After we left mom and dad, we did about 13 miles and camped with Mark, a math PhD who recently taught for 3 years at UBC. The next morning he left a little earlier than we did and we didn't see him again until the end of the day.
We're in mosquito-land by the way and Julia's legs are ravaged with bug bites.
Anyways, we try to take breaks where there is at least a slight breeze, which helps keep the bugs at bay. Sometimes it just doesn't work out though and you're eating lunch in a bug net. So oir plan was to make it to Tuolomne Meadows, but at 4:30, with 8 miles to go, we passed by Mark, and Britt and David. We stopped for the day and hung out with them. It was nice. It was right by a river and the bugs weren't bad. We were able to clean up and enjoy a dinner by a campfire. Great evening with great people.
The next morning we got out after David, but before the other two, and on our way in we ran into Patch and Lampshade and met their friend Carl, who happens to be from Quebec.
We got into Tuolumne in good time and picked up our stuff from the Post Office. OMG!! We got a box from our most special trail angel that had two brand new Exped mattresses, some cashews and some mini chocolate bars!!! I'm writing this while lying on my brand new, incredibly comfortable mattress, atop Benson Pass, and two deer just wandered past the front of the tent!! How awesome is this?!?!?!
Canadian couple driven to live and eat naturally. We're travelling the world taking on challenges that test us physically, mentally and emotionally. Visit www.naturallydriven.ca for more!
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Magical Mammoth
If you reference our original resupply plan, Mammoth Lakes isn't a part of it. The plan was to meet mom and dad Lafleur in South Lake Tahoe, and their trip was booked way back when that seemed like a feasible option. Well we forgot to take some dates into account, namely the 4 (amazing) days in Bakersfield and a few extra zeroes here and there. So the plan had to change and we would meet in South Lake Tahoe.
We picked up our 5 day resupply at Muir Trail Ranch and I cursed the fact that we had to carry it up the ensuing climb. We were carrying 5+ days food and would be in town in 2 days! What doesn't kill ya.... I guess.
We left the Ranch around 5:30PM and ended up making it to Sally Keyes Lakes, at mile 864. It was dark, Mosquitos were bad and we were tired so we just went straight to bed. The next morning we arose and got our early enough that a mile up the trail we found an old friend, Gut Feeling, who we hadn't seen for nearly a month! We all hikes together for a bit throughout the day, but we ended up camping a little short of where she did that evening. That day we also passed by the cut-off for VVR, where many people go for a break, or just a beer an and a burger. You could also mail yourself a package there, but it's $18 to receive it, plus it's $18 for the ferry ride across the lake that you need to take to get there. We opted to pass up the opportunity, but when we were passing by it was just when the evening ferry had dropped off and so we saw a bunch of others we hadn't seen for a while! Trip and Dazzle, who we hiked with for a while up to Kennedy Meadows, Cactus and Extra Credit who we hiked with way back before Agua Dulce and Dubz and the Wiz who we also hiked with a tiny bit around the Saufley's. They had all just spent the day at VVR and were going to camp right there where the junction was, so we chatted for about half an hour, but we had to move on. We made it a good ways up the climb to Silver Pass, which we would complete the next day.
July 2nd. Today was a 'get our asses to town' sorta day. We were 25 miles out, but it was SO gonna happen. It did. It was work, but it did. We were meeting my parents in Mammoth now and so we were excited to get there. We rolled into Red's Meadow (where you get off to go to Mammoth) and ran into Meredith (Action Pack) who we met way back at Scout and Frodo's, before we even stepped foot on trail! She was just on her way back out, but pointed us in the direction of cabin B, where there were trail angels! Gut Feeling and Safari were already thee, but they had room for us too!! We wee able to shower, they fed us fruit salad and we slept on a pull out couch. Amazing.
The next morning we had hot cocoa and made our way to the bus. $7 gets you a return ticket to the Mammoth Mountain Lodge. As soon as we stepped off the bus, we heard the voice of my mom calling our names. So awesome! Big hugs ensued and then we went into the lodge where they were staying and my dad got us checked in to our own room! That place was awesome. We each had a nice, loooong shower. Mom and dad were also so nice as to buy us Subway, so we shared that as well. All the euphoria of getting to town was there, PLUS the awesomeness of meeting my parents!! After we cleaned up we all went for a nice lunch, the to Schat's Bakery, then the grocery store. We spent lots of time just chatting and relaxing at the hotel, and made dinner plans, of course. We managed to convince them to go for sushi! After dinner we went back to the hotel and RELAXED. It felt great.
The next day was much of the same. We went for breakfast and ran some errands and relaxed and enjoyed our visit at the hotel.
On the morning of the 5th, we slowly got our packs packed up and all 4 of us took the shuttle up towards Red's Meadow. Mom and Dad hit off at Devil's Postpile and Julia and I went back up to Red's and got back in the PCT where we left it. It goes by Devil's Postpile, so we met up with them again down there and said our goodbyes.
Lovely visit.
We picked up our 5 day resupply at Muir Trail Ranch and I cursed the fact that we had to carry it up the ensuing climb. We were carrying 5+ days food and would be in town in 2 days! What doesn't kill ya.... I guess.
