Vidette Meadow/Bubbs Creek Mile 786 to Woods Creek Mile 803
We lingered in camp enjoying our surroundings and cooked up oatmeal and a mocha on a wood fire. It's such a relief to finally feel like I'm out enjoying a backpacking trip! No stressful mornings with breakfast on the go to beat the 100 degree heat. I'm loving it.
Until Mammoth, we'll be crossing at least one High Sierra Pass each day, and today's was Glen Pass - purported to be the scariest and potentially most dangerous of them all. The pass was only 4 miles from our campsite but the going was slow getting there. After yesterday, today was a breeze though - I felt like a pro after someone going the opposite direction complained about the arduous climb that I hadn't really even struggled with! The climb up Glen Pass was very steep but it went fast, and I was on top in no time. I'm so thankful for a low snow year - going down the back side is typically a harrowing endeavor, but it was a breeze for us. We donned our microspikes for the beginning of the descent through the remaining snow fields, but didn't need them for too long. I felt like a true adventurer clomping through the snow with my crampons on my feet and snow baskets on my trekking poles.
We descended to Rae Lakes which is apparently a popular summer weekend destination. Our hike included an accidental detour due to a wrong turn, which added a few miles to our day. The wrong turn put me in a funk, and it felt like that flat hiking to get past Rae Lakes would never end. We finally sat down to have lunch at 3, and at that point we'd only gone 8 trail miles the whole day. It was a frustrating afternoon, and I cried my first tears of the Sierra - darn! I thought those days were over. We finally got going again, and thankfully the afternoon went better than the morning. We crossed over an awesome suspension bridge, and mile 800 and made it to mile 802.6 - still on track to make it to Mammoth!
Showing posts with label Sierra Nevada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sierra Nevada. Show all posts
Friday, June 14, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Days 56-58, June 11-13 -The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go
Trailside Mile 727 to Trailside Meadow Mile 747 to Wallace Creek Mile 770 to Vidette Meadows/Bubbs Creek Mile 786
Our first days in the Sierra have been some seriously high mileage days. After Monday's long day, it took a while to get going Tuesday morning/we never really did. Enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in (no fear of heat to set alarms for 4am!) and then enjoyed a long breakfast while taking in the amazing views from just down the trail. There were a few big climbs and then we took a break at the top - where we were sitting overlooking the desert to the east from 11,000 feet up. The nearby China Lake Naval Air Station was running aircraft drills all day and some of them got up close and personal. It took me back to the rooftop Fleet Week airshow parties at my old apartment in San Francisco, and I felt like we were now getting a private show on top of a mountain as the planes roared by. We'd hoped to make it to mile 750 by days end to Chicken Spring Lake, but due to our sluggish start, only got as far as a lovely little meadow near a spring. Not a bad campsite!
We got an early start the following morning as we hoped to make it to Guitar Lake as a base camp for our ascent of Mt. Whitney. The hiking was unreal - the scenery went from beautiful to just absolutely jaw-dropping. Really, breathtaking. We stopped for lunch with Viking at the bottom of a descent right on a river, with huge trees surrounding the flat campsite in all directions, and a quaint meadow on the other side of the river. As we ate lunch, Brett and I finally actually looked at the mileage and elevation profiles for the section we were still beginning. (We'd forgotten to have our maps sent for this section...oops. Viking let us look at his during lunch.) We realized it was time to hatch a new plan, because our current one was untenable. Sadly, we came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to get to Mammoth in time for the wedding unless we postponed our Mt. Whitney ascent. Not ideal, but it was the only viable option unless we wanted to skip 70 miles of trail and leave the Sierra at Bishop Pass. I was so disappointed, because really, when are you ever at a point in your life when you can just casually climb to the top of the highest point in the contiguous United States?! We're hoping to rent a car later and drive back to climb it. Skipping Whitney meant we'd start crossing the High Sierra passes a day earlier than expected - Forester Pass is the first and highest point on the PCT at 13,200 feet. We needed to get at least 4-6 miles more in order to be in good position to tackle the pass the following morning. (It's important to go over the passes in the a.m. when the snow is still frozen enough that you have less chance of postholing all the way down.) By the end of the day, I was so tired I couldn't even appreciate our surroundings. I was also still really bummed about Mt. Whitney, and even though it's not actually part of the trail, I felt guilty skipping it. Barely made it to camp by dark, and passed out quickly!
