Tuesday, June 26, 2012
MP 904 I regret that I haven't made any notes for the last couple of
days. Got off the trail for a zero in Mammoth Lakes. Will hike out
tomorrow morning. It should take me two days to get to Yosemite.
Last winter's wind storms inflicted an incredible toll on the trees in the high sierras. The blown down trees from Mammoth to Red's Meadow were startling. It is slow and hard work to scramble over them. Sections of the trail are impassible. I had to bushwack up from Purple Lake.
Here are some photos of blown down trees outside Mammoth.
Last winter's wind storms inflicted an incredible toll on the trees in the high sierras. The blown down trees from Mammoth to Red's Meadow were startling. It is slow and hard work to scramble over them. Sections of the trail are impassible. I had to bushwack up from Purple Lake.
Here are some photos of blown down trees outside Mammoth.
MP 877 Vermillion Valley Resort. Stayed overnight in this pleasant place but am hiking on. I have just met Mother Goose who is an almost mythical figure amongst thru-hikers. She appears to be quite old. Says she has hiked the Appalachian Trail six times. She has hiked sections of the PCT many times but has never finished because, she says, "I don't do snow." Altogether she says that she has hiked more than 35,000 miles on the long trails. Maybe this will be here year to finish the PCT because of the low snow conditions.
My friend Dennis, from New Zealand:
VVR:
Mother Goose:
My friend Dennis, from New Zealand:
VVR:
Mother Goose:
MP 845 Was woken up this morning by an angry red squirrel who chattered and scolded me. When I got up I discovered that the squirrel had chewed the straps off of my trekking poles.
Crossed the Muir Pass in the early afternoon. Stopped for a break at the unique stone hut on the summit. Today was one of my best days hiking. Powered up the pass and had a feeling of total freedom as I stood atop.
Yesterday I started developing shin splints on my left leg just as my right leg is feeling better. I am getting tired of this. Stopped early at MP 827 and camped with a JMT hiker, Dennis, from New Zealand.
Walking has been through valleys with sparkling rivers and magnificent huge trees. There is little sound except the river, the wind and an occasional bird.
Stone hut on Muir Pass:
Crossed the Muir Pass in the early afternoon. Stopped for a break at the unique stone hut on the summit. Today was one of my best days hiking. Powered up the pass and had a feeling of total freedom as I stood atop.
Yesterday I started developing shin splints on my left leg just as my right leg is feeling better. I am getting tired of this. Stopped early at MP 827 and camped with a JMT hiker, Dennis, from New Zealand.
Walking has been through valleys with sparkling rivers and magnificent huge trees. There is little sound except the river, the wind and an occasional bird.
Stone hut on Muir Pass:
I think this is looking out from Glenn Pass. The hiking is always up one pass and down the other side. There is no level ground.
MP 792 Resupplied in Independence. Shared a motel room with a bunch of other hiker trash. Went out to dinner at a tiny French restaurant with my friends Turtle and Willy who are from Amsterdam. Had too much wine to drink but got right back on the trail then next morning and up and over Kearsage Pass. Hiking in the high sierras means hiking up and over one pass after another. Typically one gains and loses about 3,000 feet with each pass. Hard to do more than one pass in a day. Am now camped on the South Side of Glenn Pass. Have too much food for my bear canister so must hang some of it in a tree.
Keersage Pass:
Looking back from the pass:
Keersage Pass:
Looking back from the pass:
MP 766 Crabtree Meadows This is a broad, green meadow, bordered by pine trees, creek running through it; set in a perfect bowl made by the mountains towering on all sides. A few moments ago there was a small herd of deer peaacable grazing not far from where I am camped. They are oblivious to me.
This is also the place where the Mt. Whitney climbers gather. I have decided to skip Whitney as my leg still causes considerable pain on downhill and broken ground. I did 24 miles yesterday. Leg somewhat swollen but not significantly painful this morning. I am sorely tempted to climb Whitney but know two hikers who have had to leave the trail because of the same injury.
At this point the Pacific Crest Trail joins the John Muir trail and the two trail are the same up to Yosemite. All the trail signs now are for the JMT. I entered Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park yesterday at about MP 760. My next 140 miles will be in SKC and Yosemite National Parks.
