後走到Red’s Meadow度假村。這裡是一條柏油路的終點，路會通到下面的一個村莊Mammoth Lakes。

I had been in the mountains for 18 days straight at this point; no laundry for 18 days, no shower for 18 days, and no Internet for 18 days, except a few minutes on Mount Whitney. I had a lot to do here, so I got to town before Kirk. I had a huge breakfast, which included this lovely thing for dessert:

到了Mammoth Lakes的時侯我已經在山上連續18天了，18天沒洗衣服，18天沒洗澡，除了在惠特尼山頂外也是18天沒上網，手機的問題也要處理。我要忙很多事情所以比Kirk早到村莊忙這些。首先要負責大吃，早餐店的主餐好吃我，甜點是這個超大肉桂捲：

Then I got a bunch of errands done, which included finally getting a new cell phone. The local store was out of stock, so I ended up having to hitchhike to Bishop, 50 miles away, to pick one up. Luckily, I got a ride from a guy going back home to Bishop. He took me to the AT&T store there, and then even offered to give me a ride 50 miles back to Mammoth! I treated him to a meal at a local Mexican restaurant to thank him. The whole experience of getting this phone, which seemed like a huge hassle at first, ended up being a pleasant little adventure.

吃完早餐我繼續忙，去手機店問的時侯很難過，我要買的手機沒貨，只有80公里遠的Bishop店有貨。搭便車搭到那麼遠的地方有時候很困難，幸好有個人要從Mammoth回Bishop回家願意載我。他不但載我去Bishop的手機店，他還主動說可以載我回Mammoth，再自己開車回Bishop第二次。為了感謝他，我拿到新手機後在Bishop的墨西哥料理餐廳請他吃飯。我本來以為去這麼遠的地方會很麻煩又累，結果是一個很開心的下午，跟當地人聊天吃飯。

It was also high time for me to get a new shirt. The one I had started the hike with just wasn’t cutting it:

在Mammoth我也必須買新衣服，從第一天穿到現在的衣服破了好多洞：

Kirk and I met up and did our grocery shopping then he went back to the hostel while I did laundry at the laundromat. This was an interesting experience where a bad situation suddenly turned good. At first I was upset because the detergent machine at the laundromat was broken. This meant I would have to buy a large bottle of detergent from the grocery store, use it for one load, and then just leave it behind. This seemed wasteful to me at first. Five dollars isn't a lot, but when you only need 5% of that and 95% of it you have to leave behind it seems wasteful, at least in relative terms if not absolute. Then I remembered all the food, drinks, rides and other help I'd received over the last two months. I guess it was time to give back. Someone else would be happy to have free detergent. Indeed, when I was at the laundromat I saw a family there doing laundry and asked them if they wanted to take my detergent bottle because I couldn't carry it out. They were very happy to have it, and had a lot of questions for me about my trip and the PCT, as they had seen some thru-hikers in Yosemite before and were very curious. Instead of being bored out of my tree waiting for my laundry to finish and complaining about the broken detergent machine to myself, I ended up having a nice conversation with Cecilia, Mike and their daughter Lexi and was able to give them something useful. If I hadn't had to give away the detergent I probably wouldn't have started talking to them, so suddenly the five dollars didn't seem like waste but money well spent. Lexi’s brothers even wanted to introduce themselves to me briefly before they all left. Meeting this nice family was definitely one of the events on this trip that changed my perspective on things.

