I climbed up and out of Holman Pass this morning. Then I walked up above Canyon Creek and along the side of Holman Peak up to Rock Pass, with views of Shull Mountain over the valley. Getting from Rock Pass to Woody Pass meant I had to dip down the side of Powder Mountain towards Rock Creek, and straight back up again. Lastly, the trail traversed the western side of Three Fools Peak, Lakeview Ridge and Devils Stairway before descending to Hopkins Lake. Today’s mileage was 10.7 miles, 17.3 km.

The day started a little overcast, which would have helped keep the night a bit warmer but the humidity still cut through my insulation. Even before leaving camp, familiar faces were passing in both directions; Pretzel was heading up to the terminus, and Goldfish was heading back.

As I climbed up to Rock Pass, I saw another half dozen hikers heading back, including Fruit Loop, Rocky, Bender, Junko, and some newer faces too. Everyone I met was excited to have finished the PCT, and the energy was contagious.

A little later in the morning, the sun came out and it became a bluebird day. I finished the climb to Rocky Pass and looked over the other side where the trail dropped way down, and back up again to Woody Pass.

I followed the trail down the side of Powder Mountain for half an hour. Climbing back up  again took an hour and a half. On the mountainside, I noticed boulders which seemed to be formed from large smooth riverstones bonded together. Were these mountains once at the bottom of ancient rivers?

After Woody Pass, the trail eased off and traversed around 3 long ridges. Along this section I met Veggie coming back from the terminus and we chatted for a few minutes about the experience.

After a short while I stepped over one of the old familiar mile markers, but this one was different. For the first time the markers were counting down, there was only 10 miles left to go.

I walked over Lakeview Ridge, and down Devils Staircase before the trail dropped down to Hopkins Lake. Just before reaching the junction to the lake, I saw more friends on their way back; Intense and Jukebox who I’d met at Callahan’s Lodge in Oregon, as well as Random, Extra and Mule were heading back from a day at the terminus. Once I got to the lake, I set up my northernmost camp on the trail. I will be leaving my camp set up tomorrow, and slackpacking to the terminus, it’s surreal to even think about.