We left the Ranch around 5:30PM and ended up making it to Sally Keyes Lakes, at mile 864. It was dark, Mosquitos were bad and we were tired so we just went straight to bed. The next morning we arose and got our early enough that a mile up the trail we found an old friend, Gut Feeling, who we hadn't seen for nearly a month! We all hikes together for a bit throughout the day, but we ended up camping a little short of where she did that evening. That day we also passed by the cut-off for VVR, where many people go for a break, or just a beer an and a burger. You could also mail yourself a package there, but it's $18 to receive it, plus it's $18 for the ferry ride across the lake that you need to take to get there. We opted to pass up the opportunity, but when we were passing by it was just when the evening ferry had dropped off and so we saw a bunch of others we hadn't seen for a while! Trip and Dazzle, who we hiked with for a while up to Kennedy Meadows, Cactus and Extra Credit who we hiked with way back before Agua Dulce and Dubz and the Wiz who we also hiked with a tiny bit around the Saufley's. They had all just spent the day at VVR and were going to camp right there where the junction was, so we chatted for about half an hour, but we had to move on. We made it a good ways up the climb to Silver Pass, which we would complete the next day.
July 2nd. Today was a 'get our asses to town' sorta day. We were 25 miles out, but it was SO gonna happen. It did. It was work, but it did. We were meeting my parents in Mammoth now and so we were excited to get there. We rolled into Red's Meadow (where you get off to go to Mammoth) and ran into Meredith (Action Pack) who we met way back at Scout and Frodo's, before we even stepped foot on trail! She was just on her way back out, but pointed us in the direction of cabin B, where there were trail angels! Gut Feeling and Safari were already thee, but they had room for us too!! We wee able to shower, they fed us fruit salad and we slept on a pull out couch. Amazing.
The next morning we had hot cocoa and made our way to the bus. $7 gets you a return ticket to the Mammoth Mountain Lodge. As soon as we stepped off the bus, we heard the voice of my mom calling our names. So awesome! Big hugs ensued and then we went into the lodge where they were staying and my dad got us checked in to our own room! That place was awesome. We each had a nice, loooong shower. Mom and dad were also so nice as to buy us Subway, so we shared that as well. All the euphoria of getting to town was there, PLUS the awesomeness of meeting my parents!! After we cleaned up we all went for a nice lunch, the to Schat's Bakery, then the grocery store. We spent lots of time just chatting and relaxing at the hotel, and made dinner plans, of course. We managed to convince them to go for sushi! After dinner we went back to the hotel and RELAXED. It felt great.
The next day was much of the same. We went for breakfast and ran some errands and relaxed and enjoyed our visit at the hotel.
On the morning of the 5th, we slowly got our packs packed up and all 4 of us took the shuttle up towards Red's Meadow. Mom and Dad hit off at Devil's Postpile and Julia and I went back up to Red's and got back in the PCT where we left it. It goes by Devil's Postpile, so we met up with them again down there and said our goodbyes.
Lovely visit.
Monday 16 July 2012
Tuolumne to South Lake Tahoe - What I remember of it!!
So it's nearly 10PM on Sunday, July 15th. I'm sitting in the lobby at the Best Western in South Lake Tahoe. Well fed (just had Indian food), getting cleaner (we're never really "clean") and got a lot of resupply stuff done today.
Our original plan was to get to Echo Lake yesterday and then hitch into town today, but we met this family on trail and they offered us a ride, so our day was a few miles shorter than expected, but we got into town yesterday. They dropped us off at the Motel 6 and we got the last vacant room they had for the night. It was so nice. Anyways, I didn't do much writing on the trail, so I'll have to try to recount this massive stretch as best I can all in one go.
I'll start at Tuolumne Meadows (34 miles from Mammoth and 148 miles to the highway from which we got a lift). We got into Tuolumne pretty early and hung out most of the day with Britt, David and Mark, and a bunch of other hikers that were passing through, or on their way down to Yosemite valley. We decided to forgo the option to finish the JMT by hiking down to the valley and then getting the shuttle back up. We had 5 boxes to pick up and sort through so we had a hectic couple of hours, trying to get everything sorted out and mailing ahead two boxes. Oh, and the Post Office is only open for a short period on Saturdays. WE RECEIVED AN AWESOME PACKAGE FROM A VERY SPECIAL TRAIL ANGEL! We received a box with 2 Exped mattresses in them, and THEY ARE AMAZING! I've had the most incredible sleeps this past week, with the exception of our last night on trail, because we were camped on a slope and I was sliding off. The box also contained some chocolates and other little treats. Thank you. :)
We left Tuolumne in the late afternoon and got to Glen Aulin camp around 8PM. It was only 6 miles, but we did 8 in the morning, so still a 14 mile day. The next few days can be summed up in two words: "F&%$#*G MOSQUITOES!" !! They were brutal in the morning and evening. Living in our head nets. But when it was the heat of the day they hid, and it was a little better. One morning in particular (mile 988) we passed this lake where we had to stop for water, and I have never seen so many mosquitoes in one place. I put my pack down and within seconds there had to be at least 40 or so on it, probably because of my sweat or something. When we were walking, there'd be about a dozen on each shoulder at any given time. It seemed to be the only part of the body where the clothing wasn't moving, so they could land and get you right through there. It's one of those things where, in the moment it's hell on earth, but after the fact you're kind of like "ok, that wasn't so bad, we survived it". It definitely set a benchmark for the future.
The first few days out of Tuolumne we hiked with our friend Gut Feeling. We'd leave earlier in the morning than her, but she takes fewer breaks and generally hikes a little quicker, so she'll catch us by lunch time, and then we'll end up camping around the same spot in the evening. One night (the night before that awful morning of mosquitoes) we camped at the same spot and the mosquitoes were terrible, but we made a fire which helped and once it got pitch black out, they more or less disappeared, and that has got to be one of the most incredible feelings ever.
