a fire under our butts

Day 53 ~ miles 886ish - 906.8

We slept late again...we have been making a habit of that lately!  I guess our bodies shut off their internal alarms when they really need to.  We have been exhausted!  The plan for the day was to get as close to Red's Meadow as possible (our exit point for Mammoth Lakes), and head into town early in the morning.

A few miles in for the day, and we passed an older (than us) pair that we met briefly on the trail a couple of weeks ago.  They said that they were planning to head into town today.  Moonshine and I exchanged glances, said our farewells to the 2, and headed on.  After hiking on for a few minutes, we agreed that if they could make it into town today, we could definitely make it.  It lit an intensely motivating fire under our butts and we took off.  We hiked hard and as fast as we could with minimal breaks.  We were nearing Red's Meadow, and were about 5-6 miles out when storm clouds began to brew - uh-oh.  Motivation to hike faster grew as the clouds darkened and thunder rumbled.  I was nearly running down the trail at times.  We made it to the safety of Red's Meadow store just as it began to rain, around 5:30...the trail provides!

We bought some chips and drinks and chatted with a lovely couple from Knoxville, small world!   They had already arranged a ride into town with Sugar Mama (a trail angel and former thru-hiker), so we were able to squeeze into the car as well, perfect!

We checked into the Motel 6, where we got clean, ordered the worst and most expensive pizza ever, and lounged while watching tv.  Taking a day off tomorrow, we've earned it!

last pass before Mammoth!

Day 52 ~ 868.2 - 886ish

Today, we would conquor our last pass before heading to Mammoth Lakes, what a relief.  This section has has been so difficult, and it seems as if we've been out forever (though I think today is the 7th day out of Bishop).  We are tired, and more than ready for a town stop.  Fortunately, the altitude has not affected us as noticably in this section.

The hiking was moderately easy.  With shoes and socks on, and no difficulties, we crossed Bear Creek, "the most dangerous ford in the Sierras," according to our guidebook.  It was a hot one today; the temperatures seem to be rising and the mosquitos breeding, as they seem to be rapidly increasing in numbers.  We stopped by a stream for a rather long lunch break, where we washed off in the frigid water, and were able to rinse out many of our clothing items.  How refreshing!

Silver Pass was much like Selden, in that the climb up was long and gradual, shaded with trees and plentiful grass and streams along the way (and very little snow).  A spectacular cascade showered down right on the trail.  We reached the pass fairly late in the evening, and hiked on a bit further down the North side of the pass, where we were surrounded by semi-icy lakes.  Upon cooking dinner, I realized I had lost my spoon (ironically after I had just carried and returned someone else's spoon).  At least I have someone to share a spoon with for now, I'll buy one in town. We had a phenomenal sunset view all to ourselves as we dined. 

the Trail always provides

Day 51 ~ miles 850 - 868.2

We slept late today, until almost 7; I suppose our bodies needed extra rest after the physically and mentally demanding day yesterday.  I think a really difficult day every once in a while isn't such a bad thing; it makes us realize how great the trail is on most days.  We would climb to Selden Pass later in the day, but it was so refreshing to wake up and not have to think about hiking over a challenging pass first thing in the morning.  Our morning hiking through the valley was gentle, with not much change in elevation; just what we needed after yesterday.  Our mantra on the trail is "the trail always provides", and the easy terrain was perfect. 

We forded Evolution Creek, one of the most well known fords on the trail.  The creek was wide, about 30 yards, with water up to our knees. The water looked fairly calm, but was swift and more powerful than it appeared.  It was also ice cold, and the temperature caused tremendous foot pain, and eventually numbness.

We retrieved some water from a stream before lunch, where we found someone's spoon and bag of various powdered drink mixes (imagine taking a break to eat a meal and not having your spoon, terrible!).  We carried the things from the stream, not sure who they belonged to or if we would even see them.  A few minutes later, we ran into the kids having lunch.   It turned out that the stuff belonged to Barbie.  In exchange for returning his things, he gave us each a pack of Pop-Tarts.  We had been worried that we didn't pack out enough food for this section, so we have been eating really skimpy and trying to stretch our food. The Pop-Tarts will help a lot.  Once again, the Trail provides.

We hiked up to Selden Pass in the afternoon; our guidebook describes it as the easiest pass.  It was my favorite pass so far (Moonshine disagrees).  Rather than barren, sharp and dramatic, Selden is soft, alive and gentle with lakes on either side, pine forests, grass, and streams and cascades all over the south side.  Best of all, there was hardly any snow! 

