Day Fifty Nine

Today's miles: 17
Total miles: 848

Sansei, Rotisserie, Katie, Papa Bear and I woke up at 8:30 to discover a whole herd of deer in our campsite. They weren't skittish at all and seemed to enjoy licking the salt off all our gear and from our pee spots. It was fascinating to watch them moving easily among us.

We started our hike up Muir Pass this morning. As usual, it was a seven mile uphill climb, and since we were rising from 8,000 to 12,000 feet, the first three miles were brutally steep. The weather was also much warmer than we were used to, so climbing the exposed ridge beneath a beating sun was exhausting. I was out of caffeine drinks and moving slowly. Sansei took off ahead of us, but Katie, Rotisserie and I moved at a slower pace, and Papa Bear was far behind us.

As we hiked higher, we discovered that Muir Pass was deceiving. All the other mountain passes we crossed had a definite notch in the granite that you climb toward, and once you reach it, you pass through to the other side of the mountain. Not so with Muir Pass. It was sneakier. It went up and over mountains, into valleys, around lakes, through granite notches, and still it climbed higher. It had so many false summits that I began to lose track after a while and just began assuming that we would never be at the top. There was always another mountain hiding behind the one we were climbing. The trail also proved to be very rocky, snowy, and confusing. I don't know how anyone finds the trail in high snow years. As it was, we were making our own trail half the time, trying to find the stacked cairns to point us in the right direction. We navigated around icy lakes, knee-deep snow, summits, valleys and more summits. It was hands-down gorgeous scenery, but exhausting.

Finally, after several snowy ascents and some shady make-shift route finding, we climbed a final rock face and found ourselves next to the Muir Hut at the summit. The Chain Gang and Sansei were already relaxing there, laughing at a very curious marmot who was trying to steal their food. We joined them, putting on warmer layers since the wind was very cold at the top. We had lunch on the rocks and enjoyed the phenomenal views over the mountains. It was truly stunning.

Back row: Sunshine, Dog
Middle row: Rotisserie, Sansei, Dance Party, Scooter, Boulder
Sitting, front row: Buffalo, Bramble, Honey Bunny

The Chain Gang took off soon after, but we stayed a little longer to take photos and explore the stone hut, which was built as a mountaineer shelter from storms in John Muir's name. Once rested, the four of us hiked down the north side, and the scenery for the next ten miles was some of the most beautiful I've seen yet on trail. Jagged, granite peaks, green meadows, clear rivers, and lakes so blue that we thought such colors had never existed before that moment.

I was in awe - I wanted desperately to jump into a lake, despite how cold it must be. The crystal clear blue of it called to me, though, and when I mentioned the idea to Katie and Rotisserie, they seemed to be thinking the same thing. Sansei had hiked on ahead, so we had no qualms about stripping down to our skivvies and standing poised at the edge of a turquoise lake, trying to muster the courage to jump.
One, two, three!
We launched into the glacial water and came up shrieking. It was so cold, so cold, so cold. But so wonderful at the same time.

We lay warming ourselves in the sun, stretching our toes in the grass as we basked in the view. I soaked in the scenery, feeling completely content.
"You know what?" I mused aloud, "today most of the country is going to work eight hours at a job they hate, while we climbed a 12,000 foot mountain and jumped in an alpine lake. Life is good."
And it was. Really, really, good. I felt so lucky in that moment.

Once dry and dressed, we continued walking, albeit slowly, because we couldn't stop taking photos and marveling at the beauty of our surroundings. We caught up with Sansei on the banks of another lake. He had stopped for dinner with Dance Party, Buffalo, Sunshine, and Starfox. We plopped down beside them, cooking our own meals while enjoying the view.

"See that beautiful meadow out there?" I asked, "Rotisserie and I figured it wouldn't be complete without pooing in the middle of it."
The others groaned and laughed. Buffalo said, "well, if you're going to poo, you might as well have a good view! Usually at home I'm just stuck looking at my shower curtain."
"When I get home, I'm going to turn a photo of this place into a shower curtain!" Sansei said, "so I can always have a great view!"