On this stretch we also crossed the 1000 mile mark! What a benchmark for us. We came up on the marker in the mid afternoon and Dancing Feet and NotSoBad were hanging out there, taking a break. We joined them and soon after Guts (Gut Feeling) showed up and we took some photos and hiked another 7 miles. Apparently the mosquitoes were worst between 988 and 1002. I sort of knew this beforehand, and it was so true. They seemed to disappear after 1007. When we got to the campsite, Green Machine was there, which was awesome, but we had a feeling he should have been at least a half day ahead of us. He said that he got to the campsite early in the afternoon but realized he forgot his solar charger some 3.6 miles back, by a bridge, so he had to backtrack, an extra 7.2 miles. Poor guy. At that same bridge, Julia and I stopped for water and ran out of AquaMira, so at the campsite, we asked Guts if we could steal some from her to get us to Tahoe, and she was more than happy to share. :) For her it's just a back up as she uses a SteriPen.
The next morning we started climbing immediately. Out of the trees and away from mosquitoes. It was kind of like the desert Sierras, arid and dry, but windy and cool. A nice morning to hike, but I was feeling the altitude or something because I did not feel good AT ALL. I just felt lethargic and had a mild stomach ache. We took it easy at the top for a bit and I eventually came around. It turned out to be an amazing day of hiking. The views up high are always breath taking, as is the hiking! When you leave 1007, the maps say there is no water until ~Sonora Pass, about 10 miles or so, but just on the other side of the top, there was this awesome little stream of water coming down from snow that was up above us. Someone had rigged up a piece of plastic pipe that was part of a sign so that it caught the water and served as a hose, or spout. It was cold and delicious. That night we camped about 50 yards off trail, right by the creek. Just the two of us. It was perfect. We were now 69 miles from Tahoe and we made a plan to do the miles in three days.
Day 1 sucked. The flies replaced the mosquitoes and though MOST of them don't bite, they are annoying as hell, and harder to avoid. They fly into your face, ears, nose, under your sunglasses etc. We did 22 miles and camped alone at a spot we kind of made ourselves at mile 1047. 47 miles to go. The next morning was awesome. Such an easy walk. After about 2 hours we came up on this trail crew that was up to clear some brush on the trail. They stopped us and we chatted for a while. One gentleman had a banner that read "Hey mom. I just hiked 1000 miles on the PCT." and we took a photo with that. Another lady gave us some cookies. Encounters like this are the best. You're temporarily made to feel like a bit of a superstar! Day 2 was awesome all around. The bugs weren't bad at all and we cruised for almost all of it. In the late afternoon we started a climb, expecting to camp at the top of it on a saddle, but it was just WAY too windy, so we ended up hiking an extra few miles down to Lost Lakes, a 24 mile day that left a mere 23 miles for the last day.
Our original plan was to get to Echo Lake yesterday and then hitch into town today, but we met this family on trail and they offered us a ride, so our day was a few miles shorter than expected, but we got into town yesterday. They dropped us off at the Motel 6 and we got the last vacant room they had for the night. It was so nice. Anyways, I didn't do much writing on the trail, so I'll have to try to recount this massive stretch as best I can all in one go.
I'll start at Tuolumne Meadows (34 miles from Mammoth and 148 miles to the highway from which we got a lift). We got into Tuolumne pretty early and hung out most of the day with Britt, David and Mark, and a bunch of other hikers that were passing through, or on their way down to Yosemite valley. We decided to forgo the option to finish the JMT by hiking down to the valley and then getting the shuttle back up. We had 5 boxes to pick up and sort through so we had a hectic couple of hours, trying to get everything sorted out and mailing ahead two boxes. Oh, and the Post Office is only open for a short period on Saturdays. WE RECEIVED AN AWESOME PACKAGE FROM A VERY SPECIAL TRAIL ANGEL! We received a box with 2 Exped mattresses in them, and THEY ARE AMAZING! I've had the most incredible sleeps this past week, with the exception of our last night on trail, because we were camped on a slope and I was sliding off. The box also contained some chocolates and other little treats. Thank you. :)
We left Tuolumne in the late afternoon and got to Glen Aulin camp around 8PM. It was only 6 miles, but we did 8 in the morning, so still a 14 mile day. The next few days can be summed up in two words: "F&%$#*G MOSQUITOES!" !! They were brutal in the morning and evening. Living in our head nets. But when it was the heat of the day they hid, and it was a little better. One morning in particular (mile 988) we passed this lake where we had to stop for water, and I have never seen so many mosquitoes in one place. I put my pack down and within seconds there had to be at least 40 or so on it, probably because of my sweat or something. When we were walking, there'd be about a dozen on each shoulder at any given time. It seemed to be the only part of the body where the clothing wasn't moving, so they could land and get you right through there. It's one of those things where, in the moment it's hell on earth, but after the fact you're kind of like "ok, that wasn't so bad, we survived it". It definitely set a benchmark for the future.
The first few days out of Tuolumne we hiked with our friend Gut Feeling. We'd leave earlier in the morning than her, but she takes fewer breaks and generally hikes a little quicker, so she'll catch us by lunch time, and then we'll end up camping around the same spot in the evening. One night (the night before that awful morning of mosquitoes) we camped at the same spot and the mosquitoes were terrible, but we made a fire which helped and once it got pitch black out, they more or less disappeared, and that has got to be one of the most incredible feelings ever.