Most hiking has been above 10,000 feet which leaves me winded. Today I will go over Forester Pass which is the highest portion of the trail at about 13,100 feet.
The trail are dazzlingly beautiful, the mountains awe-inspiring. I am no longer an observer but part of the portrait. I am not outdoors any longer. As I walk I am stunned by the fierce beauty of my surroundings. And then just when I think I am inured to it I am stunned again, sometimes to the point of breathlessness. And then the process starts again.
I am climbing Forester Pass. This place is one of the main reasons hikers are advised not to go through the high Sierras alone because of the danger. But there is very little snow this year so I am hiking by myself. The lake below is a pale, iridescent rainbow of colors. There were a few hikers gathered below but they have become so tiny I can no longer see them as I switchback my way upward. Over the pass, there is not much snow here and I am instead scrambling up and down fields of scree. This brings me down onto a trail that I had assumed to be the PCT but quickly realized it wasn't. Interesting how quickly one can know he is not on the right trail just because of the feel of it. This is at least the third time this has happened. I can hear a subterranean river roaring under the rocks beneath me.
Approaching Forrester Pass:
This is Forrester Pass. Can you tell where the pass is? It's the notch on the left side. It's about 1,500 feet of elevation gain from this spot. There are switchbacks carved into the rock all the way up the side of the mountain.
Switchbacks at the top:
Looking back from the top of the pass. The ridge on the left is over 1,000 feet high:
Looking North from the Pass:
This is also the place where the Mt. Whitney climbers gather. I have decided to skip Whitney as my leg still causes considerable pain on downhill and broken ground. I did 24 miles yesterday. Leg somewhat swollen but not significantly painful this morning. I am sorely tempted to climb Whitney but know two hikers who have had to leave the trail because of the same injury.
At this point the Pacific Crest Trail joins the John Muir trail and the two trail are the same up to Yosemite. All the trail signs now are for the JMT. I entered Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park yesterday at about MP 760. My next 140 miles will be in SKC and Yosemite National Parks.
Most hiking has been above 10,000 feet which leaves me winded. Today I will go over Forester Pass which is the highest portion of the trail at about 13,100 feet.
The trail are dazzlingly beautiful, the mountains awe-inspiring. I am no longer an observer but part of the portrait. I am not outdoors any longer. As I walk I am stunned by the fierce beauty of my surroundings. And then just when I think I am inured to it I am stunned again, sometimes to the point of breathlessness. And then the process starts again.
I am climbing Forester Pass. This place is one of the main reasons hikers are advised not to go through the high Sierras alone because of the danger. But there is very little snow this year so I am hiking by myself. The lake below is a pale, iridescent rainbow of colors. There were a few hikers gathered below but they have become so tiny I can no longer see them as I switchback my way upward. Over the pass, there is not much snow here and I am instead scrambling up and down fields of scree. This brings me down onto a trail that I had assumed to be the PCT but quickly realized it wasn't. Interesting how quickly one can know he is not on the right trail just because of the feel of it. This is at least the third time this has happened. I can hear a subterranean river roaring under the rocks beneath me.
Approaching Forrester Pass:
This is Forrester Pass. Can you tell where the pass is? It's the notch on the left side. It's about 1,500 feet of elevation gain from this spot. There are switchbacks carved into the rock all the way up the side of the mountain.
Looking back from the top of the pass. The ridge on the left is over 1,000 feet high:
Looking North from the Pass:
At Diaz Creek, Willy and Turtle: (from Amsterdam)
Here I am with my little hexamid tarp/tent. The tarp is made from cuben fiber. The floor is only mosquito netting. It weighs only six ounces without the lines and stakes. I put it up this time because the sky had clouded over and it looked like there was a chance of rain. Usually I don't bother to put it up.
MP 727 Have been running into more downed trees from last winter's windstorms. I understand that about 75 miles of the trail was made essentially impassible. Trail crews have been working to clear the downed timber but it is uncertain how hikable the trail will be up ahead around Yosemite.