It was 6pm by then, though we had only gone twelve miles thus far. The next five were all downhill, though, so we made great time and arrived at the lovely McClure Meadow to camp for the night. The rest of the Chain Gang was already there, using their inflatable sleeping pads as rafts to float in the river. We set up tents and got a special treat tonight: a full super moon rose above the mountains, showering our meadow in a beautiful moonlit glow.

It was a great day.

Day Fifty Eight

Today's miles: 17
Total miles: 831

I didn't sleep well last night at all. I had too much caffeine for dinner and it kept me wired all night, making for a very restless sleep. Even worse was knowing I had another mountain pass to scale today, and I needed all the sleep I could get.

Today was the summer solstice, or "naked hiking day" in thru-hike culture. However, it was a brisk 40 degrees this morning and we woke up with frost on our tents, so no one opted to wear their birthday suit today. We had a five mile hike up Mather Pass this morning; it wasn't too bad except that I was still quite delirious from lack of sleep, so my steps were slow and lethargic. After a long series of switchbacks, we reached the top and took a second breakfast break beside Boulder, Scooter, Buffalo, Sunshine, and Starfox. As hard as climbing mountain passes can be, there is nothing that beats the view from the top. It's my favorite part of the day to relax, have a snack, and look down at a valley full of alpine lakes, just waiting for us to hike among them.

We swapped snacks and joked about Buffalo's food bag. It had often been described by other members of the Chain Gang as "what a kid would pack for lunch if his mom said, 'we're going on a hike, so pack what you want from the pantry.'" Buffalo often carried a strange assortment of foods such as: a gallon sized bag of cous-cous, a ziplock of salt, a large jar of pickles, a jar of Nutella, a random assortment of unlabeled spices, a whole jar of jelly, bags of chocolate covered asai berries, and other random half-eaten foods. It was hilarious to see him digging through it for dinner.

After our break, we started down the north side of Mather Pass. Rotisserie and I nominated this pass the "most fear inducing" so far because it still had great stretches of snow over which we had to traverse. Since it was still early morning, the snow hadn't softened yet and it was much harder to walk on since it was icy and slippery. We took our time going down, but my heart was hammering the whole time as I tried to pick my way through the snow without falling. Once we were free of the icy patches, the hike was beautiful. We had ten miles of downhill hiking through canyons, lakes and waterfalls. We reached Palisade Lake by lunch and stopped beside it to relax and enjoy. I waded through the icy water and marveled at how clear and blue the lake was.

The trail kept going down, down, down, steeply all the way back to 8,000 feet. We hadn't been at such low elevations in quite some time - recently we were used to hiking in the cooler temperatures at 10,000 and 11,000 feet. It was much warmer down below and we hiked through more forested areas and less high alpine views. Now the granite mountains soared high above us rather than all around.

We caught up with Papa Bear and the Chain Gang for dinner: we discovered a beautiful meadow with a river flowing through the middle of it. We expected the water to be marshy and boggy, brown and cloudy, but it was crystal clear and beautiful to see. We pushed on three more miles after dinner and stopped at a flat little campground with Papa Bear. The Chain Gang continued on in order to get closer to tomorrow's Muir Pass climb, but we were tired and the lovely campsite was too nice to pass up.

Day Fifty Seven

Today's miles: 14
Total miles: 814

All of us in camp slept until 8:30, though this was still "early" for Papa Bear. We ate breakfast together, broke camp, and headed out. Crossing the suspension bridge was scarier than anticipated because you, your pack, the water, and the bridge were all moving independently of each other, and it caused a strange sort of vertigo.

We only walked one mile before we discovered a cool waterfall river that was careening over a flat stretch of smooth rock. It looked as though you could ride it down like a slide. It was huge and wonderful, so we threw our packs off and played beside the river. Dog started throwing things into the river and watching them slide down, first sticks and small rocks, but later he graduated to tree logs and large boulders. The boys got really into it and it was funny to watch them running around and throwing things in the waterfall like little boys.

