Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 873 to 888. We woke up at our lovely campsite overlooking a valley full of pine trees and sequoia. Though lovely, we were missing the snow covered mountains we had been walking through for the last 8 days. As we walked down the trail, we lamented that we must be...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 860 to 873. I wanted to address the fear mongering that has plagued the Sierra this year. Since 2017 was a record breaking year for snow fall, with some areas receiving 200% above average accumulation, the Sierra have quite naturally been the talk of the trail....
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 838 to 860 (6 miles before Selden Pass) Close your eyes and imagine a dark stone hut built in 1930. Its fire place has been stoned walled and there is only one window, which can’t be opened. Now imagine 12 hikers who have just eaten two week old salami,...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 827 to 838 Muir Hut on top of Muir Pass. The Middle Fork of the Kings was still raging beneath our tents, and I slept through my alarm waking up 30 minutes late, but I still was ready before Vipr :-p. The trail was dry for the first bit and we were making good...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 814 to 827 Middle Fork of the Kings River. The Sierra is a magical place this time of year. Winter above 10,000 feet and summer below. Today, I was lucky enough to walk from winter into summer. The challenge of the day was Mather Pass, which stands at 12,093 feet...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 793.4 to 802.6 plus 2 miles walking rivers. I put warm feet into wet socks, then into wet shoes, and stepped on wet ground. A lovely way to start the morning. At least I was in the middle of the snowy Sierra, whose beauty is a salve to almost any aliment. Our...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 789.1 to 793.5 plus 6 miles on the Kearsarge Pass Trail. My crampons bit into firm snow as I left the campsite and started the trek up to Kearsarge in morning twilight. Vipr, Bedazzled, and Fun Dip followed behind. There has been a lot of attrition in the Sierra...
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 786.1 to 788.5 plus 7 miles over Kearsarge Pass. A little too much socializing last night led to the decision to sleep in and wake up at 6:30. In the morning, our first steps on the surrounding snow led to an oh shit moment where we all realized our mistake....
Pacific Crest Trail
Mile 775.34 to 786.1 We woke up on our little island of dirt among a sea of snow. The sounds of Tyndall Creek could be heard from almost a .5 mile away as we slowly packed up our gear and took our first steps on the firm snow. Today was the day we would cross Forester...
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...