On this stretch we also crossed the 1000 mile mark! What a benchmark for us. We came up on the marker in the mid afternoon and Dancing Feet and NotSoBad were hanging out there, taking a break. We joined them and soon after Guts (Gut Feeling) showed up and we took some photos and hiked another 7 miles. Apparently the mosquitoes were worst between 988 and 1002. I sort of knew this beforehand, and it was so true. They seemed to disappear after 1007. When we got to the campsite, Green Machine was there, which was awesome, but we had a feeling he should have been at least a half day ahead of us. He said that he got to the campsite early in the afternoon but realized he forgot his solar charger some 3.6 miles back, by a bridge, so he had to backtrack, an extra 7.2 miles. Poor guy. At that same bridge, Julia and I stopped for water and ran out of AquaMira, so at the campsite, we asked Guts if we could steal some from her to get us to Tahoe, and she was more than happy to share. :) For her it's just a back up as she uses a SteriPen.
The next morning we started climbing immediately. Out of the trees and away from mosquitoes. It was kind of like the desert Sierras, arid and dry, but windy and cool. A nice morning to hike, but I was feeling the altitude or something because I did not feel good AT ALL. I just felt lethargic and had a mild stomach ache. We took it easy at the top for a bit and I eventually came around. It turned out to be an amazing day of hiking. The views up high are always breath taking, as is the hiking! When you leave 1007, the maps say there is no water until ~Sonora Pass, about 10 miles or so, but just on the other side of the top, there was this awesome little stream of water coming down from snow that was up above us. Someone had rigged up a piece of plastic pipe that was part of a sign so that it caught the water and served as a hose, or spout. It was cold and delicious. That night we camped about 50 yards off trail, right by the creek. Just the two of us. It was perfect. We were now 69 miles from Tahoe and we made a plan to do the miles in three days.
Day 1 sucked. The flies replaced the mosquitoes and though MOST of them don't bite, they are annoying as hell, and harder to avoid. They fly into your face, ears, nose, under your sunglasses etc. We did 22 miles and camped alone at a spot we kind of made ourselves at mile 1047. 47 miles to go. The next morning was awesome. Such an easy walk. After about 2 hours we came up on this trail crew that was up to clear some brush on the trail. They stopped us and we chatted for a while. One gentleman had a banner that read "Hey mom. I just hiked 1000 miles on the PCT." and we took a photo with that. Another lady gave us some cookies. Encounters like this are the best. You're temporarily made to feel like a bit of a superstar! Day 2 was awesome all around. The bugs weren't bad at all and we cruised for almost all of it. In the late afternoon we started a climb, expecting to camp at the top of it on a saddle, but it was just WAY too windy, so we ended up hiking an extra few miles down to Lost Lakes, a 24 mile day that left a mere 23 miles for the last day.
TOWN DAY. Every day that you hike into town, your legs just seem to move a little quicker, with a little more ease and a lot more urgency. We knew we would do the miles, but we knew that the store at Echo Lake closed at 6PM, so we wanted to get there ASAP. The morning was nice, a little climb to start but then a nice long downhill to Carson Pass. It was a Saturday and so there were TONS of day hikers out. We passed quite a few on their way up to Frog Lake or another, smaller one, whose name escapes me. Around 10AM we made it to HWY88 crossing, where there is a visitor centre. There were a huge number of people around because it was a Saturday, and not only that, but there was a bike race going on too. http://www.deathride.com/index.html It was a pretty cool feeling as we walked up to the visitor centre, amongst all the clean day hikers and race watchers. It was evident that we were different. Our filth and stench was, for once, pretty friggin' cool! People took notice, especially when the employees (mostly awesome volunteers) talked to us, offered us fruit and soda, informed us of the trail log and asked questions about our thru-hike. It had now been over a week since we did laundry or had a shower (other than in a creek or river of course) and so it was pretty obvious that we had been out in the wilderness for a little while. We sat and had an awesome chat with Ginger, one of the volunteers, while enjoying a peach, nectarine, some cherries and a Coca Cola! Yes, Coke at 10AM felt SO right! We finally dragged ourselves away from that place around 11:15 or so and headed back out, passing by day hikers, weekenders and big groups. While passing one group, a lady asked Julia where we "were going to camp tonight" and Julia simply replied, "in South Lake Tahoe"... The lady was shocked! But what she didn't realize is that we had already hiked 9 or so miles before we saw her! We stopped for a very brief lunch and continued on towards the last sort of "sustained climb" of the day. Once at the top, we met this family of three that I mentioned earlier. They asked about a lake we had passed as if they were going to be heading there, so I told them it was coming up soon and we continued on. We stopped for water and they came by us on their way back down, I guess they changed their minds. Anyhow, about 20 minutes later we came up on them from behind and they let us by. We were hiking towards ice cream after all and it was clear that we were on such a mission. We got pretty close to the highway where we would cross and hike another couple miles to Echo Lake, where the store with ice cream was, when I saw this big building with a huge "OPEN" sign on it and picnic tables out front. It looked desolate, but maybe they had cold drinks and other food, so I cut down to it to check it out and lo and behold they did! It was a pretty bare store, I think the winter season is more their peak time, but it had soda and snacks and it was perfect. We bought some stuff and sat our front to eat. Wouldn't ya know it, the family came strolling up to get some snacks too! I had a prettttty good feeling we had a shot at getting a ride with them, so we kind of dropped a couple hints and even though they were going the opposite direction down the highway, they gave us a lift to town. How awesome. Great chat in the car. One funny thing was that I took notice of the license plate that was "IMTNBKR" or something like that, and so I mentioned about the big race we had learned about earlier in the day. He says he's not so interested in road cycling because "those guys are weird, they shave their legs!" Hahaha, little did he know.