At MP 715 I ran into Tourist and K_____ (no trail name). K______ said she had hurt her neck somehow and Tourist was waiting with her and looking for someone with a SPOT device (locator beacon with satellite SOS signal). Another group of thru hikers had been there earlier, one of whom had a SPOT, but K's symptoms did not seem severe at that time and everyone was reluctant to activate the SPOT (repercussions are huge) so they decided to hike to a nearby ridge top to see if they could get a cell phone connection. By the time I arrived, K had stroke-like symptoms, she was complaining of a headache, was unable to recognize me and was vomiting from the pain. I undertook to hike after the first party to tell them to activate the SPOT but was unable to find them. Fortunately they had ran into yet another thru-hiker who had a satellite phone and was able to make a 911 call. K was airlifted out by a helicopter at 6 pm, about 4 hours after I came through. No word on how she is.
Tourist:
At MP 715 I ran into Tourist and K_____ (no trail name). K______ said she had hurt her neck somehow and Tourist was waiting with her and looking for someone with a SPOT device (locator beacon with satellite SOS signal). Another group of thru hikers had been there earlier, one of whom had a SPOT, but K's symptoms did not seem severe at that time and everyone was reluctant to activate the SPOT (repercussions are huge) so they decided to hike to a nearby ridge top to see if they could get a cell phone connection. By the time I arrived, K had stroke-like symptoms, she was complaining of a headache, was unable to recognize me and was vomiting from the pain. I undertook to hike after the first party to tell them to activate the SPOT but was unable to find them. Fortunately they had ran into yet another thru-hiker who had a satellite phone and was able to make a 911 call. K was airlifted out by a helicopter at 6 pm, about 4 hours after I came through. No word on how she is.
Tourist:
Monday, June 18, 2012
MP727 I camped under some pine trees next to a beautiful little creek. This is the first place where mosquitoes have been really annoying. I guess the desert isn't all bad.
From the Kern River I continued hiking through a beautiful alpine meadow and then North and upwards into the mountains. As with most of the PCT the grade has been very gentle. By mid-afternoon I had gained 1500 feet only to make the ridge top and begin losing the elevation I had gained. In front of me is a dramatic looming panorama of the Sierra Nevada's.
From the Kern River I continued hiking through a beautiful alpine meadow and then North and upwards into the mountains. As with most of the PCT the grade has been very gentle. By mid-afternoon I had gained 1500 feet only to make the ridge top and begin losing the elevation I had gained. In front of me is a dramatic looming panorama of the Sierra Nevada's.
MP 716 There is a bridge on the S Fork of the Kern River under which hundreds of swallows are nesting. They hover in a cloud beneath the bridge. You can almost touch them as they poke their heads from their mud nests.
I allowed myself the luxury of starting the day late because I am walking so few miles. Walked down into a beautiful valley studded with Ponderosa pine. My leg felt ok this morning. The swelling is down. It is painful, but not overwhelmingly so. I can feel a constant dull ache but there is none of the stabbing pain that I had a week ago.
Kern River Valley:
Swallows nests. The pictures of the birds themselves did not turn out well.
I allowed myself the luxury of starting the day late because I am walking so few miles. Walked down into a beautiful valley studded with Ponderosa pine. My leg felt ok this morning. The swelling is down. It is painful, but not overwhelmingly so. I can feel a constant dull ache but there is none of the stabbing pain that I had a week ago.
Kern River Valley:
Swallows nests. The pictures of the birds themselves did not turn out well.
Monday, June 11, 2012
MP 702 - I am back to where I was nearly a week ago but getting ready to hike out this evening. Staying in a motel room in Ridgecrest was incredibly depressing but I started to feel better immediately after arriving back at Kennedy Meadows. To my surprise there were a lot of hikers here whom I know. I had expected everyone I knew to be far ahead by now. Everyone I know hiked out today and I don't k now any of the hikers who are still here.
I am writing this from Tom's Internet Cafe, an idiosyncratic community down the road from the general store. There is a cluster of trailers where thru-hikers can stay; internet access; a shady porch for people to gather; an outdoor movie theater and breakfast offered every morning. There is a hiker box of discarded shoes which now is about 3 feet high. If you take the time you can probably find yourself a good pair of shoes. Other items in the hiker box include, amusingly enough, a big can of bear spray.
