Mammoth Lakes, Mile 903ish, Day 53

Made it to Mammoth Lakes!

Over the past 6 days, we've hiked over 125 Sierra miles, 7 passes, forded a few creeks, and climbed thousands of feet to finally eat a delicious 'Country Benedict' this morning. During this stretch, I've been hiking comfortable 20mi days with Stride (Georgia), the 3 Caballeros (Colorado), Ant Eater (Florida), Free Bird (Illinois), Calf (Germany), Rubylocks (New Zealand) and Gerelict (Ohio). We've continued to enjoy what the Sierras have to offer: High mountain passes (some >13,000ft), cool air, clean tasty water, gorgeous views, and good company. The mosquitoes have become a little problem,  but DEET combined with a head-net helps a bunch.

In higher elevations >10,000ft, we see Marmots, Pikas, little rodents, etc. I have yet to see any bears, but apparently I missed the opportunity yesterday climbing over Silver Pass.

One particular day was when climbing over Muir Pass. After a long hike up, passing small snow fields and many false summits, we arrived to a medium sized alpine lake. The sun was out, and a light, cool breeze was constant. The lake was still half-covered with ice and while walking behind Dionysus, I see him veer off trail to the right and walk right into the lake. At first it was a crazy sight and I thought he was mental. His clothes soaked, he came out with a big smile. As the 2 other caballeros hiked through, they automatically saw what Dionysus had done, stripped down, and jumped in the lake as well. Ant Eater and I had but no choice to do the same. Diving into an ice-cold lake above 11,000ft sounds like a stupid idea, and perhaps it was, but to me it was liberating! After drying off, we finished climbing the pass, ate a little lunch on top and jumped into another lake on the way down.

Here's some links to video I've taken during this last stretch:

Lake Swim Session
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/VID_20120615_102508.3gp

Silver Pass
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/VID_20120617_105034.3gp

Caballeros convincing us that this is the perfect diving rock

Typical alpine lake

Blow Downs! Thanks for trail-crew for clearing most of this

More blow downs...

Mmmmmmmm! Town food!

Lone Pine, Mile 790, Day 46, High Sierra!

Hola,

I am now deep into the High Sierra!

Just 8 miles after leaving Kennedy Meadows we entered the Sequoia Wilderness and were greeted with beautiful alpine meadows and views of what was to come; endless 14,000ft+ peaks of the high Sierra, abundant water, and cooler temperatures! It's a hiker's playground up here...

Over the past 7 days, we've been trekking at elevations of 10,000-14,000+ ft through gorgeous landscapes (the climbing doesn't bother me because the views make up for it). A typical day looks like this: wake up at 6 am (1hr later than normal because it's freakin cold in the mornings), eat a quick brekfast (pop-tart w/ carnation mix), pack up my gear (because I'm carrying a bear canister, the pack is not as comfortable as is was in So-Cal. I have to jam loose clothes in between my back and the canister to make it work), and then hike 10-12 miles to a spot for lunch. After eating lunch, we hike another 10-12 miles (crossing streams and/or climbing through mountain passes) to get to our final resting spot for the night. Once we reach camp I put on long pants and my coat to prevent the mosquitos from gettin' me, set up the tent, and cook dinner which usually consists of a pasta side w/ olive oil, gold-fish crackers, and flavored water. 9pm is bedtime.

In between all that I enjoy amazing views and spot interesting wildlife. Because this area is considered 'wilderness', there are many deer, marmots, bears (have yet to see one of those), etc in these mountains that are protected from being hunted. The other day I enjoyed some fresh trout after a hiker had caught 5 for dinner.

For the most part, I've been hiking with Ant Eater (Florida) and Free Bird (Illinois). Great gents to have around and share this section of the hike with. My other hiking buddy 3-Bears is behind a day or two but will be sure to catch up in no time. Some of my hiking freinds have left the trail for various reasons and I'll miss them dearly, but that's how it goes I guess.

