Day 44

Somehow today managed to top climbing Mt. Whitney yesterday. Shimmy, Cowboy, and I went over Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT and the border between Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks. The climb up to 13,200 feet included passing dozens of lakes, walking across snow with a river flowing under it, and traversing a treacherous chute on a snow ledge formed by hiker's footsteps.

The descent into King's Canyon took us across streams and through forest where we saw plenty of deer. This is probably the most beautiful area I've ever seen and it seems like everywhere you look could be a postcard. The sculpted mountain faces contrast the mellow lakes and rivers that litter the valley floor and the sunlight glitters off the snow like a million diamonds on the cliffsides.

We started the side trail over Kearsarge Pass to drop down to Independence for a food resupply and walked around a few more lakes with beautiful views.

Steps taken today/total: 46,937/1,563,057
Miles walked today/total: 19.60/788.50
Elevation gained today/total: 4,514/129,003
Elevation lost today/total: 4,332/136,988

Day 43

I woke up at 12:30 this morning in order to hike up Mt. Whitney in time to see the sunrise. It was a 4,000 foot climb up from our campsite with seemingly endless switchbacks and a snow traverse all done by light from a headlamp. Sitting at the summit in the cold was one of the most peaceful moments I've had on trail as I watched the sun illuminate the brutal cliffs and mountain lakes visible for miles around.

The hike back down offered brilliant views of the scenery I passed in the dark. The mountains around Guitar Lake are some of the most impressive I've seen and the lake itself was completely still in the morning light. This was easily the highlight of the trip so far.

Steps taken today/total: 51,113/1,516,120
Miles walked today/total: 20.32/770.10
Elevation gained today/total: 4,264/124,489
Elevation lost today/total: 4,287/132,656

Day 42

Today we set up an ascent of Mt. Whitney tomorrow. We went up off the PCT onto a spur trail campground with over seven miles to the summit. We'll start hiking at 1:00 tomorrow to try to get up to the peak by sunrise.

Steps taken today/total: 36,111/1,465,007
Miles walked today/total: 16.31/766.3
Elevation gained today/total: 2,231/120,225
Elevation lost today/total: 3,189/120,369

Day 41

We got above 11,000 feet today and crossed some beautiful meadows and streams. A hiker saw a bear run across the trail, so hopefully I will see one soon.

Steps taken today/total: 43,441/1,428,896
Miles walked today/total: 21.56/750.91
Elevation gained today/total: 3,962/117,994

Day 40

The first day in the Sierras went really well. The terrain the trail is in makes a huge difference in morale. We crossed a river that was so nice we stopped to swim and try to catch trout without proper fishing equipment. Even though we're all carrying a weeks worth of food in heavy bear canisters, we enjoy hiking much more than we did in the desert. As we go up, the mountains keep getting more and more beautiful and there is more diversity in the wildlife instead of just lizards and snakes. We got above 10,500 feet today which is higher than I've been so far but we're only a few days from Mt. Whitney, the highest point in any state except Alaska.

Steps taken today/total: 46,159/1,385,455
Miles walked today/total: 22.67/729.35
Elevation gained today/total: 5,416/114,032
Elevation lost today/total: 2,670/115,338

Day 39

This morning we went to Grumpy Bear's, the only restaurant in Kennedy Meadows, for breakfast. They have an all you can eat pancake breakfast with pancakes so big they spill off the plate. Even hikers usually only manage one. I ate two. This is probably my proudest achievement so far on the trail since hundreds of people have made it this far but I'm the only one I know of that has been able to stuff two pancakes down his throat.
After sitting around for a few hours so I didn't feel sick every time I moved, we headed back out on to the trail and out of the desert. We officially entered the Sierra Wilderness which means for the next few weeks my main concern will shift from lack of water to bears eating my food. This section has been the carrot to the desert's stick for the past month, so I hope it lives up to the hype.

