North Kennedy Meadows

Day 65-July 12

Resupply in North Kennedy Meadows

7 miles

The rest of the climb and ridge line this morning wasn’t too hard and had the added challenge of a couple snow fields to cross with great views the whole time. Each snow field was only about twenty or thirty feet across, didn’t have a bad fall factor, and had kicked in steps already. Perks of coming late in the season I suppose. After a smooth ridge line traverse, well mostly smooth since we got service for the first time in a few days. Texting and waking can be a challenge sometimes!

We began descending to the 108 highway. The trail was very gravelly so we were slipping and sliding all over. I only fell over once, better than some days in Yosemite.

We arrived at the road and started trying to get a hitch. A few cars passed us. Then more hikers came to the trail head. They were kind enough to respect the order of hitch hiking. Whomever is there first, gets the first car. One car turned around and came back for us. He was out mountain biking with friends for a few days and was headed home. Super kind man willing to make room in his car for us. He said he is currently waiting for his work visa to come through so he can start work. So he said he passed us but then thought to himself, “what am I doing, I have time to help”, and turned around. What a good human.

At the Kennedy Meadows store, we quick got in to their breakfast before the grill stopped serving food. There were more people at the Kennedy Meadows Resort than I expected. The owner was saying that families come every year and some have come every summer for generations. There is a campground, yurts, dorm rooms, and cabins for rent.

We were expecting a package to arrive for us today by UPS. When Kevin’s dad sent it, UPS said it would take six days since it is so rural. We waited most of the day for it while hoping we could still make the last shuttle ride out to the trail. Just as the shuttle was packing up, the UPS person arrived and we could get our package! The shuttle driver had waited for us so we grabbed our bags and jumped aboard! The package had our UR sacks in so we could drop our bear cans at the store since we rented them and this was the drop off place. It is super important to have some sort of bear storage for our food though.

As we rode the shuttle back to the trail, the shuttle driver told us all about this area. He said Sonora pass was the second busiest route into California during the gold rush. Donner pass was the first. He pointed out remnants of the old coach road that was built by and for mule wagon trains as they came over the pass. Once we got to the trail head, our group just went one mile then camped. Our group is now minus Tadpole as she is visiting with family. Sometimes resupplying takes a lot of energy with all the moving parts of charging electronics, washing things out, getting food, trying to eat a lot in town, making sure to pack out enough food etc.

Thankfully we all made it out with minor mishaps, Pebbles forgot her toothbrush!

Dorothy Lake Pass

Day 64-

20.8 miles

The first climb of the day was a gradual five mile stint up Dorothy Lake Pass. This pass marked the end of being in Yosemite National Park. It was lovely being in the park for awhile. I had never been this far in the backcountry of Yosemite so it was a neat experience. It was wild to see the geological structure of the mountains immediately change as we created the pass which marks the border of the park. Behind us stood the jagged granite peaks and alpine lakes. In front of us were gravelly red triangle shaped peaks with some small areas of short trees.

We did our best to cruise down the other side of the pass but the rocky trail held us back a bit. The mosquitos required us to keep moving or get eaten alive.

Then we made it to the next mile marker! 1000 miles! Two friends sat at the marker and cheered our arrival as we did for each person who arrived after us. It feels strange to have already been out here for two months and hiked 1000 miles. I feel accomplished and proud of us for making it here! I am also so grateful we could stay on the trail through the smoke. That we have been able to have a continuous journey through these miles. And that we have met such wonderful people and have been welcomed into several different hiking groups along the way.

Tadpole, Pebbles, Strider, Cheery-o, Rhino, Shuffles

Soon after leaving the 1000 mile mark we had a ten mile water carry, which for this section is super long! The trail is already preparing us for Northern California where we will have more long water hauls in the heat. The reason we had this section without water is because we climbed up onto a ridge and went through Sonora pass. For almost ten miles the trail was above tree line and exposed. It was very beautiful. In the distance I could see some of the granite peaks from Yosemite and in front of us I could see the tall red mountains of Nor Cal. There were some new types of wildflowers including Alpine Sunflowers, California Valerian, and Sky Pilots. I love the alpine flowers!

We camped in a grove of short spruce type trees so we could be six miles from the trail head tomorrow. We resupply in North Kennedy Meadows tomorrow!

Fall Creek

Day 63

17.3 miles

This morning dawned with breathable looking skies. Yesterday was difficult with the heavy smoke hanging over us in the morning making it hard to breath. It was also emotionally heavy, knowing the old growth trees were being impacted and the fact that we might have a fire closure of the trail staring us in the face. We know we might at some point have to skip around on the trail because of closures but no one wants to think about that.

Our day started immediately with a climb. We had a few climbs today but they were mostly shorter than the passes we have been doing in the sierras. We usually like to stick to around 4,000 feet of elevation gain in a day but today had close to five thousand. The smoke in the air in the afternoon made the air seem heavy and extra hot. We cooled off at a lake before starting up Fall Creek gully which is notorious for it’s mosquitos. There were so many following us. As soon as we got to campsite we put in our bug nets and pants. Eating dinner was an exercise in lifting the bug net just right to eat but not let in the mosquitos!

