Some Real Mountains

The last section was when we hit some serious mountains for the first time on trail. It has been unlike anything else that I have ever done. While the core activity is still hiking, the only similarity is it involves a lot of difficult walking. The first big difference is the timing in the day. A late start is now leave camp at 5 A.M. There has even been a day that had a 3 A.M. start! The reason for the super early start times is snow conditions. At night, the snow firms up and becomes more ice-like. This provides a great hiking surface, only slowing my pace a little. As soon as the sun hits, the snow starts to soften. By mid-afternoon the snow has a layer of soft slush on top that makes hiking incredibly difficult. This causes us to stop hiking by 3 P.M., which is a bizarre feeling. Trying to be asleep before the sun sets is also a kind of strange concept. Some of the sunrise views are incredible though.

This section of trail also eliminates a lot of the freedom that I am used to. Normally, you can hike until you're tired, stop hiking, sleep pretty much wherever. On this section of trail none of those things are true. If it is 3 P.M. you should probably stop hiking before the terrain gets more difficult. You have to think about where to camp and would it be it worth it to continue on but have to sleep on snow instead of dirt. Also, you have to think about the next days miles and where is the best place to camp to get over the next pass. All of these aspects makes this section of trail more mentally exhausting, in addition to the obvious physical effort.

Aside from the effort, it has been absolutely beautiful. First, we did Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48, and then we did Forrester Pass, the highest point on the PCT. We then hiked out of Kearsarge Pass at mile 788 and hitched up to Bishop, CA. The next section is the longest resupply section yet with 7-8 days on trail until I can get to Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR).

Once I got in town I had some nice town clothes to wear while I was doing laundry...