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