Steps taken today/total: 11,699/1,339,296
Miles walked today/total: 4.48/706.68
Elevation gained today/total: 406/108,616
Elevation lost today/total: 133/112,668

Day 38

I got into Kennedy Meadows today and ran into Grasshopper again. Kennedy Meadows has a small general store that acts as the jumping off point into the Sierras. It's still hot, but there's more rivers so I won't have to carry as much water, but I added a bear canister for my food, so that adds another two and a half pounds. I also got new shoes! The insoles on my old pair are shot, so the new ones should help with the joint pain going downhill.

Steps taken today/total: 27,424/1,327,597
Miles walked today/total: 8.66/702.20
Elevation gained today/total: 932/108,212
Elevation lost today/total: 674/112,535

Day 37

Today I got over the last climb before Kennedy Meadows, so I'll have a flat day tomorrow.

Steps taken today/total: 50,797/1,300,143
Miles walked today/total: 23.95/693.54
Elevation gained today/total: 6,031/107,280
Elevation lost today/total: 5,266/111,861

Day 36

I left Walker Pass this morning and went over a few big mountains to start the last fifty miles into Kennedy Meadows. I'm definitely ready to get out of the desert.

Steps taken today/total: 32,076/1,249,316
Miles walked today/total: 18.24/669.59
Elevation gained today/total: 4,576/101,249
Elevation lost today/total: 4,303/106,595

Day 35

This morning I got another piece of trail magic from Devilfish, a thru hiker in 2014 who is helping hikers this year. As I crossed a road he rolled up to fill a cooler with poptarts, Nutella, and other treats. When I got to Walker Pass another hiker, Dapper Dan, had burgers on the grill, which was amazing since I am running low on food to get to Kennedy Meadows.

Steps taken today/total: 55,032/1,217,240
Miles walked today/total: 26.09/651.35
Elevation gained today/total: 4,026/96,673
Elevation lost today/total: 4,653/102,292

Day 34

Today was the start of a forty two mile dry stretch through the heat of the desert. It was a shock coming down from the peace of the forest into a desolate wasteland and it makes me want to get to the Sierras that much more. Luckily, around noon I ran into some trail angels who were parked with a cooler of gatorade and candy bars. Their kindness gave me a boost to get moving even though I had to take eight liters of water.

Steps taken today/total: 44,795/1,162,208
Miles walked today/total: 21.53/625.26
Elevation gained today/total: 2,766/92,647
Elevation lost today/total: 3,614/97,639

Day 33

I had my longest day yet today, thanks in part to the change in scenery. I came up out of the desert and into Sequoia National Forest which is my second favorite area so far after Mt. San Jacinto. The trees provide ample shade and there are deer and quail running around. The trail is level and soft with dirt and pine needles.

Steps taken today/total: 68,590/1,117,413
Miles walked today/total: 30.81/603.73
Elevation gained today/total: 5,500/89,881
Elevation lost today/total: 4,951/94,025

Day 32

We left Mojave tonight around 5 and got off the bus in the worst wind I've ever seen. As we climbed it steadily got worse, with gusts over 60 miles per hour. About six miles in we found a protected campsite, so we stopped there so we didn't have to hike seven miles along the ridge in the dark.

Steps taken today/total: 18,108/1,048,823
Miles walked today/total: 6.42/572.92
Elevation gained today/total: 2,565/84,381
Elevation lost today/total: 207/89,074

Day 31

We went to Mojave today so we could zero and heal, but this offered a unique opportunity. Tehachapi and Mojave are on opposite sides of the trail and there are two roads the PCT crosses that take you into both, with 8 miles of trail between them. After we checked into the hotel in Mojave, Levi and I took a bus to the trail with a bottle of water and not much else. We slack packed the eight miles southbound and hitched back to our hotel.

Steps taken today/total: 20,374/1,030,715
Miles today/total: 8.00/566.5

Day 30

We got to Tehachapi today for a resupply and went to a hiker friendly bakery where I got some cheesecake, a nice treat coming off the trail. The guy who picked us up from the trail works for Virgin Galactic in Mojave and is hoping to go into space shortly after his boss, Richard Branson.

Steps taken today/total: 39,620/1,010,341
Miles today/total: 13.38/558.50
Elevation gained today/total: 2,121/80,377
Elevation lost today/total: 910/87,737

Day 29

The first 10 miles today were still on the aqueduct, but since the water is all underground I had to trek through the heat to get to a creek for shade and water. I stayed there for five hours with some hikers before heading out to get some miles in before it got too dark.