The following day, we successfully completed Forester Pass! It was pretty darn steep, and there were a few nervous moments, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. We yelped at the top and took a few pictures. Brett also got a call from his former boss asking if he'd be interested in working with her on a project when he returns - not a bad place to get a job offer! We had lunch by an alpine lake and then hiked another 6 miles more through amazing meadows in a huge valley. The views were spectacular and I felt like I was in a dream world - it was so beautiful it didn't feel real. We could have gone another few miles, but decided instead to take the evening off and make camp early. What a treat! Got camp set up by 6ish and enjoyed the Bubbs(ling) Creek and huge trees that we called home for the night, with giant granite walls surrounding us bathed in alpenglow. These are places I can hardly believe exist.
Our first days in the Sierra have been some seriously high mileage days. After Monday's long day, it took a while to get going Tuesday morning/we never really did. Enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in (no fear of heat to set alarms for 4am!) and then enjoyed a long breakfast while taking in the amazing views from just down the trail. There were a few big climbs and then we took a break at the top - where we were sitting overlooking the desert to the east from 11,000 feet up. The nearby China Lake Naval Air Station was running aircraft drills all day and some of them got up close and personal. It took me back to the rooftop Fleet Week airshow parties at my old apartment in San Francisco, and I felt like we were now getting a private show on top of a mountain as the planes roared by. We'd hoped to make it to mile 750 by days end to Chicken Spring Lake, but due to our sluggish start, only got as far as a lovely little meadow near a spring. Not a bad campsite!
We got an early start the following morning as we hoped to make it to Guitar Lake as a base camp for our ascent of Mt. Whitney. The hiking was unreal - the scenery went from beautiful to just absolutely jaw-dropping. Really, breathtaking. We stopped for lunch with Viking at the bottom of a descent right on a river, with huge trees surrounding the flat campsite in all directions, and a quaint meadow on the other side of the river. As we ate lunch, Brett and I finally actually looked at the mileage and elevation profiles for the section we were still beginning. (We'd forgotten to have our maps sent for this section...oops. Viking let us look at his during lunch.) We realized it was time to hatch a new plan, because our current one was untenable. Sadly, we came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to get to Mammoth in time for the wedding unless we postponed our Mt. Whitney ascent. Not ideal, but it was the only viable option unless we wanted to skip 70 miles of trail and leave the Sierra at Bishop Pass. I was so disappointed, because really, when are you ever at a point in your life when you can just casually climb to the top of the highest point in the contiguous United States?! We're hoping to rent a car later and drive back to climb it. Skipping Whitney meant we'd start crossing the High Sierra passes a day earlier than expected - Forester Pass is the first and highest point on the PCT at 13,200 feet. We needed to get at least 4-6 miles more in order to be in good position to tackle the pass the following morning. (It's important to go over the passes in the a.m. when the snow is still frozen enough that you have less chance of postholing all the way down.) By the end of the day, I was so tired I couldn't even appreciate our surroundings. I was also still really bummed about Mt. Whitney, and even though it's not actually part of the trail, I felt guilty skipping it. Barely made it to camp by dark, and passed out quickly!
The following day, we successfully completed Forester Pass! It was pretty darn steep, and there were a few nervous moments, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. We yelped at the top and took a few pictures. Brett also got a call from his former boss asking if he'd be interested in working with her on a project when he returns - not a bad place to get a job offer! We had lunch by an alpine lake and then hiked another 6 miles more through amazing meadows in a huge valley. The views were spectacular and I felt like I was in a dream world - it was so beautiful it didn't feel real. We could have gone another few miles, but decided instead to take the evening off and make camp early. What a treat! Got camp set up by 6ish and enjoyed the Bubbs(ling) Creek and huge trees that we called home for the night, with giant granite walls surrounding us bathed in alpenglow. These are places I can hardly believe exist.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Day 55, June 10 - We're Here!