The trail provided us with an awesome day.

snow, snow, and Muir snow

Day 50 ~ miles 833 - 850

With 6 miles to Muir Pass, we started hiking early, and we knew we'd get over the pass before the snow began to turn to slush.  The approach to the pass was long and snowy.  There was snow on about 2 miles of trail leading up to the pass, with footprints going in various directions.  It's exhausting hiking through the snow, and even moreso when you have to find the route.  Eventually, after a couple of false passes (when you think you're to the pass, but you're really not), we made it to the pass.  There stood Muir Hut, a beautiful, round stone structure that serves as an emergency shelter.  On the North side of the pass, there were frozen lakes and snow as far as we could see.  We took a quick snack break and got going down from the pass.

Little did we know that hours of trudging through the snow, wayfinding, postholing, and slipping and sliding awaited us.  It was one of our most frustrating times on the trail.  After nearly 6 hours of snow travel, we were exhausted, but in the clear. 

We cruised down into Evolution Valley, and it seems that the valleys continue to grow more lush.  We spotted a family of 5 deer lying by a stream in a meadow.  The stark contrast in landscapes  almost made it seem as if we had been transported to a different land; the snow from this morning is merely a distant memory.  Early to bed tonight, as we are exhausted and camped alone next to the rushing Evolution Creek, which we will ford tomorrow. 

mosquito valley

Day 49 ~ miles 816 - 833

We slept late, until nearly 7, to allow the morning sun to soften the icy snow just a bit.  We headed up Mather Pass with Midway, and noticed just as we started to make our way up that one of my trekking pole tips was missing.  What a way to start the day; my sweet husband gave me one of his poles to use until we make it into town.  We made it to the pass without difficulty.  The North side of the pass was covered with snow and steep.  Slowly, we made our way down.  I feel like I am learning so much and improving myself and my hiking ability every day out here.  The Sierras are beautiful, but they do not come without a price.  This is by far the most difficult hiking we have ever experienced.

We descended 4,000 feet into the valley, where we had lunch with Midway.  It was hot down in the valley, and the boys decided to cool off by dipping into an icy cold snowmelt stream.  I took pictures.

Hiking through the valley was incredible.  There was water everywhere, and vibrant shades of green, large trees, grassy meadows, and blooming wildflowers filled the landscape, with huge, barren, gray mountains towering above.  We were enamored.

At day's end, we picked a perfect tentsite near a stream and dropped our packs to the ground.  Within seconds we were both swarmed with thick mosquitoes.  We quickly put our packs back on to hike to a less infested location.  They found us here too, so it was an unfortunate rush to cook, eat, organize our things for the evening, and retreat to the safety of the tent.  And so it begins...we knew mosquitoes would be bad, we just didn't know where or when.  I have a feeling this is only the beginning.  We'll be investing in some insect repellent at our next town stop.  Onto Muir Pass tomorrow.

getting our groove back, sorta

Day 48 - miles 802 - 816

We found our groove today, kinda.  We awoke at our "normal" time, shortly after 5am, for the first time in awhile.  A good start to the day.  We hiked about 5.5 miles to Pinchot Pass.  The approach to the pass was very snowy, and it was difficult to see the trail.  Footprints were scattered through the snow in various directions.  Our guidebook noted that it could be easy to lose the trail and take an incorrect route.  After tediously trudging through the snow forever, we took more defined switchbacks up to the pass.  Besides the beautiful scenery, we were thrilled about the lack of snow on the north side of the pass!  This allowed us to pick up the pace a bit, and by lunch we had hiked nearly as many miles as we did all day yesterday.  We were back in a rhythm, and it felt so good.  We hiked on, through multiple streams that required fording.  We usually take off our shoes and socks if safe to do so, and it slows us down tremendously.  I think we did it at least 4 times today!  We planned to hike over 2 passes today, so we hurried to Mather Pass as to not arrive too late in the evening.  As the day goes on, the snow turns to slush, which can be potentially dangerous on a steep mountainside, or on rocky terrain or boulder fields.  We were concerned that the hike over the pass would be dangerous, so we're camping right at the base of the pass.  Midway showed up to camp, we hadn't seen him since town.  I'm not sure what the plan is for the hike up, as everything will be iced over in the morning (also unsafe).  Perhaps sleeping late?  We have been hiking less miles than anticipated, so hopefully we will be able to make up for it in the coming days, or we may be forced to spread our food very thin!  We're sleeping around 11,500 feet, probably the highest we've camped.  We're surrounded by snow and just heard some rocks come smashing down the mountain, I think the marmots are plotting against us.  It's going to be a cold one way up here!

a long trip to Bishop

Day 44 ~ [pct] miles 786 - 788.5

We slept really late because we were really exhausted, and also we knew if we awoke and started hiking early, the kids would sleep later and pass us anyway.  In addition to being younger than us, they are also much faster and more energetic than us.  We didn't want to get off of the trail and have 10 people in front of us trying to get a ride into town.  By the time we woke up, the kids were all gone.