Steps taken today/total: 43,953/970,721
Miles today/total: 21.75/545.12
Elevation gained today/total: 2,746/78,256
Elevation lost today/total: 1,280/86,827

Day 28

This afternoon we got to Hikertown, a "town" in a man's front yard with a group of small bunk houses with the looks of a western town. It's a cool spot along the trail that a lot of people use as a resupply point. In the evening, I headed off onto the L.A. aqueduct. The aqueduct is completely flat, which made for some interesting walking. For four miles I gained and lost 0 feet according to the maps. I camped out in a nook that sheltered me from the wind that tears across the open landscape.

Steps taken today/total: 58,434/926,768
Miles today/total: 27.14/523.37
Elevation gained today/total: 3,560/75,480
Elevation lost today/total: 5,646/85,547

Day 27

Today we took our siesta at Casa de Luna, an eccentric trail angel home a few miles off trail. The owner, Terry, is an interesting woman who has been hosting hikers for 17 years. We left as the heat went down so we didn't spend the night, but a lot of people do and it sounds like it gets even crazier after dark.

Steps taken today/total: 44,770/868,334
Miles today/total: 16.91/496.23
Elevation gained today/total: 3,779/71,920
Elevation lost today/total: 3,988/79,901

Day 26

Tonight we left Agua Dulce and did a half day, hiking into the night to avoid the heat. There is a long road walk through Agua Dulce, but it's part of the PCT, so nobody hitches it. Hopefully we don't need to road walk for this long again, because it's much rougher on your body than trail walking.

Steps taken today/total: 25,900/823,564
Miles today/total: 9.9/464.2
Elevation gained today/total: 2,644/68,141
Elevation lost today/total: 1,217/75,913

Day 25

We zeroed in Hiker Heaven today and I was able to pick up a bug net for the mosquitoes in the Sierras. I also found a scale and learned that I've lost 10 pounds since starting the trail, so hopefully I can get that under control so I'm not completely emaciated by Oregon.

Steps taken today/total: 0/797,664
Miles today/total: 0/454.3
Elevation gained today/total: 0/65,497
Elevation lost today/total: 0/74,696

Day 24

The plan when we woke up was to go about twenty miles and get into Agua Dulce tomorrow, but the walking turned out to be pretty easy, so we pushed all the way to Hiker Heaven which was amazing since we got to walk through the Vasquez Rocks at sunset. The rocks are beautiful sandstone structures that do a great job of breaking up the monotony of the desert.

Steps taken today/total: 67,517/797,664
Miles today/total: 27.3/454.3
Elevation gained today/total: 4,782/65,497
Elevation lost today/total: 8,066/74,696

Day 23

The terrain is starting to level out a little bit, so we were able to get some big miles in today, but I met a hiker who puts us to shame. John started twelve days after I did and has already caught up to me. He's averaging 45 miles per day and is considering going back down to Mexico after he gets to Canada. He gave us some tips and answered some questions we had since he's done the PCT before. I doubt I'll see him again until he comes the other way down the trail.

Steps taken today/total: 59,894/730,147
Miles today/total: 26.1/427.00
Elevation gained today/total: 5,552/60,715
Elevation lost today/total: 6,113/66,630

Day 22

There was another closure today to protect the habitat of an endangered frog, but luckily there it was short enough to walk around it. After we got back on the PCT, we found a large group of boy scouts camping who were really interested in what we were doing,but not too much else happened today.

Steps taken today/total: 46,916/670,253
Miles today/total: 22.56/400.90
Elevation gained today/total: 4,877/55,163
Elevation lost today/total: 7,709/60,517

Day 21

After zeroing yesterday, I felt ready to take on just about anything,which was good because just outside of Wrightwood Angeles National Forest and Mt. Baden-Powell. Getting up the mountain has around 2,700 feet of vertical gain in four miles, the steepest section of the PCT so far. At the base of the mountain we met Ed and Marilyn, two trail angels providing drinks and snacks for hikers. The snickers bars they had fueled a rapid ascent to the summit where we watched the sun set over the mountains. At the top of the mountain there is a tree that is 150,000 years old and a monument to the founder of the Boy Scouts, who the mountain is named for. As I write this, we are camped on a ridge overlooking Pasadena and I can convince myself that a certain clump of lights is the Rose Bowl.