This evening I am going to hike out to the Kennedy Meadows campground about 2 or 3 miles up the trail. I will then be positioned, on trail, to start early tomorrow morning and get my 15 miles in. There is another hiker here, Border Patrol, who has the same problem that I do with the shin splints. He hiked out yesterday evening but was back this morning because he was still feeling a lot of pain and wanted to continue to recuperate for a few more days. I am tremendously impatient to start hiking again and hope I have the discipline that he did if it appears that I need a few more days of rest. All of my friends having disappeared up the trail, I am sorely tempted to try to catch up with them which is probably not a good idea.
Tom's Internet Cafe:
Hiker Box:
Dining Room. Breakfast served to hikers here:
I am writing this from Tom's Internet Cafe, an idiosyncratic community down the road from the general store. There is a cluster of trailers where thru-hikers can stay; internet access; a shady porch for people to gather; an outdoor movie theater and breakfast offered every morning. There is a hiker box of discarded shoes which now is about 3 feet high. If you take the time you can probably find yourself a good pair of shoes. Other items in the hiker box include, amusingly enough, a big can of bear spray.
This evening I am going to hike out to the Kennedy Meadows campground about 2 or 3 miles up the trail. I will then be positioned, on trail, to start early tomorrow morning and get my 15 miles in. There is another hiker here, Border Patrol, who has the same problem that I do with the shin splints. He hiked out yesterday evening but was back this morning because he was still feeling a lot of pain and wanted to continue to recuperate for a few more days. I am tremendously impatient to start hiking again and hope I have the discipline that he did if it appears that I need a few more days of rest. All of my friends having disappeared up the trail, I am sorely tempted to try to catch up with them which is probably not a good idea.
Tom's Internet Cafe:
Hiker Box:
Dining Room. Breakfast served to hikers here:
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
I have found a ride back to Kennedy Meadows tomorrow afternoon. I will probably camp again behind the Kennedy Meadows general store to rest up one more day and then hike out on Tuesday. The next resupply is Independence in about 85 miles. There will be about 14,000 feet of elevation gain so the hiking will not be easy. I will try to limit myself to 15 miles per day so it will be about 6 days before I have radio contact again. I will be hiking by Mt. Whitney. My original plan was to climb it but I am not sure that I will now. We will have to wait and see how the leg feels.
Ridgecrest California - June 9
I hiked out from the general store on Thursday the 7th and camped a couple of miles up trail. The plan was to hike on to Independence where I could take a couple of proper zeros and rest my leg. When I woke up in the morning my foot was so swollen it was alarming so I had to hike back and finally caught a ride into Ridgecrest where there is a regional hospital.
I spent quite a few hours at the Ridgecrest Hospital and, as I had expected, the hospital staff, although very competent, pleasant and well intentioned, could not provide me with definitive information about what my problem is or how to solve it. The preliminary diagnosis is just shin splints. A stress fracture has been preliminarily been ruled out by means of an x-ray although I am warned that stress fractures generally don't show up in x-rays until a week or so after the fracture occurs - so I don't know for sure about the stress fracture either. They gave me lunch and sold me a jar of pills (for $200) and sent me on my way.
Currently I am camped out in a motel room with my leg elevated and covered with a bag of frozen black-eyed peas. I suppose you could say that I am not a happy camper. It is sunny and warm and I can hear the wind blowing in the trees. I think I know what it must feel like to be confined to a wheel chair.
These last two days have been difficult but my leg is gradually feeling better and I am confident that I will be back on the trail although it may take a few more days of recuperation. I want to be sure that I am healed to the point that I can hike without further aggravating the injury. I certainly don't want to have to go through this again so I had better be sure to get it right the first time.
I suspect the problem was caused by those two days during which I walked 61 miles. Although it seems kind of strange that the problem did not show up until several days afterwards, I can't think of anything else that might have caused the injury. Yes, I did know that it was not a good idea to hike so many miles but I didn't realize I had hiked that many miles until afterwards.
I have had a couple of people ask me incredulously how I could possible walk 61 miles and not be aware I was doing it. Fair question.