We took our time packing up.  We didn't have our usual "going to town" motivation.  Perhaps it was because the task of getting to Bishop was so daunting, as it is nearly 60 miles from the trail.

Usually, hiking into town is easy, probably because we usually have that extra motivation.  Today, that was not the case.  The hiking was so difficult, and it didn't help that we had to hike 7.5 non-PCT miles UP and over Kearsarge Pass.  After way longer than it should've taken, we arrived at the "road".  We didn't realize it, but this "road" was actually just a parking lot for the trailhead at the end of a 17 mile mountain road.  That meant that our chances for getting a ride decreased dramatically, as our only option would be with a hiker, but we were hopeful since it was a Sunday.  We got a piece of carrot cake (my favorite) and a banana from a nice lady   who was camping, and ended up getting a ride fairly quickly with 2 young guys from LA to Independence, the first leg of our journey. 

Next, we had 42 miles remaining to Bishop, and we were quickly picked up by a friendly gentleman with another hiker in the car.  The hiker was actually getting off of the trail due to injury.  They dropped us off at the Vagabond Inn, where Joker and Cracker Keeper already had a room for us to share. 

A block of 3 rooms were all full of thru-hikers, and we had a great afternoon and evening hanging out, eating town food,and doing our chores. 

Looking forward to a full day of rest and relaxation here tomorrow.

Forester

Day 43 ~ miles 770 - 786

Forester Pass is the highest point on the PCT, at an elevation of 13,200 feet.  It also has a reputation as being difficult and dangerous....yikes.  We were heading toward the pass with a group (like I have said before, safety in numbers).  I tried not to think of my Mt. Whitney experience as we neared the pass; unlike Mt. Whitney, Forester Pass is not optional!  As usual, we fell to the back of the group as I slowly huffed and puffed and trudged across the snow fields.  We arrived to the base of the pass to find the trail up mostly covered with snow.  The trail was impossible to follow, so we had to make our own way straight up the snowy, rocky mountain.  It was very trying, and required constant and flawless focus.  Eventually, we made our way to the switchbacks of the trail.  We zig-zagged up to the pass until we arrived at the infamous snow chute, a steep chute down the mountain over which the trail was covered with snow.  On the other side of the chute awaited my very own cheering squad, all of the folks we had been hiking up with, who all knew about my Mt. Whitney experience.  It was scary, but like most things on the trail, didn't live up to all of the hype.  A couple more sketchy areas later, we made it to the top of the pass.  I felt so relieved and accomplished, but neverending snow awaited on the North side of the pass.

We celebrated up top for a bit before heading down.  We all took turns glissading (sliding on our butts) down the mountain, it was so much fun!  After hours of wayfinding and trudging through the slushy snow, we finally were almost clear of the snow.  We had lost the rest of the group, so we stopped to have a really late lunch by ourselves.  I took off my shoes and laid on the warm rock where we would break.  Almost instantly I fell asleep.  I felt exhausted and just awful in general.  I had no appetite and no desire to drink, though I knew I needed both food and water.  I'm not sure if I felt ill due to the altitude or exertion or both.  Finally I forced down a little food and some water and we hiked just a little further to a campsite where we camped with some other thru-hikers (we call the group "the kids", as they are all pretty young).  They had a fire, so we joined them to warm our bones and dry out our snow-drenched shoes.  I think it was our first on-trail fire of the entire hike (fires had been prohibited until recently).  I feel better, and we're looking forward to getting into town tomorrow.

Mt. Whitney

Day 42 ~ [pct] miles 766 - 770 (plus Mt. Whitney side trip)

We awoke early to cold, cold air.  It was so nice not having to pack up our stuff!  We planned to leave our tent setup with most of our belongings in it, since we would be returning later in the day.  We loaded up our packs with plenty of food and water and extra clothing/jackets just in case, and setout to ascend the highest mountain in the continental US! 

