I was hoping to be on the trail today. However, my Doctor called me on Friday and changed his advise and indicated I should not go back on trail until the ambiguous results from the Hospital can be explained. Frustrating, as he seems unable to get the results from the Hospital and the Doctor with the ambiguous statements is out of the country and out of touch. So I wait…..

When we got home and listened to our messages on the home phone we had one from the “old” doctor indicating that we needed to go for a blood test and schedule a physical. So this just confirmed my decision to change doctors. I don’t think the staff for the doctor has any idea what they are doing and I’m sure the doctor has no idea what the staff is doing to her practice.

So we go to Doctor Delgado and explain what is going on. My blood pressure is out of control. It goes from very high to very low (it was low, very low, at the end of the last hiking section). There is no chest pain but I am out of breath very quickly when climbing hills. I have hiked 1000 miles and my stamina has not increased in that amount of time and in fact seems to have decreased. I do have chest pains from time to time but I believe that is heart burn and a simple glass of water seems to cure that and I have no pain on the trail. In general, my blood pressure is out of control and I just feel like something is wrong. After the general type of things that happen with a physical and finding nothing wrong they give me an EKG. Lenora and I are just talking while this is going on and the technician says “hum……”, I think I will do that again, please relax and no talking. She runs the EKG again, has a frown on her face, and indicates Dr. Delgado will be back with us soon. Obviously not good. Dr. Delgado does return in about 5 minutes and indicates the EKG is not normal and he tells me to go directly to the emergency room. I kind of hesitate and repeat his instructions with a question… You want me to go directly to the emergency room? Yes he says. By the way, my blood pressure at the Doctors was within normal range.

Lenora and I go out and get in the car and go directly to the Emergency room. Dr. Delgado has called ahead to let the emergency room know what it is all about. The emergency room is a mad house, and it is a really busy day for them. Even so, it does not take long for them to call my name and the nurse gives me another EKG to verify the results. The results are verified… I have an abnormal EKG. Apparently there are a lot of reasons for an abnormal EKG and so this is not necessarily a big red flag that gets your priority raised. I am sent back to the emergency waiting room with the following message “We are really busy today and the person waiting the longest out there has been here for over 6 hours. We are really sorry but you can expect it to take that long”. It is what it is. I have nothing to do anyway. I am calm and really have no anxiety at all. Whatever it is will be taken care of eventually and both the Doctor and the emergency nurse said the EKG, although abnormal, indicated I was in no immediate danger. While I was waiting, my blood pressure was taken about 4 times and each time it was taken the numbers were going up. It was as if I was under stress but I really was not. During the next 4 hours I also had my blood drawn for the express purpose of checking for enzymes to see if I had already had a cardiac event. Every time my blood pressure was taken or anything else was done I was asked how severe my chest pain was. Each time, I responded that I did not have chest pain and that my pain level was 0. There was no pain. I eventually, after about only 5 hours, was taken back to a room and hooked up to machines to monitor my heart rate, oxygen level, and blood pressure. Each time the blood pressure was taken, the numbers generally increased but also times when the numbers where normal and sometimes when they were low normal only to go higher. Simply out of control. They decided to admit me to the hospital so that they could run more tests. The only problem was that they were so busy there was no room at the inn. The cardiac unit had no free rooms. So they upgraded my bed to a regular hospital bed and I stayed in the emergency unit. By the time this decision was made it was about 1 am and this started about 3 pm. Lenora finally goes home to take care of the cats and to get some sleep. The first thing they do is give me a chest xray and indicate it is the cheapest and easiest diagnostic tool. I sleep pretty good at the hospital given that they are taking blood every couple hours to check that there has been no change and to do a full blood analysis. In the morning I have a stress test. The stress test they are given me has 3 parts. A 14 minute scan of my heart where I have to remain perfectly still. This may be difficult for some people but remaining perfectly still for 14 minutes is totally in my wheel house. After the image they give you a stress test. I figured a tread mill but they were going to give me a chemical stress test. Why not the tread mill I asked. Because we don’t want to increase your chest pain and we did not think you could handle it they say. I repeated that I have no pain in my chest and that I just finished 1000 miles on the PCT and I think I can handle the tread mill. Great they say because that is how we prefer to do it. Once you reach your target heart rate on the tread mill they give you a shot of something that is suppose to enlarge your heart a bit and then they do another scan of the heart. Using this information they can tell if there are any restrictions or blockages. I fully expected that a blockage would be found as that made sense to me. The treadmill experience was rather funny because the doctor that needed to give me the shot came in at the start. After watching me for awhile he dryly said that we were going to be here for awhile because my heart rate was not going up. The tread mill keep increasing in speed and elevation until it reached about 12 percent and I had to run to keep up with it. Once I started to run it did not take long to reach the 132 target heart rate. The shot was given, the second scan was done. There were no problems found. They did one final test which was a echocardiogram. This is an ultrasound of the heart where they observe its operation and take all sorts of measurements and pictures of the the heart at work. This was fascinating to watch. A cardiac doctor talked to Lenora and I and indicted nothing was wrong with my heart and that my blood work looked good. They were going to discharge me and send all the results to my Doctor and I should schedule another appointment with him. We had already scheduled a follow up with the Doctor for next Monday. The cardiac Doctor also said I should hike slower, rest more during the hike, and eat more to slow down the weight loss. This whole process took 23 hours and I was back home. So the EKG was a false alarm and could have been caused by the high blood pressure and weight loss that occurred too quickly OR I may normally have an abnormal EKG. Never having had one before there was no way of knowing