So after one of the most awesome, long, challenging, rewarding stretches so far, we are clean and rested and ready to get back to the trail! <-- I wrote this over two days. :s
Tuesday 3 July 2012
Double Trouble - June 27
We started today about a mile back of Glen Pass (11978 feet) and got up and over that by around 8AM. It was a long way down, and often times the downhill parts are more punishing that uphill. See they have these BIG rock steps that are often awkward to step down and the quads just take a smashing the entire time. Easier on the lungs and heart, but certainly harder on the ole legs. We stopped for a quick break, grabbed some water and treated it the new way, AquaMira. Easier, much easier. The Mosquitos were pretty bad and so we pushed on without much of a rest. It was worth it though. The most amazing views of lakes and mountains. So many tiny lakes with the most beautiful, clear water. Nature untouched.
We passed a sign and walked up over this slate rock and I noticed the trail below me, so I back tracked to get on it. MISTAKE. About 10 or so minutes later I thought it just felt wrong, so I checked the GPS and sure enough we were off track. I should have walked up and over that big rock. A little while later we were back on track, crossing creeks on logs and rocks and following the magnificent shoreline around these little lakes. Much of the late morning was pretty stock standard. Mosquitos were pretty bad so we just kept moving. We finally stopped for lunch by a poorly running creek and sat in the sun with just enough breeze to keep us cool and keep the Mosquitos away. After lunch we walked down to where the trail would bottom out in terms of elevation for the day, just around 8600 I believe. At that point there was this long wooden bridge held up by wires. The type you see in movies where the people are inching their way across in terror that it may fall down. There was in fact a sign that said only one person can be on the bridge at any time, and some boards were indeed missing, but it wasn't that bad at all. Besides, I doubt death would result from a fall, it wasn't really THAT high up. Anyways, from that point on it was all climbing. About 3500 feet or so up to Pinchot Pass at 12132 feet. It was a slow slog most of the way. We were both pretty tuckered, but knew it would be so nice to know that we wouldn't have to tackle it first thing in the morning. Oh, in case you're wondering, Team Tokyo wasted about 5 miles back from us. We have deadlines and can't hang around with them for the next week. If we have a REALLY slow morning, they could potentially catch up, but it's unlikely we will see them again until after Mammoth. So we made it here to Marjorie Lake after 7:30PM and we went to work immediately. Putting up the tent, cooking dinner, collecting more water, cleaning socks and undies, drinking Sambucca, blog, pass out.......
We passed a sign and walked up over this slate rock and I noticed the trail below me, so I back tracked to get on it. MISTAKE. About 10 or so minutes later I thought it just felt wrong, so I checked the GPS and sure enough we were off track. I should have walked up and over that big rock. A little while later we were back on track, crossing creeks on logs and rocks and following the magnificent shoreline around these little lakes. Much of the late morning was pretty stock standard. Mosquitos were pretty bad so we just kept moving. We finally stopped for lunch by a poorly running creek and sat in the sun with just enough breeze to keep us cool and keep the Mosquitos away. After lunch we walked down to where the trail would bottom out in terms of elevation for the day, just around 8600 I believe. At that point there was this long wooden bridge held up by wires. The type you see in movies where the people are inching their way across in terror that it may fall down. There was in fact a sign that said only one person can be on the bridge at any time, and some boards were indeed missing, but it wasn't that bad at all. Besides, I doubt death would result from a fall, it wasn't really THAT high up. Anyways, from that point on it was all climbing. About 3500 feet or so up to Pinchot Pass at 12132 feet. It was a slow slog most of the way. We were both pretty tuckered, but knew it would be so nice to know that we wouldn't have to tackle it first thing in the morning. Oh, in case you're wondering, Team Tokyo wasted about 5 miles back from us. We have deadlines and can't hang around with them for the next week. If we have a REALLY slow morning, they could potentially catch up, but it's unlikely we will see them again until after Mammoth. So we made it here to Marjorie Lake after 7:30PM and we went to work immediately. Putting up the tent, cooking dinner, collecting more water, cleaning socks and undies, drinking Sambucca, blog, pass out.......
Loooouuud Nooooiiiiises!!!! - June 28
That's one of our favorite quotes from Anchorman. All the fellas are in Ron Burgundy's office complaining that the news station hired a woman and they're yelling. All Brick (slightly mentally delayed) yells is 'loooooud nooooiiiises!!'. Anyways, more on that later.
So we started today just shy of Marjorie Lake. We camped up high, near a stream that fed that lake, and the morning was pretty frigid. Our latest sleep-in yet. Maybe 6:30 or so. I woke Julia up and we grabbed some breakfast, cleaned up real good and got to hiking around 8:45AM. The morning was amazing. Such easy, mostly downhill walking with beautiful views of all the little lakes around us and the massive mountains that tower overhead. We know that we'll have to climb over one of them, eventually, but which one we never know until the climb begins. This morning's pass was Mather. A relatively easy one. It's 12000+ feet, but the majority of the climb up is so gradual you barely notice it, and it starts around 10000 feet. We had lunch at the top with Waffles, a Belgian, Hollywood, another Canadian named Jesse and an American named Tyler. Waffles had been around us most of the day. Him, Jesse and Tyker are a part of a foursome that includes another Canadian that left Independence earlier because he was on a deadline to meet his girlfriend in Mammoth. Anyhow, Waffles left the pass first and then we left about a half hour later. The rest of the day was descending, from the pass to about 8000 feet. Sometimes it's nice and you just walk, but the majority is steep, with big rocks to go over, steps to walk down and downed trees to climb over or find a route around. We're just now getting to the area that suffered the massive windstorm last November that caused thousands of trees to fall. The crews have done an amazing job clearing it all, but there are still a lot of trees that have fallen on the trail that we must navigate around, over or under.