We hiked on and I hiked for a while with Starfox, Boulder and Scooter. We had a long, seven mile uphill climb today to reach Pinchot Pass, and the uphill seemed like it would never end.We took a couple of snack breaks with Papa Bear and finally made it to the top of the pass at 2pm. There was a nice little rocks wall perfect for sitting behind to block the wind, so we all piled behind it, talking and having lunch while we cheered on our hiker friends who reached the top. Soon the whole Chain Gang was there, plus the four of us, Starfox, Chik-Chak and Papa Bear. While we ate, Starfox pulled out some info sheets that he had bought in Bishop from the BLM. They detailed the animals, birds, trees, and plant life that you could find in the Sierras. As he put it: "we spend more time out here than anyone, but we don't learn anything!"
I agreed. I was interested to learn what trees and animals I saw every day, since I could never name them. It was fun reading the sheets and memorizing the birds, plants and trees.
Starfox said, "everyone feel smarter now? Good."

Clockwise from bottom left: Starfox, Bramble, Honey Bunny, Sansei, Rotisserie, Dance Party, Scooter, Dog, Boulder

Clockwise from top left: Starfox, Sunshine, Chik-Chak, Papa Bear, Dog

Sansei and Rotisserie

After an hour we continued our hike down the backside of Pinchot Pass. After all, it was 3pm and we had only gone seven miles today. What a change the Sierras were! In the desert it was common to do ten miles before 10:00 am, but the long ascents up mountain passes were much more grueling here, and so our mileage was slower. The scenery was certainly much more beautiful, though, so it was hard to want to move faster through it.

Rotisserie and Bramble

This is what happens when you let Dog borrow your camera.

We looked out over a series of alpine lakes as we descended Pinchot, and soon we were back in lower elevations and stopped for dinner at 6:00 near a river crossing. Papa Bear and Starfox joined us and then we continued another four miles, trying to get as close as we could to Mather Pass so we wouldn't have such a long ascent tomorrow. The Chain Gang and Papa Bear stopped about a mile before we did. Rotisserie, Sansei, Katie and I found a lovely campsite with a great view of the pass. We made hot tea before bed and watched the sun set over the mountains.
We joked around before bed, as usual, about ridiculous things that made us laugh.
"Sansei, I have a difficult decision to make," I said, feigning seriousness.
"And what's that?" he asked.
"I can't decide whether to poop now or in the morning."
"Poop now, obviously," he said. "Otherwise you'll regret it... you'll be awake and farting all night in your sleeping bag... it'll just be bad news."
"Ughhhh, I guess," I groaned, scooping up my toilet paper bag. "It's just such a hassle. And it's too cold to take off my pants!"
"That's what she said!!" Sansei laughed behind me as I took off into the meadow.

Day Fifty Six

Miles today: 3 (on Kearsarge Pass) + 11 (on PCT) = 14
Total PCT miles: 800

This morning was freezing; we slept until 7:30 and then trucked our way through the final three miles of the pass. As soon as we rejoined the PCT we began climbing uphill to our next destination: Glen Pass. Once again we began running into JMT hikers going southbound. After so long hiking alone in the desert, it's a strange thing to see so many section hikers in the Sierras. As usual they were burdened by huge packs and curiosity about our journey, and asked us the obligatory questions that we've gotten to know so well. Since we've heard the questions so many times, it's difficult not to tease them:
JMT hikers: "Where are you guys headed?"
Us: "Canada, eventually. Today we're going up Glen Pass."
JMT: "Canada?! Oh, are you part of that group that came from Mexico??"
Us: "Uh.... yeah."
JMT: "We saw some more of your group just ahead."
Us: "Yeah, and there are lots more coming up behind, too..."
JMT: "How many people are you hiking with?"
Us: "About 1,000 of our closest friends."
JMT: "Whoa... really? And how long have you been out?"
Us: "Fifty six days."
JMT: "How much longer do you have?"
Us: "About 3.5 months."
JMT: "Wow, and you carry your stuff that whole way? How do you get food?"
Us: "Oh, we forage for berries... shoot deer... catch fish..."
JMT: "Really?!"
Us: "No."
JMT: "Oh."
Us: "We stop in town every week or so to resupply."
At this point I whip around and stare at Sansei, Rotisserie and Katie with wide eyes.
"You've been resupplying in town?!" I shriek. "I've been carrying my food since Mexico!! Damn!!"

