Mount Whitney, Foreseter Pass, and more

I am now traveling with a great team of seven hikers:
               -Ungerwear
               -Bamboo
               -Olaf
               -Mooch
               -Lady
               -Kareoke
               -and Wasabi (me!)

We have made it 90 miles into the Sierra and has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. The mountains are stunningly beautiful and the rivers are icy cold. We climbed to the highest point in the contiguous U.S. (Mt. Whitney, 14,505') and crossed the highest pass on the PCT (Forester (13,200'). We are currently in Bishop researching the next section and replenishing our bodies with food. We will head to the trail early tomorrow morning with the goal of making it to Mammoth in the next 10 days. Packs are heavier with extra snow gear and calories but the beauty of the high Sierra is worth it. Enjoy the pictures.

Finished these massive burritos and then immediately put away a pint of icecream each. Hungry??!

An afternoon thunderstorm rolled in around noon and hurried us down from Forester Pass.

Forester Pass is the highest point on the official PCT at 13,200'.

Tenacious flowers above 13,000' inspire me to keep climbing.

Creek crossings are always more pleasant when we find a log! This one we had to camp on one side and wait for the water to drop overnight before we could cross safely.

Traversing across steep snowy slopes to get down to our resupply in Bishop.

Just a quick dip in an icy cold alpine lake.

A warm campfire is just the ticket after two long days summiting Mt. Whitney and crossing Forester Pass.

Not a bad view.

Crossing the ice chute on Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT.

Sitting on the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous U.S. (14,505')

Group photo on top of Mt. Whitney

Sunrise as we hike toward the summit of Whitney. We left camp at 3:30am and got to the top by 7:45!

Several miles of sun cups on snow fields during the approach to Mount Whitney. Glad we hit them while the snow was still firm!

Chicken Spring Lake! A delightful place for a swim on a warm afternoon.

Campsite right next to the lake. I often sleep out under the stars but the mosquitoes have been bad enough that my tent has been necessary every night.

700 miles means we are almost done with the desert! Time for some more water!

Happy feet at a rest break! Hannah and I make a point to pull our shoes off and do a quick massage for each foot every few hours to keep them feeling fresh and blister free

Walking through dappled sunshine in an oak grove we are happy for the shade

600 miles and technically entering the tail of the Sierra Nevada... the Tehachapi mountains

An old sluice from back in the gold mining days, California is rich with mining artifacts from the late 1800s

This is an example of the many gates ingeniously designed to keep dirt bikes and four wheelers off the trail while still allowing hikers and equestrians to easily pass through

Beautiful desert vistas in the late afternoon light

My favorite Joshua tree in bloom

Sunset from camp

First view of the mount Whitney group in the snowy Sierra!

My favorite flannel bush, blooming brilliantly as ever

Sunset heading into Walker Pass, the light that evening was spectacular!

Lupine frequently adorns the trail as we hike

The view from our campsite near the Spanish Needles, finally starting to feel like the rocky Sierra!

A nocturnal cricket friend hopping around near my head

Trying to hitch into Welden to do a quick resupply... ended up getting a ride in a Dodge Charger! Thank you, Dereck

Spent the afternoon at a KOA swimming pool in Welden before hiking out 12 miles. What is better to rehydrate than watermelon!

Found another Wenatchee friend on trail... Brooke Hagopian or Waves

Kennedy Meadows: Gateway to the Sierra

Mile 700 marks a transition on the PCT: out of the desert and into the Sierra. With a reportedly legendary snowpack in the Sierra, it is a big transition indeed. Many unknowns lie ahead for the bold thru-hikers who chose to continue through it. 

And Chelan is there! She made it to Kennedy Meadows, mile 700, and reportedly headed into the mountains this morning. Apparently the internet was molasses slow and pay phones were really expensive, so but she got a few texts out asking me to write this post for her. (Can I call myself a "Blog Angel"?)

   Shout out to Patty and Ron, two of the most wonderful trail angels on the planet! Spent a glorious day at their home in Tehachapi enjoying home made enchiladas, Margaritas, and Captain Ron's famous sour dough waffles.

We were part of the unfortunate group of 15+ hikers who all got a water-borne stomach virus in town. Vomiting, diarrhea, and a fever dehydrated us pretty quickly so we had to spend an extra day in recovery mode. Here we are squatting on the stoop of our cheap hotel heating soup to regain strength.

Finishing the desert

Hello everyone! We are more than 500 miles into the trip and getting ready for the last week of desert. Yippee!  I have enjoyed the desert tremendously but this final stretch is the driest and least scenic so I am quite excited for the transition to the Sierra.