In the late afternoon we were descending down along the river (can't remember the name) and Waffles was in front of us. After I stopped for a quick pee break, he was probably about a minute ahead. A few minutes later I saw a bear! I stopped for a second to check him out and see where he was heading. The guy was literally walking the trail! Julia was a little hesitant to move down the trail at all at first, but once he was out of sight we continued slowly. Again we saw him up ahead and so we started making loud noises so that he would at least know we were there. Bears are more or less content leaving you alone, they just don't do well with being startled, and if you've got food they want, they'll challenge you for it! We were literally yelling 'looooooud nooooiiiises!!!!' and laughing too. I yelled very loud once and he looked back at me and then kind of jogged off the trail to the right. He slowly went out of sight, but we continued to talk aloud, mostly gibberish. About a minute later we came up on Waffles, just setting up for dinner, probably not the best idea. He must've heard our loudness and thought we were insane, but once we informed him of the bear he was more than happy to pack up his dinner and move on. The three of us had dinner together a couple of miles down the trail. On the way though, we saw another bear, a smaller one in the distance. We are in bear country! Neon and OnAMove came by during dinner and we let them know about the bears. They continued down the trail and we caught up with them a little later ad they were by a campfire with Natty, Navi, Snow Turtle and her boyfriend, can't remember his name. We stayed there and chatted with them for a bit and then moved on. It was evening now and getting darker. We went another few miles, past Neon and OnAMove and are camped beside a meadow at around mile 828.
Tomorrow morning we climb to Muir Pass!!
What a day!
So we started today just shy of Marjorie Lake. We camped up high, near a stream that fed that lake, and the morning was pretty frigid. Our latest sleep-in yet. Maybe 6:30 or so. I woke Julia up and we grabbed some breakfast, cleaned up real good and got to hiking around 8:45AM. The morning was amazing. Such easy, mostly downhill walking with beautiful views of all the little lakes around us and the massive mountains that tower overhead. We know that we'll have to climb over one of them, eventually, but which one we never know until the climb begins. This morning's pass was Mather. A relatively easy one. It's 12000+ feet, but the majority of the climb up is so gradual you barely notice it, and it starts around 10000 feet. We had lunch at the top with Waffles, a Belgian, Hollywood, another Canadian named Jesse and an American named Tyler. Waffles had been around us most of the day. Him, Jesse and Tyker are a part of a foursome that includes another Canadian that left Independence earlier because he was on a deadline to meet his girlfriend in Mammoth. Anyhow, Waffles left the pass first and then we left about a half hour later. The rest of the day was descending, from the pass to about 8000 feet. Sometimes it's nice and you just walk, but the majority is steep, with big rocks to go over, steps to walk down and downed trees to climb over or find a route around. We're just now getting to the area that suffered the massive windstorm last November that caused thousands of trees to fall. The crews have done an amazing job clearing it all, but there are still a lot of trees that have fallen on the trail that we must navigate around, over or under.
In the late afternoon we were descending down along the river (can't remember the name) and Waffles was in front of us. After I stopped for a quick pee break, he was probably about a minute ahead. A few minutes later I saw a bear! I stopped for a second to check him out and see where he was heading. The guy was literally walking the trail! Julia was a little hesitant to move down the trail at all at first, but once he was out of sight we continued slowly. Again we saw him up ahead and so we started making loud noises so that he would at least know we were there. Bears are more or less content leaving you alone, they just don't do well with being startled, and if you've got food they want, they'll challenge you for it! We were literally yelling 'looooooud nooooiiiises!!!!' and laughing too. I yelled very loud once and he looked back at me and then kind of jogged off the trail to the right. He slowly went out of sight, but we continued to talk aloud, mostly gibberish. About a minute later we came up on Waffles, just setting up for dinner, probably not the best idea. He must've heard our loudness and thought we were insane, but once we informed him of the bear he was more than happy to pack up his dinner and move on. The three of us had dinner together a couple of miles down the trail. On the way though, we saw another bear, a smaller one in the distance. We are in bear country! Neon and OnAMove came by during dinner and we let them know about the bears. They continued down the trail and we caught up with them a little later ad they were by a campfire with Natty, Navi, Snow Turtle and her boyfriend, can't remember his name. We stayed there and chatted with them for a bit and then moved on. It was evening now and getting darker. We went another few miles, past Neon and OnAMove and are camped beside a meadow at around mile 828.
Tomorrow morning we climb to Muir Pass!!
What a day!
Today Epitomizes What This Trip is About
We woke up this morning at our solo spot by Grouse Meadow at mile 828.5. It wasn't too cold so I got out and retrieved our Bear Vaults sober could have breakfast. Neon and OnAMove came by pretty early and we were packed up and on our way by around 7:45 or so, but not before seeing a deer in the meadow. The scene was amazing. A meadow with massive mountains on either side, a deer grazing amongst an early morning for from the small ponds. Another 'wow' moment.