We are looking forward to the next couple of days though. We hit 1000 miles tomorrow and the next day can drop off our bear cans to pick up our UR sacks again! The bear cans weigh more than two pounds and my UR sack weighs close to 8 ounces. It is hard to believe we have been out here for two months too!

A podcast I listened to this week was with a journalist who is known for her interviews and interesting questions. She was describing how she has curated that skill. A few years ago she began asking herself questions, about literally anything, every day and journaling the answers. This has helped her get to know herself and think of questions.

So I decided to do the same. One question I asked myself today was “what do I like most about thru hiking?”. I couldn’t decide between being outside for long periods of time because you gain a deeper connection to nature, seeing more types of plants and ecological systems and noticing how each part works together, and meeting new people and having interactions with them on deeper levels than “normal” life.

Day 62-July 9

21.6 miles

We woke up this morning to a smoky view. The sights of the mountains we could see while eating dinner last night were gone. The near hills I could just barely see the outline of. As we started hiking through a meadow, the smoke looked like heavy fog over the trees and it burned our throats and noses. We knew the fire was a long ways away. A friend had contacted her mom who said the fire was on the opposite side of the park in the Mariposa grove of sequoia trees. I was very sad to hear about these thousand year old trees going up in flames. This is why we want to thru hike things now before lands are destroyed by natural disasters or it becomes too dangerous to hike.

Soon we met two rangers coming down the trail. I thought they were there to tell us we had to leave the trail. They were just checking permits and if we had bear cans or not.

Recently, Kevin listened to a podcast by thru hikers that describes how the future of thru hiking will begin to include fire closures, road walks, and perhaps not being able to walk every mile between the southern and northern terminuses of long trails. This is disheartening as we have already seen evidence of this happening in the last few years. Understanding our earth and how to care for it is so important.

Since there was so much smoke, we tried our best to push more miles today to get away from it. The passes were so steep and coming down Benson pass was rocky and difficult to go fast over the uneven trail. We ended up camping at Benson lake which had a nice breeze to keep away the mosquitoes and a mostly blue sky since the wind had changed to keep the smoke away from us.

Resupply in Tuolumne

Day 61

15 miles, resupplied with boxes mailed to us at Tuolumne Meadows post office

This morning we set off at a brisk pace to get to the Tuolumne meadows camp store and post office. It was six miles to the turn off then a bit of road walking to the store. Tuolumne Meadow is a high meadow in the back part of Yosemite about two hours from the valley. Often Tuolumne doesn’t open for awhile after the valley sees spring because they have to wait for the snow to melt enough for them to finish plowing Tioga road up there. The store itself is a non permanent structure, just a big white tent. It was super easy to get our boxes and shove everything in our bear can for our resupply. I did end up laying everything out just to make sure I had enough food for the three/four days to North Kennedy Meadows. We had thought about taking the bus from Tuolumne down to the valley for the day to hang out and see the sights. Pebbles has never been to the valley but the other four of us had so we would go with her if she wanted to see it. But given the pricey bus ticket, long hours driving,cand crowds, we decided to not go down to the valley. We hung out at the store for awhile. They had some microwaveable food and a microwave there for hikers to use which was super nice! I was very impressed with their gluten free and vegan selections of food!

Then we headed out to Tuolumne falls which was about six miles down the trail. The waterfall was stunning and taller than I expected at 55 feet. At the waterfall we went swimming and then sat in the sun hanging out and drinking some sodas we packed out with us from the store. The trail went through some groves of trees and over wide rock monoliths while following the river. Even though we couldn’t see things like Half Dome or El Cap there were still so many giant granite peaks that rose between the trees. We saw Unicorn and Cathedral peaks. Today was a great day, very restful with a few out of the ordinary breaks and beautiful views all along. We are starting to see more familiar wild flowers too, ones I recognize from previous times in these mountains! Today I saw some Larkspurs, Asters, and Wooly Mules Ears.

As we ate dinner, we could see a great view of some pointed granite peaks. There was one mysterious cloud that kept changing shape and building in size. It definitely looked like a smoke cloud from a wildfire. It was very far away but still unsettling.

Entering Yosemite

Day 60

20 miles

Camped in The meadow by Lyell Creek

Today’s 20 miles took us about ten hours. All day we felt a bit slow and sluggish. Thousand Island lake was absolutely beautiful, but the climb after the lake felt hot and long. Then we climbed up Donahue pass which took more effort than I was expecting. Donahue pass is the border of Yosemite National park. I am so excited to hike through the park. The views from the top were great and we descended into the meadow valley. The descent was a rough one on the knees because of all the rocks and giant rock steps built into the trail. We were happy to finally make it to camp. We haven’t ever been this far in the back country of the park so I’m excited to see what it is like.