The answer is that I am routinely walking 20 to 25 miles per day and I usually don't keep close track of miles until the end of the day when I have finished hiking. I am fit and comfortable enough with my pack now that, unless there is a steep elevation gain, it doesn't feel like work. I am just taking a walk. When I get in the rhythm of it, the time flies by and I am limited not by the number of miles to hike, but only the hours in the day.
In this particular case, I added significantly to the hours of hiking when I miscalculated my water and decided to hike at night. The following morning when I strolled into Robin Bird Spring at about 6 am I had unintentionally added about12 miles to my total for the day. My friends were on their way out and I felt good so decided to continue hiking with them. We camped together and the following morning they were up at 3 am to avoid the heat. I was too tired and said that I would catch up with them South of Walker Pass. They couldn't find a good place to camp, however, and continued an additional 7 miles into the Walker Pass campground and I wound up following them all the way in. Between the 12 miles night hiking to Robin Bird Spring and the extra 7 to Walker Pass, I unintentionally added 19 miles to my total for the two days. I had no idea I had hiked so many miles until I figured it out after arriving at Walker Pass.
Anyway, I do expect that I will recuperate and continue the hike but, unfortunately, my friends have now all vanished up the trail.
I hiked out from the general store on Thursday the 7th and camped a couple of miles up trail. The plan was to hike on to Independence where I could take a couple of proper zeros and rest my leg. When I woke up in the morning my foot was so swollen it was alarming so I had to hike back and finally caught a ride into Ridgecrest where there is a regional hospital.
I spent quite a few hours at the Ridgecrest Hospital and, as I had expected, the hospital staff, although very competent, pleasant and well intentioned, could not provide me with definitive information about what my problem is or how to solve it. The preliminary diagnosis is just shin splints. A stress fracture has been preliminarily been ruled out by means of an x-ray although I am warned that stress fractures generally don't show up in x-rays until a week or so after the fracture occurs - so I don't know for sure about the stress fracture either. They gave me lunch and sold me a jar of pills (for $200) and sent me on my way.
Currently I am camped out in a motel room with my leg elevated and covered with a bag of frozen black-eyed peas. I suppose you could say that I am not a happy camper. It is sunny and warm and I can hear the wind blowing in the trees. I think I know what it must feel like to be confined to a wheel chair.
These last two days have been difficult but my leg is gradually feeling better and I am confident that I will be back on the trail although it may take a few more days of recuperation. I want to be sure that I am healed to the point that I can hike without further aggravating the injury. I certainly don't want to have to go through this again so I had better be sure to get it right the first time.
I suspect the problem was caused by those two days during which I walked 61 miles. Although it seems kind of strange that the problem did not show up until several days afterwards, I can't think of anything else that might have caused the injury. Yes, I did know that it was not a good idea to hike so many miles but I didn't realize I had hiked that many miles until afterwards.
I have had a couple of people ask me incredulously how I could possible walk 61 miles and not be aware I was doing it. Fair question.
The answer is that I am routinely walking 20 to 25 miles per day and I usually don't keep close track of miles until the end of the day when I have finished hiking. I am fit and comfortable enough with my pack now that, unless there is a steep elevation gain, it doesn't feel like work. I am just taking a walk. When I get in the rhythm of it, the time flies by and I am limited not by the number of miles to hike, but only the hours in the day.
In this particular case, I added significantly to the hours of hiking when I miscalculated my water and decided to hike at night. The following morning when I strolled into Robin Bird Spring at about 6 am I had unintentionally added about12 miles to my total for the day. My friends were on their way out and I felt good so decided to continue hiking with them. We camped together and the following morning they were up at 3 am to avoid the heat. I was too tired and said that I would catch up with them South of Walker Pass. They couldn't find a good place to camp, however, and continued an additional 7 miles into the Walker Pass campground and I wound up following them all the way in. Between the 12 miles night hiking to Robin Bird Spring and the extra 7 to Walker Pass, I unintentionally added 19 miles to my total for the two days. I had no idea I had hiked so many miles until I figured it out after arriving at Walker Pass.
Anyway, I do expect that I will recuperate and continue the hike but, unfortunately, my friends have now all vanished up the trail.