A few more notes:
- Everybody has Sierra fever and all seem to bein high spirits after Southern California
- I am now hiking the John Muhir Trail Northbound (PCT joins the JMT for about 180mi) and am considering finishing the JMT to Yosemite Valley... TBD
- Climbed Mt. Whitney the other day (14,505 ft, highest peak in the lower 48)
- Hiked through Forester Pass @ around 13,000ft: sometimes considered to be difficult on a high snow year
- Sick of carrying my bear canister, but it's not a big deal
- Haven't gotten my feet wet yet during a stream crossing (low snow year = easy stream crossings :))
- Loving the PCT experience

Here are some links to some pics/vid below (Lone Pine Library makes it hard to upload pics)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120606_143312.jpg -sign i ran into before seeing our first Sierra glimpse... hits me deep!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120602_191619.jpg -Trail magic at Walker Pass, fantastic

The rest of the pics are just of me on top of things... not too eventful
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120608_135619.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120609_125205.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120610_142433.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120602_174700-1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/IMG_20120608_135502.jpg
This video is from the top of Mt. Whitney.. hope it turns out (haven't seen it yet)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74583578/VID_20120609_124954.3gp

Kenedy Meadows, Mile 702, Day 39

I've made it to Kennedy Meadows, gateway to the High Sierra!

It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and write a thorough update, but now that I have finally made it to Tom's place (check it out at http://hikethepct-km.com/index.html), I'm able to prepare for the next leg of the journey. We're all competing to use the internet so I'll have to make this update brief.

The last stretch of hiking was the longest and most difficult so far. About 144 miles of hot, dry, and sandy desert from Mojave to Kennedy Meadows. We've passed huge wind farms, which meas very strong winds that made it difficult to camp and cook. Decisions were made by all whether to night hike or face the heat of the day (both having pros and cons). Luckily, I made it here in 6 days combining both early morning hikes, hot afternoon hikes, and late evening hikes. The heat doesn't affect me as much as it does others, and I thank the brown skin for that! However at times a gust of wind or a small patch of shade would be a God-send. Others have skipped this section, or spent extra time in Mojave/Tehachapi to wait for a change in weather. Though difficult, this has also been one of my favorite hiking sections for evening/night hikes, being rewarded with stunning views and amazing scenery. I was able to take gorgeous twilight photos (not able to update yet) of sun setting behind mountains, and the earths shadow + moon in the other direction. There has been a lack of water, sometimes 20+ miles in 95-100 degree heat without a natural water source and if it wasn't for water caches, many of us would have suffered.

The trail approaching Kennedy Meadows provided some great ridge walks and opportunity to see the Sierra ahead. The other day I woke up to the smell of fire (Gorge fire 25mi west of KM), and we were all worried about getting cut off before reaching KM. Luckily however, it seems to have died down and the skies are now clear again.

Things to mention:

--The trail name is Dirty Brown (as of mile 464)!
-My sleeping pad has popped, so I've been roughin' it on the ground for the past several days (good for the body I guess)
-Feet are feeling great, but body is loosing weight +10 lbs.. I feel super skinny but my endurance is a lot better than day 1 (20-30 mile days are normal and can be hiked by 5-6pm if need be)
-I cloths and body and sleeping bag have acquired a nice funk
-Morale is high, heading into the Sierra
-I've been hiking with various people (3 Bears, Ant Eater, and many others who've I've been leapfrogging with) and am continuing to meet great and interesting people along the way
-I've seen cumulus clouds for the the first time! Stoked for the shade and cooler weather ahead (not to mention abundant water)
-Trail magic (thanks to Okie Girl) at Walker Pass was a great morale booster. There's nothing like cold drinks and a home cooked meal, after 25 odd miles of hot, waterless hiking
-PCT is only getting better

Kennedy Meadows: Beautiful place and very hiker friendly. I took a dip in the Kern river before approaching this small community. Finally got a chance to pick up my resupply (bear canister, food, etc), but will be sending some gear home to cut the weight.
We watched Men In Black last night on the 'big screen' and hung out be the camp fire. A great way to let our muscles heal and relax before the climbs coming up. Tom's place is ran like an amazing hostel, provided with multiple little trailers (currently sharing a deluxe 3 person trailer with Ant Eater and Birthday Girl), internet, an outdoor kitchen, and is located across the street from the General Store. Like I'd mentioned, this is an amazing place to catch up with past hiking friends, and meet new ones!

Next update will probably be in the middle of the Sierras during my next resupply. Current pics will hopefully come soon!

To be continued...

At Hikertown sharing an amazing care package from Allan, thanks a million!

Crossing a long and flat 18 mile section of the Mojave Desert...

Enjoying a cold drink from the Mojave liquor store!