Nero day out of Mammoth

Day 59

9.2 miles Hiked

Reds Meadow past Devil’s Postpile uphill to camp

Instead of the usual morning brisk walk down the trail to warm up, today’s morning started with a stroll to the coffee shop on the corner since we were in town. Then Kevin and I made hash browns and omelettes for our tramily in the air bnb. A couple members of our group have family or friends visiting the next couple of days so they broke away to enjoy that time and we are continuing on up the trail.

After a relaxed morning at the air bnb, we made our way back to the trail. From trolley, to shuttle, to bus. The bus was absolutely packed with people headed out to day hike. I was glad we had just showered and the bus wasn’t this packed when we were heading into town all smelly and dirty.

While we were waiting in line for the bus, a resort worker came over to talk to our group about the trail. It was obvious we were thru hikers. She said, “Im BooBoo, what’s yours?”. So I said “Rhino”, and every else said their trail name. We kept talking for awhile until another guy in line leaned over and asked, “what were all those code words for?”. So we chuckled and explained trail names and how they are like nick names. Often people have stories or attributes that are the backstory for their trail name. I’m sure it did sound weird and like code words for things. I have heard one hiker say that with trail names, perhaps people feel as if they can be more open about life and feelings since there is more anonymity. Perhaps that is so, perhaps it is also just so out of the “normal” way of life that the shared experience brings hikers together. Kind of like how a hiker at the Red’s Meadow store gave us a bunch of food because she is getting off trail from an injury but giving other hikers her left over food brought her joy because she knew she was fueling someone else’s experience.

Mammoth Lakes

Day 58-

5.8 miles, .4 was not in the PCT,

Got off at Reds Meadow to go into Mammoth Lakes!

Since we went a few extra miles yesterday, it was a short hike to the bus stop at Reds Meadow store today! Mammoth Lakes is such a neat town. Where the trail enters the resort town area is within a restricted access area. Meaning most people have to take a bus to the various trailheads along the road that runs parallel to the PCT. So the easiest way into town was to take the bus down to the ski resort which is now open for mountain biking and other activities. Then we took a shuttle to the main part of town by the fancy Westin and some stores. Then a trolley system brought us to the various places we needed to go to run errands like a diner and grocery outlet. It was super convenient!

We arrived to town in time for a diner breakfast! It was needed and delicious after being in the mountains for eight days. Mammoth Lakes was still full of vacationers after the Fourth of July yesterday so we got quite a few looks from some tourists who probably wondered why we smelled so bad. The locals seemed super chill with our stench and dirt. Fellow dirt bag outdoors people!

The group we have been hiking with got an air bnb in town for the night which was super convenient since almost everything was busy, booked, or expensive during this holiday week. It felt great to shower and have space to figure out groceries. I got way too much food for the next two days until we get to Tuolumne but I will fully enjoy eating all of it and it will make resupplying in Tuolumne a bit cheaper.

Fourth of July

Day 57-4th of July

20ish miles

Camped at mile 901.4

The chilly wet cold from camping near rivers has me rethinking my gear choices for later on in the trail. I am warm enough now but always thinking about what the fall will bring. I was just talking with someone from Oregon who was describing the fall colors and I am super excited for that! The air was super chilly this morning but we soon climbed out of the canyon and into the sunshine! We saw a bald Eagle by one of the lakes today! How fitting to see it on the Fourth of July!

A lot of our day was spent climbing but by the time we made it to Virginia lake for lunch, our whole group decided to push a few more miles toward Mammoth Lakes. We will get off the trail at Reds Meadow and take a bus into town. We have an air bnb waiting for us and I’m super excited to have some more food. The last couple of days I have been quite hungry. I carry enough food but haven’t been feeling quite full from my meals since we are expending so much energy! I will probably eat us out of house and home soon. Today there were two ladies on the trail who gave us some granola bars. They just asked us if we wanted their extra food and of course, we accepted!

Vermillion Valley Resort

Day 56-July 3

Resupply at Vermillion Valley Resort

Nero day

It felt so cold this morning. Definitely not below freezing but still mountain air chilly. Our plan was to hike in to a small resupply place in the sierras. It was about five miles off trail to a camp type “resort” on Lake Thomas Edison. It is an expensive resupply place since it is four hours from any town but we only needed two days of food. They also had a grill with sandwiches and burgers and wifi. I had been looking forward to getting French fries for a few days. The resort is an odd mix of backpackers and car campers since they have platform tents, cabins, and campsites for rent too. We just came in to get some resupply food and a meal from the grill. On the way back to trail, we took the ferry across the lake! The Vermillion Valley Resort runs a ferry that takes hikers the three miles across the lake to the trailhead instead of having to hike it. The resort is run by a previous hiker who bought the place and loved his family up there. They have been through a lot with a forest fire almost taking out the whole place and now incredibly low water levels in the lake from low snow years. We were grateful they were still up and running so we could do a little resupply for the next two days before Mammoth Lakes.