NO. 11 OF 26 · THE HIGH SIERRA · DAYS 58 TO 63 · 123.3 MILES TRACKEDPHOTO #1476 · DAY 59 · ROUTE: TRAIL LINE + STRAVA
DAY 58 · JUN 26, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 58: back on trail to Tuolumne Meadows”
13.1 mi2,894 ft4:532.7 mph
trail mi 908 · 7,723 ft7,491 to 9,675 ft
DAY 59 · JUN 27, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 59: into Tuolumne Meadows”
23.1 mi2,851 ft8:372.7 mph
trail mi 920 · 9,652 ft8,784 to 10,999 ft
DAY 60 · JUN 28, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 60 (p2): down Clouds Rest · PCT day 60 (p1): Side trip up Clouds Rest · PCT day 60 (p3): Back on PCT to Glen Aulin”
18.5 mi3,215 ft6:542.7 mph
trail mi 940 · 8,784 ft7,928 to 9,091 ft
DAY 61 · JUN 29, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 61: Yosemite back country”
22.2 mi4,777 ft8:462.5 mph
trail mi 957 · 8,788 ft7,602 to 10,077 ft
DAY 62 · JUN 30, 2021 · CAMP ESTIMATED
“PCT day 62: Yosemite to Kennedy North”
22.8 mi4,675 ft9:342.4 mph
trail mi 977 · 9,116 ft7,771 to 9,368 ft
DAY 63 · JUL 1, 2021
“PCT day 63: Sonora Pass to Kennedy shuttle”
23.6 mi4,262 ft8:042.9 mph
trail mi 997 · 9,368 ft8,562 to 10,577 ft
123.3 miles tracked·6 days, June to July 2021·Clouds Rest 12.2-mile side trip·Sonora Pass a storm comingThe High Sierra, leg 11 of 26
Mammoth to Kennedy Meadows North via Clouds Rest
A Yosemite side trip, mosquitoes in the tent and a storm coming at Sonora Pass.
By Jeffrey “Atlas” Combs · walked Jun 26–Jul 1, 2021 · published · updated
I headed back out from Mammoth and reached Tuolumne Meadows on day 59. There was cell signal, but no working data. I camped at the backpackers camp and hitched to the Sunrise Lakes trailhead for Clouds Rest.
On day 60 I recorded 6.1 miles up and 6.1 back down, then another 6.3 miles back on the PCT toward Glen Aulin. Yosemite was the first national park I remembered visiting. I wrote about that connection in the caption.
Quoted lines are from my 2021 logs, verbatim.
My mosquito setup was pants, a raincoat and a bug net. I was trying to keep every one of them out of the tent. “Crazy amounts of mosquitos and then storms.”
At Sonora Pass there was a storm looming and a shuttle bus scheduled. I went down to Kennedy Meadows North. It was kind of an RV resort off the trail in the mountains, with a small store, laundry and an area for PCT hikers. I returned my bear can there and went without one until I got to REI in Reno. The last stretch had been hard, and I was looking ahead to less of the big climbing. The internet at the stop was terrible too.
Start // back on trail from Mammoth, day 58
Finish // Sonora Pass and Kennedy Meadows North, day 63
Side trip // Clouds Rest, day 60
Camp // the Tuolumne Meadows backpackers camp
Day by day
9 frames from these 6 daysDay 58 · Jun 26
back on trail to Tuolumne Meadows
13.1 miles tracked
#1473 camp below Banner and Ritter, day 58 · photo #1473
Day 59 · Jun 27
into Tuolumne Meadows
23.1 miles tracked
#1476 Thousand Island Lake, day 59 · photo #1476 · #1490 the John Muir Route sign, day 59 · photo #1490
Day 60 · Jun 28
Side trip up Clouds Rest / down Clouds Rest / Back on PCT to Glen Aulin
18.5 miles tracked
#1499 the Clouds Rest ridge, day 60 · photo #1499 · #1520 Tuolumne Falls, day 60 · photo #1520
Day 61 · Jun 29
Yosemite back country
22.2 miles tracked
#1526 a Yosemite meadow, day 61 · photo #1526
Day 62 · Jun 30
Yosemite to Kennedy North
22.8 miles tracked
#1543 a pond reflecting clouds and granite, day 62 · photo #1543
Day 63 · Jul 1
Sonora Pass to Kennedy shuttle
23.6 miles tracked
#1597 the ridge above the Sonora Pass country, day 63 · photo #1597 · #1619 lakes below the ridge, day 63 · photo #1619
The food, then and now
I packed rice, couscous, miso soup, dehydrated meals and protein powder in Mammoth. I also had a box at VVR that I never collected. We had missed the turnoff on the previous stretch. By June 27 I was emailing about it.
I don’t remember a meal at Kennedy Meadows North. Hikers reported hash browns and a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich there in June 2025. A June 2024 report warned that the veggie burger had cheese in the patty. The resort’s PCT hikers page lists a store and restaurant open 6 am to 9 pm, packages by UPS only (never USPS) for a $5 fee, accepted May 1 to October 1, and a $10 shuttle to Sonora Pass. I’d still ask about a vegan meal before planning the stop. Checked October 13, 2026.
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