The section hikers laugh, but sometimes I wonder if they realize we're kidding. Thru-hiking is not as difficult as they assume it is, especially where food is concerned. (It's amazing how many people think we hunt/forage for food.)

The other nice thing about seeing so many southbounders is that we get a good idea of what is ahead of us. We can ask questions about the weather, the snow, and the upcoming mountain passes. We can also send messages to our fellow thru-hikers much more easily this way, without having to leave notes on trail signs and beneath piles of rocks.

Before our final ascent of the pass, we stopped for second breakfast with Games, Reason, Sunset and Lighthouse. Games and Reason had recently "adopted" the redheaded hiker Lighthouse, and Games liked to joke that he was her son, though they were probably not far apart in age. Her favorite running joke was to groan when Lighthouse introduced himself as Scottish, and she would say: "he was born in Chicago, guys. Chicago. Stop acting like you're cool, Lighthouse." They were a funny group and we had fun laughing and swapping sugary treats.

With Skittles in our system, we began the climb. There were a lot of switchbacks, and though Glen Pass was lower in elevation than Forrester, it felt harder. Maybe I was just tired, but it took me a long time to get to the top. We passed a beautiful alpine lake along the way, with water so turquoise-blue that it didn't seem real. Sansei told us that he had gotten up very early this morning and put food coloring in it for us, and wasn't it beautiful?

At the top of Glen Pass we met up with Starfox and his crew. They had taken a break to admire the view of Rae Lakes below us and were now gearing up to descend. We joined them, picking through the snowy patches on the north side of the pass. It wasn't too terrible, but I could only imagine how terrifying these passes would be in a high snow year.

On the way down we passed a man who was hiking with two mules. I had been hearing about him since Mexico but had yet to meet him on trail. His name was Pascal and he was from France, hiking the PCT north with two pack mules. He was having a hard time on the passes; apparently one of his mules had fallen in the snow and they were moving more slowly as a result.

When we got to the bottom of the pass, we entered into a series of beautiful connected waterways known as Rae Lakes. They were calling to us to spend the afternoon on their shores in the green meadows. I told Rotisserie, "let's find the prettiest one to take a lunch break beside. And if they're all ugly, well... we're out of luck."
"And if they're all pretty, we'll take lots of breaks!" she replied.

We did find the perfect spot, just off trail, to relax. The water was so clear and beautiful that we had to go in, but it was icy cold so we didn't stay in long. We took naps in the sun and said hello to the Chain Gang when they caught up with us.

As it turned out, we had stopped at a confusing junction to the PCT, and so we were witness to several groups of hikers taking the wrong path past us and then having to backtrack. We soon began warning the hikers that passed, pointing out the water crossing that they needed to take, instead. We cheered for everyone who made it across the water in one piece, since it seemed to be a balancing act.
"This is like dinner and a movie!" Sansei said, after we cheered for another group.

We stayed for an hour (if only siestas in the Sierras could be as long as those in the desert! But we'd never make any mileage that way) and then continued hiking through the beautiful lake country.

At 5:00 we stopped for dinner near a suspension bridge and considered doing another few miles, since we had only covered 14 so far today. But as we were eating, Starfox and Chik-Chak joined us and noted that Papa Bear wasn't too far behind. We were elated: we hadn't seen Papa Bear since before Kennedy Meadows, and we wanted to share our joys about the Sierras with him.

The next to arrive at the bridge was Dog, and Katie asked him, "where's Papa Bear??"
"About two people behind me," Dog said.
Katie squealed really loudly at this, which made Starfox say to Dog, "we're happy to see you, too, Dog."

Pretty soon the rest of the Chain Gang showed up: Boulder, Scooter, Sunshine, Dance Party, and Buffalo, and then Papa Bear, not far behind. Everyone wanted to stay at the campground beside the suspension bridge, and since all our friends were here, we decided to stay, too. It was wonderful being around so many of them, a big clump of tents and people and bear vaults in a circle. We finished dinner, watched the deer milling around the campsite and enjoyed each other's company before bed.