Pacific Crest Trail
2 miles on the Whitney Spur Trail to the PCT Junction. Mile 767 to 775.34. We have been told that the trail starts to get real after Mt. Whitney. There are navigational challenges, a number of river fords, near complete snow coverage, and of course Forester Pass, the...
Pacific Crest Trail
No PCT miles. I awoke to my second alarm at 1:02 and pulled on my hiking clothes over my thermals. The stars hung low in the sky and the snow covered mountains reflected the half moon’s glow as I crawled from my tent. As I climbed the rock ledge to Vipr’s...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 760 to 767. Today started with our first true river crossing. We were all excited, but not looking forward to the prospect of wet feet first thing in the morning. We had scouted Rock River the night before and found several potential crossing points. We opted for...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 745 to 760 (+2 miles from Horseshoe Meadow) The sound of snow hitting my rain fly woke me in the middle of the coldest night on trail. I was wearing my thermals, jacket, hat, hood and two pairs of sleep socks while wrapped up in my quilt. I was warm enough, but...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 735 to 745. We awoke to the Silver glow of moonlight as we crawled out of our tents and started down trail. The horizon was a light gray and the moon hung heavy in the sky. We passed twisted trees and bolders smoothed by the winds as we slide through the night....
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 719 to 735. We started out with a 4 mile morning climb from our camp at 8,620 feet along Cow Creek up to 10,500 feet. The trail hugged seasonal streams and passed through piles of white bolders and tall pine trees as we slowly climbed. Some of the group members...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 702 to 719 We groaned as we picked up our packs and put them not on our backs but on our thighs and then swung them onto our backs with a thud and sharp exhalation. Bronzed and strong legged from the desert though we may be, we are now suffering under the weight...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 681 to 702 plus .7 mile to Kennedy Meadows General Store. Bedazzled, Vipr, and I awoke at Chimney Creek Campground at 4:00 and packed up quickly. We were on a mission to get to Kennedy Meadows and put the cabosh on the desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail....
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 664 to 681 After our game of Farkel last night, I was returning to my tent with Vipr and Shades when we came upon a girl puking out the door of her tent. Vipr gave her some electrolyte powder and encouraged her to mix it with water and drink little sips every 3-4...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 651 to 664 Joshua Tree Spring. There was some last minute debate among the group about whether to hike today or try to hitch to Lake Isabella. Valdy wanted to hitch, Burnout wanted to hike, as did Bedazzled and myself, and Fun Dip and Vipr were indifferent. There...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 628.1 to 651. The sky was awash with color as we rose sleepily from our slumber. Standing around our tents, we looked out on a kaleidoscope of colors slowly rising over the mountains heralding the arrival of the sun. We moved stiffly from yesterday’s...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 602.4 to 628.1 + 2 miles on an alternate trail to water. We woke up in the rocky and pine covered foothills of the Sierra believing we had left the desert behind. There were pine needles to cushion our feet and shade overhead as we walked down the trail in the...