Kennedy Meadows Campsite Mile 704 to Trailside Mile 727
It's official - I <3 the mountains! And I can now say without any hesitation that I absolutely love this trail! Today was a great day.
We hiked with the Wolfpack for the first 15 miles or so and had a ton of fun experiencing the change of scenery together. (I'm hoping we may have passed our last cactus of the trail today!) At the end of the day, we climbed over 5,000 feet, and almost climbed to 11,000 feet at the highest point of the day - and I feel great! How odd. Our surroundings were green, there were trees everywhere, the temperature was perfect, and all were happy in our idyllic little world. After the first big climb, we turned a corner to find ourselves entering a huge, picture perfect meadow with a mountainous backdrop surrounding the scene. Everyone started cheering and we shared a moment of awe appreciating where we were. We stopped for lunch at a meadow where the trail crossed the Kern, and there were about 10 other hikers also stopped enjoying the suddenly lush trail. All this seemed all the more special because of what we endured and persevered through to get here - we earned this beauty!
Unfortunately, after lunch, Brett and I had to leave the rest of the Wolfpack behind - they planned on taking it slow and acclimating gradually to our new elevation, and we needed to average close to 20 miles/day in order to make it to Mammoth in time (arriving a day late was absolutely not an option!) Our guidebook said to not expect to do more than 10-17 miles/day in the High Sierra, so I was a little concerned what we were about to get ourselves into - darn that trail magic that was too hard to leave behind a few days ago! On our first day in the Sierra, we managed to pump out almost 23 though, which I'm pretty excited about. It was hard to leave everyone behind, but I'm sure we'll all be together again soon. And maybe we'll catch up with Lunchbox, Viking or Gummy Bear.
I am already SO much happier not being in the desert, and feeling very much stronger/fitter/more bad@$$ than I have in years! These fun times are only going to get better to boot. Yep, just another Monday in the ole "office."
It's official - I <3 the mountains! And I can now say without any hesitation that I absolutely love this trail! Today was a great day.
We hiked with the Wolfpack for the first 15 miles or so and had a ton of fun experiencing the change of scenery together. (I'm hoping we may have passed our last cactus of the trail today!) At the end of the day, we climbed over 5,000 feet, and almost climbed to 11,000 feet at the highest point of the day - and I feel great! How odd. Our surroundings were green, there were trees everywhere, the temperature was perfect, and all were happy in our idyllic little world. After the first big climb, we turned a corner to find ourselves entering a huge, picture perfect meadow with a mountainous backdrop surrounding the scene. Everyone started cheering and we shared a moment of awe appreciating where we were. We stopped for lunch at a meadow where the trail crossed the Kern, and there were about 10 other hikers also stopped enjoying the suddenly lush trail. All this seemed all the more special because of what we endured and persevered through to get here - we earned this beauty!
Unfortunately, after lunch, Brett and I had to leave the rest of the Wolfpack behind - they planned on taking it slow and acclimating gradually to our new elevation, and we needed to average close to 20 miles/day in order to make it to Mammoth in time (arriving a day late was absolutely not an option!) Our guidebook said to not expect to do more than 10-17 miles/day in the High Sierra, so I was a little concerned what we were about to get ourselves into - darn that trail magic that was too hard to leave behind a few days ago! On our first day in the Sierra, we managed to pump out almost 23 though, which I'm pretty excited about. It was hard to leave everyone behind, but I'm sure we'll all be together again soon. And maybe we'll catch up with Lunchbox, Viking or Gummy Bear.
I am already SO much happier not being in the desert, and feeling very much stronger/fitter/more bad@$$ than I have in years! These fun times are only going to get better to boot. Yep, just another Monday in the ole "office."
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