MP 702.8 Kennedy Meadows
My lower right shin started to feel sore this morning and by the afternoon it felt like I was being stabbed with a knife. Limped into the Kennedy Meadows General Store at about 4 in the afternoon. Hopefully I will feel better after some r & r.
The Kennedy Meadows General Store is one more of those places where thru hikers congregate. There must be about thirty hikers here.
The Kern River:
The General Store:
My lower right shin started to feel sore this morning and by the afternoon it felt like I was being stabbed with a knife. Limped into the Kennedy Meadows General Store at about 4 in the afternoon. Hopefully I will feel better after some r & r.
The Kennedy Meadows General Store is one more of those places where thru hikers congregate. There must be about thirty hikers here.
The Kern River:
The General Store:
MP 681 June 4
Started hiking at 5:30 am. Covered 24 miles today climbing up and up into the high desert and on into a more alpine like environment. It was cool and shady most of the day. The desert is being left behind as we approach the Sierras. Camped at Chimney Creek. Just to orient people to where I am, Walker pass is near the towns of Lake Isabella and Onyx. I'm currently 30 miles north of there and will be in Kennedy Meadows tomorrow night, Monday. The nights are much colder at this higher altitude.
There was a bit of excitement this evening when a very healthy looking bear ambled down the road next to camp. He was supremely unconcerned about my presence and disappeared into the woods within a few minutes.
Started hiking at 5:30 am. Covered 24 miles today climbing up and up into the high desert and on into a more alpine like environment. It was cool and shady most of the day. The desert is being left behind as we approach the Sierras. Camped at Chimney Creek. Just to orient people to where I am, Walker pass is near the towns of Lake Isabella and Onyx. I'm currently 30 miles north of there and will be in Kennedy Meadows tomorrow night, Monday. The nights are much colder at this higher altitude.
There was a bit of excitement this evening when a very healthy looking bear ambled down the road next to camp. He was supremely unconcerned about my presence and disappeared into the woods within a few minutes.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
MP 651 Trail Angel Oakie Girl has set up a tent and is feeding the thru hikers. There are about 8 or 9 here. There is lots of food and beer and talk of the high sierras which are only about 50 to 100 miles off. The consensus is that crampons and ice axe are not necessary this year because of low snow conditions so I am leaving them behind to conserve weight. My current plan is to hike with a group of 3 other hikers from Kennedy Meadows for the trek through the high sierras. My group will include Black Hawk, a commercial jet pilot; Hee Haw, bluegrass musician from Portland, Maine; and Malpractice, a doctor of internal medicine from Minneapolis. There ought to be a joke in there somewhere with a group like that one would think.
This has been a very relaxing and restful day. Hiked out at 7pm and got in 5 miles before camping on a windy mountain ridge.
This has been a very relaxing and restful day. Hiked out at 7pm and got in 5 miles before camping on a windy mountain ridge.
MP 602 - June 1
Badly miscalculated my water and wound up with only 1.4 liters to get me to the next source at Robin Bird Spring12 miles away, temperature in the 90's, all uphill. Decided to hike at night to conserve water. Started at 8 pm hiking without a headlamp but aided by a bright gibbous moon. Climbing upward into the mountains the landscape appeared dramatically below with an otherworldly, dreamlike quality. Absolute silence. No wind. Heading through a stand of ponderosa pine a heard the sound of a large animal to my left, crashing through the undergrowth seeming to be coming straight at me. It suddenly emerged from the trees, looming in front of me. It was a cow.
Finally made it to Robin Bird Spring in the early morning hours. Passed the 600 mile mark at about 2 am.
Badly miscalculated my water and wound up with only 1.4 liters to get me to the next source at Robin Bird Spring12 miles away, temperature in the 90's, all uphill. Decided to hike at night to conserve water. Started at 8 pm hiking without a headlamp but aided by a bright gibbous moon. Climbing upward into the mountains the landscape appeared dramatically below with an otherworldly, dreamlike quality. Absolute silence. No wind. Heading through a stand of ponderosa pine a heard the sound of a large animal to my left, crashing through the undergrowth seeming to be coming straight at me. It suddenly emerged from the trees, looming in front of me. It was a cow.
Finally made it to Robin Bird Spring in the early morning hours. Passed the 600 mile mark at about 2 am.
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