Another E-mail from the Pacific Hiking Trail

Hi everyone! I only have 30 minutes on the Independence library computer, so this'll be short and sweet... I stayed an extra day in Lone Pine to rest my knees, and it helped. I met a thruhiker in town who was only carrying an 18 lb pack, fully loaded. I was in awe of his ability to downsize, and only make do with a minimum of equipment.

He wasn't carrying any kind of bear-proof storage for his food, though... he said he was sleeping with his food by his head, upwind from the trail and far from any known campsites or water sources (where the animals tend to seek free food). His method has worked so far, but I wouldn't want to be him if a bear did try to swipe his food sack, only 1 foot from his head. Geez! I think I'm happy carrying my 2.5 lb bear canister. For now. Back on the trail Sunday afternoon, 6/22 (Day 7). Hiked 7.5 miles to beautiful Chicken Spring Lake, where I camped alone, listening to the orchestra of peeper frogs as I drifted off to sleep.

Monday, 7/23 (day 8) - hiked 16 miles from Chicken Spring Lake to Crabtree Meadow, with awesome views of Mt. Whitney as I walked down the switchbacks into Crabtree. All the thruhikers are planning to do a sidetrip to summit this 14,000+ ft peak, but I think I'll skip it. I didn't plan for it, and don't have the permit or the 2 extra days of food. Now that it's within reach, though, I wish I'd decided to do it. I cleaned up in the Crabtree Creek, and ate by the bear locker, threw my food and smellables inside and slept soundly, knowing that all my stuff was safe.

Tuesday, 7/24 (Day 9) - Hiked 12 miles from Crabtree Meadow to the lake before Forester Pass, which is the highest point on the PCT at 13,200ft. I went from 10,000 - 12,000 ft elevation by the end of the day, and I was trudging by the end. I stopped for the night in the middle of Sequoia canyon, with sheer granite slopes towering above me on 3 sides. I couldn't see where the trail continued on -- it seemed impossible that I would have to climb up over one of those walls. They were too steep! I camped up above treeline, in the middle of a rocky valley with plenty of snowmelt springs & small lakes.

Saw my first marmot, who sounded exactly like a chirping bird and looked like a groundhog with a bushy tail. I decided that there couldn't possibly be bears up this high, because there would be nothing for them to forage on. Still, I sleeping was a little hard because I kept waking up hyperventilating because of the high altitude.

Wednesday 7/25 (Day 10) - Hiked 11.5 miles up and over one of those crazy granite walls, over 13,000 ft Forester Pass and down into Kings Canyon. I really wanted to make it the 19 miles to the trailhead, but I pooped out at Bullfrog Lake, halfway down the side-trail to road. Today was a fantastic day of hiking, although probably some of the most difficult of the whole hike.

Climbing over the pass was an eye-opener for me. I've never hiked so high, and if you want to know what it felt like to carry a 40 lb pack up a mile of switchbacks at altitude, try running a mile while trying to breathe through a soda straw. I had to stop every 20 feet to catch my breath (and take pictures, of course!). It felt incredible to stand at the very top, looking down into both Sequoia Canyon and Kings Canyon stretching out 20 miles in either direction.

Coming down from the peak, I had to walk across 2 long, steep snowfields. I paid attention to every single step, making sure that I wouldn't slip or posthole down into the snow. I'd decided not to carry crampons or an ice ax, and on balance, it was probably the right decision...but I was grateful to have trekking poles, at least. Without those to balance with, I could easily have wound up sliding down the slope to the rocks below. Not a fun prospect, as I inched my way across the snowfield!

Down in Kings Canyon, the snow covered the trail in some sections, so I whipped out my map and compass and managed make my way down-canyon without getting too far off-trail. I passed a lot of people out for short trips over Forester Pass who weren't carrying hiking poles. Poor suckers.

Bullfrog Lake (where I tented for the night) was a beautiful little jewel of a lake. I washed out my muddy socks and took a quick bath. I heard voices up the side of the mountain, so I tried hiding behind a rock...but at this point, I was almost beyond caring if someone saw me. It was more important to get the dirt and sweat off. A curious buck grazed nearby while I ate my dinner. He was so close, I could see that fuzz on his antlers.

Thursday, 7/26 (Day 11) - Got up early and hiked the last 6 miles up and over Kearsarge Pass (11,700 ft), down to the Onion Valley Trailhead. I met 2 section hikers on the way down, and they kindly gave me a ride 15 miles down the mountain into Independence, CA. I found out that Independence's grocery store had closed 6 months ago, but the owner of the hotel I was staying at allowed me and a few other hikers to take her van into Bishop, which was 45 miles away, but had a full-on supermarket, outdoors store, etc. It's amazing to me how things always work out. The universe always provides. I got to talk to my husband today, which felt incredible. I miss him so much, especially when I get to a particularly beautiful spot or experience something I've never seen or felt before. I wish he were here to share it with me.

Friday, 7/27 (Day 12) - I'm looking forward to getting out on the trail this afternoon, but wanted to get this info sent out. It's hard to leave town, especially now that I've got 7 days of food in my pack. I sent a few item ahead to my next town stop, just so I wouldn't have to carry it in my pack. I traded in my Steripen/Nalgene setup for a 1oz Visine-bottle sized container of bleach. It saves 8 oz, which doesn't seem like much -- but when you add up the ounces, they equal pounds.

Talk to you in 7 days!

Ciao,
Dawn