Steps taken today/total: 25,761/623,337
Miles today/total: 8.94/378.34
Elevation gained today/total: 3,228/50,286
Elevation lost today/total: 1,423/52,808

Day 20

As I was waiting for a ride in town I saw a truck with the licence plate "HUSKER KD" I talked to the driver, Cara, and learned that she was from Seward then she invited a few of us over for a dinner of pork chops and grilled chicken. It was the first home-cooked meal I've had since I left and it made me appreciate the value of side dishes, which you don't really worry about when you only have one pot. It was also a good change of pace to be able to talk to someone about the value of Husker football and runzas. It's really amazing who you meet on the trail.

Steps taken today/total: 0/600,576
Miles today/total: 0/369.40
Elevation gained today/total: 0/47,058
Elevation lost today/total: 0/51,385

Day 19

We got into Wrightwood today and found possibly the most entertaining spot yet, the Holistic Health Day Spa. It's run by an eccentric ex-emt from New York and her lawyer sister who served a term as the mayor of Wrightwood. This is the second year they've opened up to hikers and we are the first big wave they've had. I think this place will become a must-stop for hikers in the upcoming years.

We also learned about a fire that started today that has closed the fifty miles leading up to Kennedy Meadows and the Sierras. Nobody really knows what will happen with that, so we'll need to keep our ears to the ground.

Steps taken today/total: 42,693/600,576
Miles today/total: 16.90/369.40
Elevation gained today/total: 5,391/47,058
Elevation lost today/total: 3,243/51,385

Day 18

The PCT crosses I-15 at mile 342 near an interchange with the "official" PCT McDonald's. At this McDonald's they have a twenty dollar challenge that might be the best marketing gimmick I've ever seen. Hikers try to eat twenty items of the dollar menu coming off the trail and usually fail. At the McDonald's I met Grasshopper, Cowboy and Shimmy, from Knoxville, Ireland and Chicago, respectively. We waited out the midday heat and went out to do some night hiking.

Steps taken today/total: 50,232/557,883
Miles walked today/total: 23.10/352.50
Elevation gained today/total: 5,510/41,667
Elevation lost today/total: 3,866/48,142

Day 17

Today had one of the longer waterless stretches, so I left early this morning to avoid the midday heat. Going up a mountain I ran into a class of elementary school children who had a lot of questions like "How far are you going?" and "Isn't Canada really far away?"

A little while after that I was getting kind of dehydrated when I ran into a cooler someone had stashed with some water and treats for hikers. This is the best trail magic I've seen yet and made the last stretch into more water much more bearable.

Steps taken today/total: 40,810/507,651
Miles walked today/total: 19.22/329.40
Elevation gained today/total: 3,096/36,157
Elevation lost today/total: 2,869/44,276

Day 15

We hiked out of Big Bear Lake this afternoon and got almost 18 Miles in. We took a 2.4 mile trail to the PCT where we encountered a creek that we will follow for a while. I saw a king snake and my third rattlesnake today. We heard there might be a thunderstorm tonight, but I think we'll be above it.

Steps taken today/total: 40,878/431,672
Miles walked today/total: 17.86/293.23
Elevation gained today/total: 959/31,230
Elevation lost today/total: 3,760/37,283

Day 16

We got an early start today in order to get to the Deep Creek Hot Springs and soak for a while. The springs supposedly have minerals that help your skin and brain invading amoeba, which help nothing. We'll see how that turns out. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, there were a lot of campers, so we got to meet a lot of people and eat their food. As long as my brain doesn't get eaten I'll consider today a success.

Steps taken today/total: 35,169/466,841
Miles walked today/total: 16.95/310.18
Elevation gained today/total: 1,831/33,061
Elevation lost today/total: 4,124/41,40