So my blood pressure is still really out of control with wild fluctuations and I still feel that something is wrong. We will see what happens when I see the Doctor again on Monday and he has had a chance to review all the results from the hospital. It will be up to him when I return to the trail.

I woke up (so I guess I did get some sleep) but forced myself to stay into sleeping bag until there was some light. I was hoping the wind would die down but it did not. Finally decided I might as well get going. Got up, put on my warm hat (SmartWool Balaclava) which covers the whole face, some gloves, and a 4th layer on my upper body (my rain coat). Thus armed, the wind did not bother me and I started hiking the last 7.93 miles. The walk on rock continues. There is actually snow up here!! Two places where I have to walk through some snow banks but only for about 10 steps each time. I am surprised at this point there is still snow on the trail. BUT there are also some new wild flowers.

So I made it to Sonora Pass and Hwy 108 at about 10:30 and Lenora was not far behind. Great to see her drive up. We were not able to make it to Church. Arrived back in Bridgeport a little too late. I got cleaned up, we went to lunch where I ate a lot of food, back to the motel for a couple hours of sleep, packed up the car and the cats, and drove to Escondido. Arrived home just past midnight and went directly to bed. Tomorrow is the doctor’s appointment and I hope to figure out what is going on.

As mentioned in last post I have rather big plans for today. Still hoping to get very close to Sonoma Pass by the end of the day for two reasons: I want to be able to go to Church on Sunday and we need to start the drive back to Escondido for the Monday afternoon doctor appointment. The elevation profile has finally settled down and I have a lot of flat ground ahead of me. The up and down sections of the trail are minor for the next 20 miles and then the last 10 miles look rather intense to get over Sonoma Pass to Hwy 108 where Lenora will pick me up. I get started about 7 and Rick and Mike are just starting to move and we say goodbye. They are only going to do 9 miles today to get to Dorothy Lake.

Here are some images from Wilma Lake in the morning. As you have figured out I love to get the early morning pictures of lakes when they are reflecting images from the mountains and the trees around them.

The trail is really very gentle. There are a lot more ups and downs that I thought looking at the profile but they are all pretty minor and I make good time. I stop about every hour however because the new light weight pack that I have does cause back pain if I go for any longer. As soon as my back starts aching, I stop for about 5 or 10 minutes and then I am good to go for another hour. When I get back on the trail it will not be with this pack but with a new one OR with a smaller belt on my old pack. I think the lightweight pack will be great for weekend hikes where the weight will be under 35 pounds.

Some flowers along the way. Obviously I am fascinated by the wild flowers and always scanning to see if I can notice a new one.

I have decided to drop my old doctor and try Dr. Delgado. There is just something wrong when the only time you need a doctor in at least 3 years (according to them) that you can’t actually talk to a real person. I am sure it is the right decision and so I definitely need to get home by Monday afternoon. There is really plenty of time but I still feel a bit of pressure to try and get to Hwy 108 today or very early on Sunday.

Here is a picture of Dorothy Lake. When I came over the ridge and saw this lake, my jaw dropped. The lake is as blue as I have ever seen. The blue surrounded by the trees was just amazing. Picture does not do it justice. The other thing is that reaching this lake puts me very close to the 1000 mile mark.

