Pacific Crest Trail

This final chapter on my PCT adventure started at Chinook Pass and went south 95 miles to FS 23 near Trout Lake. The plan was to share this section with a friend, but he hurt his back the day before he left to join me and had to cancel. The wife dropped me off at the pass mid afternoon on Friday and I hiked a whopping 3 miles to Dewey Lake for the first night. This is apparently a popular destination, although with limited tent sites. I found a small flat spot in the trees, set up camp and then went down …

Read moreThe PCT: Chinook Pass to Trout Lake; the Final Chapter

August 7 Back to the trail this morning about 7:30 and headed to Kearsarge Pass. I expected it to be a real chore, but it actually went well, and I passed a dozen people on the way up. Coming down from the pass I followed the Bullfrog Lake trail back to the PCT. Put in a few more miles before stopping along side Bubbs Creek at a pretty nice spot. Was eventually joined by a couple of men finishing the JMT. There were a lot of people on the trail today, including a young woman hauling in supplies for a …

Read moreOnion Valley to Kennedy Meadow

July 31 The shuttle was late getting to VVR yesterday, so I missed the ferry, by a hair. So I ended up spending the night there. I caught the 9am ferry and started to walk about 9:30. The first couple of miles were pretty mellow, but the next 3 gained 2000 feet; an endless succession of switchbacks. Finally the trail hit 10,000 foot and then immediately lost 1000 of it. The final 4 miles gained that thousand back, and has me 1000 feet below Selden Pass. Today was brutal and warm without much scenery. Carrying a full pack with 6 …

Read moreVermilion Valley Resort to Onion Valley

July 24 Up early this morning and on the trail by 6. The first mile or so was ascending out on Glen Aulin (beautiful valley in Gaelic). There are at least two waterfalls along this route that are pretty impressive, along with some big rapids. The views are very good, and the country side was glacial sculpted and other worldly. We made it to Tuolumne Meadows around 9am, met Sue, ate a sandwich and soda, replaced my broken pack and resupplied. It was amazing to me how many backpackers were coming and going; even a long line waiting to get …

Read moreGlen Aulin to Vermilion Valley Resort

July 19 We left Walker this morning at 6 and were on the trail at 7. We spent the first couple of hours ascending to 10,880 feet  and then spent the next few hours traversing along a number of ridges. Finally had a very long descent and eventually into trees for the first time of the day and made camp alongside a small creek, 14.5 miles from the drop off point. The walking was good today, although the bear cans and 5 days of food made our packs pretty heavy. But the panoramic vistas during the ridge walk were breath …

Read moreSonora Pass to Glen Aulin

July 13th Slept in again this morning since I did not have to be at Carson Pass to get Randy until noon. But by 8am I couldn’t stand it and longer and header out, arriving at the pass a couple of hours early. So I sat outside on a bench for a couple of hours, then had lunch, resupplied, got Randy ready for the trail, and by 2pm was ready to head out. A lot of today’s trail traversed through high mountain meadows and was very scenic. We did have to traverse a trio of snow fields, but they were …

Read moreEcho Lake to Sonora Pass

I am trying something new with my trip blogs this year. Instead of periodically trying to remember what I did each day, I am typing up each day on my phone so when I get access to a computer I just have to paste it all together and then add some pictures. So without further ado … July 5th Left the trailhead near Sierra City this morning at 10am and ended at Pass Creek with Sue around 4pm. Walked about 12 miles today, mostly through trees, but did have some open areas. The trail climbed a bit, but nothing to …

Read moreSierra City to Echo Lake

In addition to doing a larger chunk of the PCT in Oregon or California each year, I have been doing a smaller section of my home state each year with a friend.  This year the plan had been to do Chinook Pass south to Trout Lake, but shortly before we left there was a trail closure west of Mt. Adams, so we shifted to the piece south of there.  We spent Friday night at Cascade Locks and early Saturday morning our wives drove us to the trailhead, a dozen or so miles from Trout Lake on FS 23. This 82 …

Read moreWashington PCT from Trout Lake to Cascade Locks

After a nero day in Lake Isabella, it was time to hit the trail for the last two days up to Kennedy Meadows.  Sue dropped me off at Walker Pass shortly after 6 and the big climb began.  The terrain here is mostly rolling hills, but there are several ridges, requiring big climbs that must be dealt with.  This first day started with a 2300 foot climb, followed by a 2000+ descent, a 1000 ft ascent, a 1000 ft descent, a 2000 ft ascent and finally a 1000 ft descent.  And that was just the first day.  Fortunately the climbs …

Read moreStruggling into Kennedy Meadows

 After spending a day and a half in Mojave it was time to get back onto the trail.  Sue dropped me off early at Tehachapi pass and after a short jaunt along the highway it was time to start climbing.  While the conditions were good for all of the wind turbines, they were less than ideal for climbing a mountain. The wind was blowing so hard that at times I had to just brace myself until the gust was finished.  I eventually had to tie my sleeping pad down because it was acting like a sail and I was afraid …

Read moreTehachapi to Walker Pass