We hiked along streams and by lakes as we gradually ascended.  Eventually, the path became unclear, as it was covered with snow.  We followed footprints through the snow as we found our way up the mountain.  We began to ascend more quickly as we took switchbacks up the mountain, and the trail was mostly clear of snow.  As we gained elevation, some snowy and icy patches remained on the trail.   The further we traveled, the more sketchy and unsafe it became to cross the snow patches.  At some points on the trail, one wrong step could be fatal.  I'm afraid of heights, and often overthink the consequences in such situations.  We could see the hut on top of the mountain, with less than one mile to go, we hit a dangerous snowy patch and I began to panic.  Some hikers we knew were descending the mountain and warned us of more dangerous areas up ahead.  After a stressful mental struggle, I decided that I needed to turn back.  Moonshine was totally supportive and was glad that we didn't put ourselves into a dangerous situation.

I had planned to scatter some of my father's cremated remains at the summit of Mt. Whitney, which made the situation even more emotional.  The views from up there were incredible, and I know my Dad would've been totally awestruck, so I let him go anyway.  It was a bittersweet moment, as I wished so bad that I could call him up and tell him where I was, but I was glad to be able to leave some of him in such an amazing place. 

We hiked down the mountain, back to Crabtree Meadows.  I was physically and emotionally drained, as I crawled in the tent for a nap.  Moonshine made me lunch and coffee in "bed", how sweet.

We packed up our things and headed on for a few more miles.  And so began the river fords!  We forded 2 large streams in the 4 miles we hiked.  Shoes and socks off,the water was so cold that it hurt!  We are camping with Midway and Joker and Cracker Keeper in a grassy meadow by a stream.  It's super cold, which seems to be the norm around here in the evenings.  Big day tomorrow, Forester Pass!

to Whitney basecamp

Day 41 ~ mile 746 - 766

Oh, just another day in the most beautiful place on earth.  We took our morning break by a stream and lake surrounded by gigantic peaks.  We were concerned, as we had forgotten to print out a water report at our last town stop.  The PCT water report is a report of the status of water sources on the trail, kept up to date by hikers.  It's a fantastic and vitally important resource.  To our total surprise, we learned from some other hikers during our streamside break that there is no more water report!  The water report is only maintained for Southern California....that means water will be plentiful, and a water report is unnecessary!  What fantastic news, as water has dictated our hike for so long.  What a relief it will be to not have to carry 8-12 pounds of water at a time!

Our goal for the day was upper Crabtree Meadows, or Mt. Whitney basecamp, as we called it, with a group of hikers.  From here, we will make the journey up to Mt. Whitney tomorrow, the highest peak in the continental US.   Before arriving to upper Crabtree Meadows, we passed through lower Crabtree Meadows.  In this large meadow, we saw more wildlife that we have seen on the entire trail!  Several deer grazed, countless trout were feeding in the stream, and marmots playfully ran and hid from us.  We could've stayed in the meadow forever, but we had to get to basecamp.  Whitney tomorrow!

aesthetics

Day 40 ~ miles 723 - 746

We slept well under the phenomenal stars of the Sierra sky, but it was freezing cold!  We awoke early, as usual, and hiked a gentle ascent down from our campsite. 

Everything in these mountains seems to be so aesthetically pleasing.  It's as if every live tree, rock, fallen dead tree has been perfectly placed.  We pondered the age of some of these huge live trees, and how long the fallen dead trees had been decomposing, surely a slow process at these heights.

We saw our first marmot!  He popped out of a dead tree, presumably his home, to check us out as we walked by.  A cute, chubby little mammal of the woodland, it seems similar to a groundhog.

Fighter jets performed stunts overhead for much of the day as we hiked.  We made our way to a grassy meadow where we are camped by ourselves at 11,000 feet.  It gets cold so fast in these parts!  We possibly just witnessed Air Force One fly overhead, or some other large jet flanked by 2 fighter jets on each side...pretty neat!

up, up, and away

Day 38 - miles 702.2 - 704.9

So Thor, Ferntoe, Joker, and Cracker Keeper used their charm to persuade us to stick around Kennedy Meadows until this evening. It didn't take much work on their part, we're pretty easy to convince (especially when it comes to staying in town).  We enjoyed the extra large shaded porch of the general store for most of the day.

We hiked out around 6:30, just a few miles to the Kennedy Meadows campground.  Several other hikers had the same idea..looks like we'll be heading into the Sierras with a big group of people.  Safety in numbers, right?

We are still in disbelief that we are at the gateway to the Sierras!  How did we even get here?  It surely doesn't feel like we've walked 700 miles.  Well OK, my body does feel every bit of those 700 miles...but it has flown by.

Up, up (literally), and into the Sierras we go!