 Please enjoy the following pictures and captions. You will notice a great number of trail angels. This is because of the heat and lack of water. When there are 20 mile dry sections we tend to spend the day siesta-ing in the shade at the homes of trail angels and only walk during the early morning and evening.

I am also including a little bump for our fundraiser. If you have already donated, THANK YOU! If you haven't, please consider even a small contribution to Inspiring Girls Expeditions. Hannah and I are trying to raise $1 for every mile we hike to support this fantastic organization. They send high school girls on wilderness science expeditions - for free - to help build confident, scientifically minded, stewards of the land.  Please see the link below for more information and the opportunity to donate. We are about a quarter of the way through the hike and a quarter of the way toward our fundraising goal!

http://www.inspiringgirls.org/donate/

So far every experience with wind farms has been extremely positive. There is always a welcoming sign and employees offering to share water with thirsty hikers

Snow cone machine at Casa De Luna! They sure know how to make happy hikers!

Piling in the back of a truck to shuttle the trail angels house called hiker heaven.

The big dog is named Archie. He is 85% timber wolf and doing the trail as a service dog with his owner who is a retired marine. Archie weighs 120 lbs and is one of the few dogs who seems to be doing well on trail. Even so they have to do a lot of night hiking to avoid the heat.

Vasquez rocks - an awesome formation to walk through exemplifying tilted sedimentary siltstone with some conglomerate of metamorphic cobbles embedded within.

One of my favorite springs so far... easy to access and plenty of flow!

Enjoying the view after a long climb!

Sometimes the trail is brushy and seems downright luscious even when you can't find a good water source for miles!

Found a swimming pole one afternoon for a siesta!

A wild horse was waiting for me on trail at about six this morning. Apparently there are a few remaining herds of wild horses left over from the Spanish explorers.

Hiker town is a trail angel with a lot of character. You walk through the gate and are met with 20 + little buildings designed for hikers to sleep and rest in. It looks like a movie set! This is the last watering hole and resting spot before an extremely flat, hot, and dry section along the LA aqueduct and the Mohave desert.

Lots of cats live in the "cat house" at Hiker Town but so do tired hikers looking for a nice place to crash for a night!

More little buildings at Hiker Town

When the PCT meanders through a wind farm it feels like we are walking among alien giants. Sometimes with incessant movement and a high pitched whine, other times silent silhouettes looming above. 

This jerry-rigged hiker shower is quite the blessing after a three day stretch with limited water sources and no creeks in which to take a sponge bath! Ironically as you stand under the hose/sprinkler shower head and scrub the dirt off of your legs you also have a great view of the busy highway rushing by.

While the wind farms are examples of extremely friendly and supportive land owners, others are not as exemplified by this ranch and hunt club with seven miles of barbed wire and warning signs.

We made it 500 miles! Time to celebrate!

The view over hot and dry Antelope Valley... the past 250 miles have been a sweeping arc west to avoid the majority of the Mohave desert but over the next few days we will have to venture down to that flat desolate place!

The view over hot and dry Antelope Valley... the past 250 miles have been a sweeping arc west to avoid the majority of the Mohave desert but over the next few days we will have to venture down to that flat desolate place!

Chia!

Poodle dog bush! We have been warned many times about the itchy allergic reaction we will experience if we rub against the leaves or flowers however I have yet to meet ANYONE who has ever experienced these symptoms... hmmmm

My shadow keeps me company all day. Since we are almost always walking north it is fun to watch it swing around from the left to the right.

Exploring an old mine shaft (I believe it was for graphite but am not entirely certain)

We got to help cook the famous taco salad for about 40 hungry hikers. That means 21 lbs of beans, 18 lbs of cheese cabbage, chips, tomatoes, olives, jalapeños, sour cream etc. Now everyone is lined up to enjoy!

Yum yum taco salad! Also notice my Hawaiian pattern dress... there is a mandatory Hawaiian themed dress code so they have several hundred Hawaiian shirts and dresses to loan out!

Sometimes the gnats and biting flies won't leave you alone so drinking under the head net seems like a good idea.

One of my favorite bushes... margarita bush with hundreds of little orange and yellow flowers.

Finding beauty even in the hot and less inspiring sections!

Casa de Luna has been hosting hikers for the past 18 years so their huge property is scattered with thousands of rocks painted by their many visitors. This is my addition to the artwork!

A little American pride on top of Baden Powell!

Handstand on top of Baden Powell (9399 ft)

Lego man hiked 10 lbs of wine to the top of Baden Powell (9939 ft) so we could all enjoy the sunset and a glass of vino. Props!

Trail magic with a dog and cold beer, thank you Dip!

Better take a seat when you can!

Small Jeffry pine trees beginning to grow back after a fire. Beautiful!

Snickers and snickers ice creams have become a favorite... definitely a hot mess!