Sonora Peak Hike

On a whim, I decided to hike Sonora Peak from St. Mary's pass trailhead. The trailhead is not very fancy but you won't miss it. There's a small, unmarked parking area which should be adequate. There weren't very many cars when I arrived. An elderly couple had finished their hike and were leaving. There was a woman in another car whose husband had left on a hike just a few minutes before I started out. 

When I started this hike, I had not had any food that day due to an upset stomach. I decided to eat when I got hungry and hike till I had energy. I had packed a couple of bananas and a jar (yes, a whole unopened jar) of peanut butter. I changed to my Timberlands for the hike and set out with the aforementioned edibles and a bottle of water.

It was a great day for hiking. I caught up to the gentleman who had left just a few minutes before me though I was fairly behind him. Though he didn't look very fit, I could see that he was a strong hiker. He had his German Shepherd which they bought/adopted from Germany as I later found out. He had hiking poles which must have helped a lot. Though I started out strongish, I couldn't keep up the pace owing to the fact that I was not very fit and I had not trained my muscles for hiking. The altitude and lack of food must have also played a role. I took a lot of small breaks.

I took time to appreciate the great views during my breaks. If we can't stop and appreciate the views, of what use is the hike. A young couple, Terry and Maigret, passed me a few minutes before the Sonora Peak trailhead. They were clearly strong hikers and had no problems passing me. When I reached the fork where the trail splits off into two - one towards Stanislaus Peak and the other towards Sonora Peak, they were resting. Chatted with them for a while and then they went on their way towards Sonora Peak. Stanislaus Peak was a longer hike and I had planned to hike Sonora anyway. I ate my peanut butter and resumed my hike. 

After a while, the trail started disappearing. I briefly lost my way but could see T and M in the distance and just decided to follow them in their general direction. A short while later, I noticed that the trail was marked in some places with a few stones laid on top of each other. This was very useful. As I got closer to the peak, the trail also became more slippery. Without hiking poles and proper grip in my shoes, it got a bit challenging where at a certain point after a steep section, I got worried/afraid and decided to climb down. There was a patch of dark cloud which also bothered me given recent thunderstorms and lightning in Northern California. The last thing you want during lightning is to be exposed on a mountain top.

The climb down wasn't easy especially during the steep section. I kept slipping and had to be really careful. I slipped and fell on a couple of occasions but thankfully not down the side of the mountain. Though I had labored up only a couple of miles, the way back seemed longer to a point where I thought I had lost my way. Turned out, I was just slow.

When I got back to the car, the woman who had been there when I started was chatting with another, older lady. After the older lady left, I said hi to the woman since she was worried that her husband hadn't returned. I told her that her husband was a strong hiker and should be back shortly. Soon enough, the husband did come back. We chatted for a while about the hike. He used to be a deputy sheriff and his son still is. We had an interesting conversation about cops, Trump, etc but that's for another time. Suffice to say that I did not disclose my political leanings to him. :)

All in all, this time was better spent than sitting at home and watching TV. I did an interesting thing during this hike. As I started hiking, my mind was still racing - planning, thinking, etc. An idea occurred to me. I whipped out my phone and started recording my thoughts on the hike. It really helped to keep me present and not think too much for a while. I have nearly 2 hours of recording I suppose. I'll link it here as a future reference for myself.

A patch of ice that had still not melted. I wanted to get near it but it was on a downhill and given the lack of friction in my shoes, I decided to pass.