我跟Kirk在超市集合，一起買後面要吃的東西後Kirk自己回旅館，我去洗衣店洗衣服，在這裡壞事很意外地變成好事。洗衣粉的販賣機壞掉了，要洗衣服只能自備洗衣粉，所以我只好去超市買一大瓶洗衣精，今天用掉一點點，剩下的留在店裡，當然不會自己揹上山。其實五塊美金不是很多錢，問題是我只能用到我買的百分之五，百分之九十五要丟棄，想到這個比例就覺得很浪費。當時心情不好，不過我很快就想到這兩個月幫助我的人，提供食物、飲料，或願意開車載我，這些都遠超過五塊美金，現在要把這洗衣精捐出去我也不虧，收到的人也一定很開心。在洗衣店裡我看到一個家庭在那裡洗衣服，走過去問他們要不要拿我剩下的洗衣精，反正我自己不能帶走。他們謝謝我，然後開始問很多關於我這個旅程和PCT的問題，之前在優勝美地看過長距離登山客的時侯就很好奇了。於是我沒有在洗衣店感到無聊，沒有想壞掉的販賣機這個問題，我反而很開心地跟這個好家庭聊天，也很高興能給他們洗衣精這個小禮物。如果沒有要捐出洗衣精我就不會主動去找Cecilia、Mike和女兒Lexi聊天，後來覺得那五塊美金沒有浪費，反而會覺得我得到的很值得五塊。他們離開前Lexi的兄弟還說要認識我。洗衣店的事件是這旅途中讓我改變觀點的重要經驗之一。

Back at the hostel, we did not get out early the next day, as it was nice to sleep in a real bed for a change, and one of the hikers staying there decided to cook breakfast for everyone that was around. Thanks so much, Moana!

睡床比睡帳篷舒服所以我們隔天早上在旅館睡得比較晚，起床後也沒有馬上回步道，有一個登山客煮早餐給大家吃，謝謝Moana！

Back on the trail, we passed by Devil’s Postpile National Monument, columnar basalt formations, i.e. magma that cooled down in a certain way.

下午回到步道上的時侯經過一個國家風景區，這是柱狀玄武岩，形成方法跟外貌跟澎湖的玄武岩幾乎是一樣的。

Once again, we had a curious deer circling our campsite that evening.

那天晚上又看到一隻鹿在營地外圍走來走去。

The PCT split from the JMT in this area and we decided to follow the JMT instead, which seemed more scenic as it passed by more water. Eventually the two trails joined again and continued on into Yosemite National Park, the last of the three national parks the PCT passes through in the Sierras.

之後PCT和JMT在一段距離走不同的路，我們決定離開PCT走JMT，這個路線會經過很多湖泊，感覺風景會比較美。PCT和JMT匯合後，步道很快就進優勝美地國家公園，是PCT在內華達山脈中要經過的第三個且最後的國家公園。

In Yosemite, we arrived at the Tuolomne Meadows campground and the very first road to actually cross the Sierras since Kennedy Meadows, an incredible 388 km ago. There was a store here, and for our last meal together, Kirk and I opted for canned food that would normally be too heavy to carry. This way we were able to enjoy green beans, chili, broccoli and salad: a true feast on the trail and a great way to celebrate Kirk’s successful section hike.

在優勝美地我們走到從Kennedy Meadows起算第一條橫貫內華達山脈的公路，也就是說前面388公里的山區很原始，車子無法過。這裡有露營區和商店，我跟Kirk決定吃平常不敢揹的東西：罐裝食物。四季豆、德州肉將、青花菜、沙拉，在步道上算是豪華的一餐，也是慶祝Kirk成功走完他預計走的這一段的好方法。

We did eight big passes and over 260 km together over some of the highest and toughest but most beautiful terrain the PCT has to offer. Except for a couple days of rationing, we also ate very well and had plenty of leisure time despite the hard miles. Here we are at Donohue Pass, the border of Yosemite National Park, on this our last day together. It’s been a blast!

我們走過八個高山埡口，一起走完260公里，是PCT最有挑戰性且最美的一段。除了兩天因為怕斷糧而吃得比較少，我們這兩個禮拜都吃得很好，休閒時間也不少。Donahue埡口在優勝美地的界線上，過了埡口等於走進國家公園，這張是我跟Kirk今天拍的，是我們這旅途最後的合照。這兩個禮拜很好，我們兩個會在高雄再相見。