From the moment we broke camp we were climbing, and it continued until we reached the summit of Muir pass in mid-afternoon. I must say though, that despite the fact that it was one of our longest climbs yet (just over 8000 feet to just under 12000 feet) it was the most beautiful and most pleasant. We were amongst water for most of it. Whether it was a stream, creek, river, waterfall or lake, there was always water nearby. Beautiful sights and sounds. We played leapfrog with Neon and OnAMove for most of the climb up. Neon is awesome. He's 50 years old, recently retired from NASA and gas the best outfits on trail. OnAMove is his wife. They both definitely have unique looks and are great people all-round.!
I really can't put into words how beautiful the scenery was on the climb up, especially the last few miles. Lakes, streams, waterfalls, some snow. Just beauty all around. At the top we went in the little round hit they have there and found Scallywag and two other hikers just hanging out. The shelter offers protection from the elements should they be undesirable. It can get windy, cold and even rainy (hard to believe based on our experiences) and so hikers can take refuge. Neon and OnAMove came in shortly after and e all stayed there for about a half hour. Neon mentioned they were planning to stay at Sapphire Lake and so we decided it would be a good target too. The decent, as beautiful as it was, was long. We were so hungry for dinner. Scallywag and the two of us arrived first and started making dinner straight away. At first it was breezy, which was perfect for keeping the mosquitos away, but as soon as it died down they were horrendous. All over us. Bug nets and full length clothing were a necessity. We ate quick, threw up the tent and jumped in. We chatted for a long while with Neon. He told us about his work at NASA and about life in Tucson. A couple others showed up and we all fell asleep easily. Utter silence by 9PM, hiker midnight.
From the moment we broke camp we were climbing, and it continued until we reached the summit of Muir pass in mid-afternoon. I must say though, that despite the fact that it was one of our longest climbs yet (just over 8000 feet to just under 12000 feet) it was the most beautiful and most pleasant. We were amongst water for most of it. Whether it was a stream, creek, river, waterfall or lake, there was always water nearby. Beautiful sights and sounds. We played leapfrog with Neon and OnAMove for most of the climb up. Neon is awesome. He's 50 years old, recently retired from NASA and gas the best outfits on trail. OnAMove is his wife. They both definitely have unique looks and are great people all-round.!
I really can't put into words how beautiful the scenery was on the climb up, especially the last few miles. Lakes, streams, waterfalls, some snow. Just beauty all around. At the top we went in the little round hit they have there and found Scallywag and two other hikers just hanging out. The shelter offers protection from the elements should they be undesirable. It can get windy, cold and even rainy (hard to believe based on our experiences) and so hikers can take refuge. Neon and OnAMove came in shortly after and e all stayed there for about a half hour. Neon mentioned they were planning to stay at Sapphire Lake and so we decided it would be a good target too. The decent, as beautiful as it was, was long. We were so hungry for dinner. Scallywag and the two of us arrived first and started making dinner straight away. At first it was breezy, which was perfect for keeping the mosquitos away, but as soon as it died down they were horrendous. All over us. Bug nets and full length clothing were a necessity. We ate quick, threw up the tent and jumped in. We chatted for a long while with Neon. He told us about his work at NASA and about life in Tucson. A couple others showed up and we all fell asleep easily. Utter silence by 9PM, hiker midnight.
Euphoria, luxury and restlessness - June 26
Three adjectives that accurately describe my experience of town stops. After 5 or 6 days on trail, no matter how beautiful it all is, you really look forward to getting to town. Having a shower is the most awesome experience ever. The dirt you see on the floor of the tub makes you feel both proud and a little disgusted. You earned that dirt, but dang are you dirty. The one thing that MAY precede a shower is food. Whatever is closest normally. Most recently it was a Subway, and in the the 24 hours we were in Independence, I ate 3.5 feet worth of Subway sandwiches. Maybe next time I'll make an effort to eat my height in Subway sandwiches, that would be a decent challenge. Once those two needs are met, it's time for business. Resupply from either a store or a Post Office. Luckily this time around we mailed a FULL resupply from Bakersfield, so we didn't have to worry at all about shopping for groceries. We'll also seek out a place to do laundry. Once all that's achieved, all that's left is to relax. I don't like that. I get restless. Sleeping in a hotel, motel or even hostel is almost uncomfortable. Sleeping on a bed feels weird and before the first night in town is spent, I'm ready to be back on the trail.
We got into Independence by about 11:20AM on Sunday. We had to hike 9 miles of a side trail with a pretty decent little pass (Kearsarge) in the middle to get to the Onion Valley trailhead, a dead end road at a parking lot of a campground and the start of the trail. It can be a tough hitch because there's just not much traffic, but luckily for us there were two trail angels (UberBitch and Bristlecone) that were there with food, drinks and rides to Independence. We had last seen these two awesome people back at the Saufley's. We had a nice chat with UberBitch and Bristlecone gave us a ride to REI. You help pay the gas of course, but without people like this, logistics would be much more difficult. We enjoyed some pancakes and then Bristlecone gave us and another couple a lift to town. The top of the pass is at 11700 feet and town is around 4000 feet. It's much warmer and you kind of feel like you're back in the desert.
We tried to get as much done as we could in Independence. Laundry, showers and binging. It was Sunday so we couldn't get our package in the mail until the next morning, so we stayed at the Courthouse motel, $60 cash, and pretty decent. I asked the owner if he knew of a place where I could get my Mohawk touched up, but obviously there was nothing. As I had hoped, he offered to let us borrow a hair shaver kit and Julia did a beauty job. I trimmed my mustache in the mirror. First time ever! That's when I already started getting antsy to get back out there! We were taking a zero day in Lone Pine, so I needed to figure out how to chill out. I ended up watching 3 movies and falling asleep.
