Day 2 10.05 miles, 4:37 hiking time, Staying on a trail covered with snow is Tough!
I didn’t sleep too well, I guess I wasn’t as tired as I thought. Or, maybe it was the off and on rain showers.
The Morning of Day 2, Wet
Needless to say, we awoke to a misty morning as you can see by the view out my tent door. Fortunately, most of us stuck by the packing list and had ponchos like the one worn by my son, Justin in this photo.
Scouts Broke out the Ponchos (my son Justin)
The start to the day may have seemed a little dreary but, as you can see, everyone was fairly well outfitted for the weather.
Ready for a Damp Hiking Day 2
I consider day 2 the most difficult day for me. I think the snowy terrain had a lot to do with it. When we left camp, we were met by snow right away. We had a little difficulty getting our bearings as you can’t see the trail when there is snow cover.
Plenty of Snow
We backtracked once then headed east. Most of our first bit of hiking was cross country on top of snow up to 8 feet deep. Fortunately, it was hard crust that supported our weight but it was still slick and difficult to get traction on.
Snow Hiking
The other issue was navigation. Even with a GPS, the accuracy variable didn’t keep us right on top of the trail. Finally, we headed up a slope and over the top and came across some dry patched area and found the trail.
The Trail was Elusive on Day 2, Lots of Snow
We continued on the south facing slope trail and the snow showed up again. We had intermittent rain all morning long too. Finally, we found a bare spot under some large trees and took a break for lunch.
Lunch Break with Some Protection From Rain and Break in the Snow Cover
We knew, from the map, that the trail would wind between two hills and then over the other side to Big Mosquito Lake.
Snow Bridge
The saving grace during the snow hiking was there were no mosquitoes but the lake name made us think about keeping our bug netting handy.
Along the Trail
We had a pretty good uphill climb before we went over the top and down to Big Mosquito Lake. We had to cross a small stream coming out of the lake but we bypassed the skeeters altogether.
Lush Mountain Streams
As we came down past Big Mosquito Lake, we came to a paved road that seemed so out of place in this otherwise wilderness-like area. 
It was apparent to us that we may well have been the first people on this trail this year because we found a hiking pole buried in the snow, a red bandana, some rope and other items which looked like they were left from last season and the only footprints we found were non-human. 
We didn’t see a single soul, apart from our group for the first 4 days of our journey. We stopped at the paved road and realized we had been on the right trail, the famed Pacific Crest Trail because the sign showing where we would continue hiking was along the road.
A Break Along the Pacific Crest Trail
After a break to filter some water, we headed off down the Pacific Crest Trail.
Unique Trailside Vegetation
We still encountered some snowy patches but nothing like the first half of our day.
Mushroom Pushing Through the Snow
We had talked with rangers who warned that our original plan to follow logging roads to our camp might lead us to snow. We had enough snow already so we stuck to the PCT. It led us through more lush, green areas with beautiful scenery.
Beautiful Scenery
Stream Scenery
As we descended from the Big Mosquito Lake area, the trail had less and less snow and we began making good time.
Trailside Rest Break
We felt like we were getting closer to our camp when we again ran into our 2 support crew members, what a welcome site as we knew it wasn’t far to another camp set up and resting point.
Trailside Vegetation
We came to another paved road #88 and a short walk on pavement put us as our campsite beside a beautiful little creek
Creek by our Camp
that even had small fish.
Fishermen
We made quick work of setting up our tents.
Night 2 Tent Set-up
Night 2 Camp Site
Since we got rained on for much of the day, Will set up an ingenious clothesline utilizing the rising heat from the fire to try and dry some socks and other clothes.
Drying Out Clothes
The rain seemed to hold off while we got our dinners and bedded down for the night. 
It was a pretty tough hiking day, complicated by navigational and terrain challenges but it was fulfilling to reach our camp site.