PCT Day 28: Rt 2 (Vincent Gap) to Rt 2 (Islip Saddle) (Mile 374-386)

May 10, 2026	Rt. 2 (Vincent Gap) to Rt. 2 (Islip Saddle)
Mile 374-386	4:30 (moving) / 7:02 (total)
	Max 9,385 feet (+4,100 / -4,021)

Day 28

A short PCT section of only 5 miles a couple of weeks ago prepared me for what was instore for this section.   While I hated to travel all the way up to Vincent Gap only to hike 5 miles, it paid off because there would have been to way to incorporate those 5 miles on the same day.   

Further complicating things were Rt. 2 being closed off at Vincent Gap due to earlier rain storms that had supposedly damaged sections of the road.   Since there was no access to Islip Saddle by car I spent a lot of time looking at maps and trying to figure out the best logistics for this next PCT section.  For a section day hike what it came down to is really the lesser of two evils.   One would require two cars and a couple hours driving between trailheads which would be about 5 miles shorter vs the other would only require 1 car but required a 10 mile hike along Rt. 2 back to the start. 

It was Mother's Day weekend so it wasn't possible to recruit any of my regular hiking friends so the decision was made the day before to pack for a long day hike, 12 miles on trail plus another 10 miles back to the car.   It was going to be a lot for Juno, but instead of hiking completely alone Juno would join me for the long day, 22 miles would be more than he's ever hiked in a day.   Weather was looking good for an early spring hike.   

A couple weeks ago there was a spring snow storm blowing in with likely snow on the upper peaks, so I packed some not only my hiking poles but also a set of spikes.   My goal was to make it back to the car by sunset, so working backward, my goal was to start hiking from Vincent Gap at 8 a.m.    I made a stop in Wrightwood for a parking pass and arrived just as planned.  Even for an early hike there were already a couple of cars in the parking lot so I figured I'd see at least a few hikers along the way.  

Obvious from the trail elevation profile and the 40 switchbacks the first part was going to be tough.  What's interesting about this day is that nearly every section of the PCT I've seen for the first time when I was doing a section hike with only a few exceptions.   In this case, I'd hiked Baden-Powell 6 years before so I've seen the first 4 miles as well as I hiked 2 years ago Windy Gap to Mt. Hawkins so I'd seen that section as well.