Monday morning I went over and got a breakfast sub and let Julia sleep in. She hadn't slept well as she had a bit of a tummy ache, probably on account of the altitude change. We got packed up and I ran over to the Post Office and got our boxes. There I ran into Flatlander. They had gotten into Independence later than us the previius day and hitched right over to Lone Pine. I told him we were on our way over too and that we'd get a hold of them once we find a place and get settled. The hitch for us took about 20 minutes or so. Finally a nice firefighter man picked us up. He was on his way 3 hours past Lone Pine but had to go through. He dropped us off right at the Best Western. Despite the fact that it was about a kilometer from everything else, we decided to stay. Julia's birthday had just passed and she deserved a little luxury. All they had was a room with two queen sized beds. It was pricey, but the nice lady gave us the AAA rate. Julia also mentioned that it was our honeymoon and we ended up scoring a bottle of wine! We dropped our stuff off and headed into town to meet the others and do some shopping at the outfitter. We had a list of stuff, but only managed to get a couple items. It was a pretty tiny store. We had lunch with Team Tokyo at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant. It wasn't half bad!! After lunch we went back to our room to sort out or food and repack it all. We planned to meet up again for dinner. I secretly knew that Team Tokyo wanted to take us out for dinner for Julia's birthday. We had Mexican. Pretty tasty and super filling! Good times with great people. After dinner we waddled home and passed out, only to wake up early this morning and gorge ourselves at the complimentary buffet. We met the others at the bus stop for 8:30 and got back to Independence where we hitched (they got a ride in 5 minutes and we waited another 30 after that) back up to the trail. Ahhhh, home again. Only a massive climb up to Kearsarge Pass faced us, then another 5ish back to the PCT. And here we are now, cowboy camping at 11,250ft and nestled in our sleeping bags. Taka is snoring a few yards from us, all is good.
Six days till Mammoth Lakes and a visit with Mom and Dad Lafleur!
We got into Independence by about 11:20AM on Sunday. We had to hike 9 miles of a side trail with a pretty decent little pass (Kearsarge) in the middle to get to the Onion Valley trailhead, a dead end road at a parking lot of a campground and the start of the trail. It can be a tough hitch because there's just not much traffic, but luckily for us there were two trail angels (UberBitch and Bristlecone) that were there with food, drinks and rides to Independence. We had last seen these two awesome people back at the Saufley's. We had a nice chat with UberBitch and Bristlecone gave us a ride to REI. You help pay the gas of course, but without people like this, logistics would be much more difficult. We enjoyed some pancakes and then Bristlecone gave us and another couple a lift to town. The top of the pass is at 11700 feet and town is around 4000 feet. It's much warmer and you kind of feel like you're back in the desert.
We tried to get as much done as we could in Independence. Laundry, showers and binging. It was Sunday so we couldn't get our package in the mail until the next morning, so we stayed at the Courthouse motel, $60 cash, and pretty decent. I asked the owner if he knew of a place where I could get my Mohawk touched up, but obviously there was nothing. As I had hoped, he offered to let us borrow a hair shaver kit and Julia did a beauty job. I trimmed my mustache in the mirror. First time ever! That's when I already started getting antsy to get back out there! We were taking a zero day in Lone Pine, so I needed to figure out how to chill out. I ended up watching 3 movies and falling asleep.
Monday morning I went over and got a breakfast sub and let Julia sleep in. She hadn't slept well as she had a bit of a tummy ache, probably on account of the altitude change. We got packed up and I ran over to the Post Office and got our boxes. There I ran into Flatlander. They had gotten into Independence later than us the previius day and hitched right over to Lone Pine. I told him we were on our way over too and that we'd get a hold of them once we find a place and get settled. The hitch for us took about 20 minutes or so. Finally a nice firefighter man picked us up. He was on his way 3 hours past Lone Pine but had to go through. He dropped us off right at the Best Western. Despite the fact that it was about a kilometer from everything else, we decided to stay. Julia's birthday had just passed and she deserved a little luxury. All they had was a room with two queen sized beds. It was pricey, but the nice lady gave us the AAA rate. Julia also mentioned that it was our honeymoon and we ended up scoring a bottle of wine! We dropped our stuff off and headed into town to meet the others and do some shopping at the outfitter. We had a list of stuff, but only managed to get a couple items. It was a pretty tiny store. We had lunch with Team Tokyo at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant. It wasn't half bad!! After lunch we went back to our room to sort out or food and repack it all. We planned to meet up again for dinner. I secretly knew that Team Tokyo wanted to take us out for dinner for Julia's birthday. We had Mexican. Pretty tasty and super filling! Good times with great people. After dinner we waddled home and passed out, only to wake up early this morning and gorge ourselves at the complimentary buffet. We met the others at the bus stop for 8:30 and got back to Independence where we hitched (they got a ride in 5 minutes and we waited another 30 after that) back up to the trail. Ahhhh, home again. Only a massive climb up to Kearsarge Pass faced us, then another 5ish back to the PCT. And here we are now, cowboy camping at 11,250ft and nestled in our sleeping bags. Taka is snoring a few yards from us, all is good.
Six days till Mammoth Lakes and a visit with Mom and Dad Lafleur!
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