The picture below is much later in the day but just wanted to give you a feel for what is a pretty typical view during this whole section of hiking. Mostly forested, mostly beautiful.

At about mile 1003 you start the ascent to Sonora Pass. It starts out just like the picture above with forests and a meadows but about mile 1005 you emerge from the trees and you are on rock with rocks everywhere for the next 9 miles. Never ending rocks and walking the trail here is like driving in Nebraska or Nevada where the road stretches out before you endlessly. The ascent is gentle but just seems to go on forever. It is pretty much near the end of the day but I push on and think I am going to walk during the night. I seem so close, I am just going to push on. Push on I do, but when the sun goes down and the wind picks up it is just too cold to continue. Only problem is there are nothing but rocks but I do find a little flat place next to rocks that provide a bit of protection from the wind. I put down my pad and my sleeping bag, take off my shoes and crawl in the bag. At this point I have on 2 shirts and my down jacket and I leave them all on and sleep (sort of) in them all night. I am warm enough and enjoy looking at the night stars and happy I have only 7 miles to go tomorrow morning. A 23 mile day. Here are some pictures on the way up. You might be able to pick up the trail..

Good nights sleep but I know I have a very difficult day ahead of me and so I take out 2 days of Oreo cookies :). Here are some views from my campsite at the start of the day

Some wild flowers along the way

The habitat can change rather quickly and here I feel like I am back in rain forest

I get to a stream where I am going to refresh my water and I meet 3 other guys (Rick, Bill, Mike) doing the same thing. They are bucking the trend and they are walking from Tuolumne Meadows to South Lake Tahoe. They are really taking it slow and plan on taking 8 days to do what I am trying to do in 4 (get to Sonora Pass). Good for them!!! Rick and Bill are friends and Mike is a hiker they picked up along the way and he joined them. Mike is new to hiking and likes taking pictures and videos. He has state of the art EVERYTHING including all his hiking gear but has about 60 or so pounds that he is carrying including 70 batteries for camera equipment. We are not very far away from Wilma Lake which is suppose to have good camping. They are going to stay there and invite me to join them. I hoped to get further than that today but I am dead tired and take them up on their offer. Here are a couple pictures of the Lake.

Bill builds us a fire which is the first fire I have had on the PCT. It was rather nice to just sit around the fire and talk. Mike wants to interview me and I consent and so he sets up his equipment and works on his questions and we do an interview. I have no idea what he plans on doing with it. Questions like what I am doing on the PCT, when I started, best and worst times, why hike the PCT rather than just play golf or something else. I’ll have to search to see if I can find it on YouTube later on. Rick is 64 and about to sell his pool building company and retire and he lives in Poway (really close to Escondido). I tell him we are in the process of filling in our pool and he can’t understand why we would ever do such a thing.

The only thing about stopping at mile 986 is it leaves me 30 miles to get to Sonora Pass. I really want to get there by Saturday night which means doing 30 miles in one day. I wonder if it is possible. When I indicate I will be getting up early to leave to get as many miles as possible, Bill is not all that pleased. He likes his sleep. I decide that getting up too early and waking the other 3 up would not be the right thing to do. I wake up at my normal time the next morning but hold back until 6 to get started packing up and leaving. I end up leaving about 7 in the morning which isn’t that bad but it will make it impossible to get 30 miles in. Probably a good thing.

Woke up refreshed and started hiking around 7 in the morning. Trying Carnation Instant Breakfasts for this section and so I start out the day with a chocolate one. Not bad and as it turns out seems to work pretty good for morning energy and so will continue to use them. I have decided to fix all my meals for the day (except the evening meal) before I get going. It is just too much trouble to keep getting the bear canister at the bottom of the pack. So I fix a tortilla and summer sausage and cheese sandwich, take out the GU energy packets, get a smoked salmon package out, and 4 double Oreo mint cookies. These are the things I will eat through the day when the need and mood strikes me. The cookies are generally the first to go, the smoked salmon the last.

There is nothing spectacular that happens during the day. Thinking and praying about the Doctor and seem to be very interested in wild flowers today and notice some ones I have not seen before that I remember. So I get some pictures of wild flowers. Make it to mile 972 by Piute Creek where there are some nice campsites. I need to stop and this seems like a good place. I expect I will get joined by others as there are a number of great campsites but nobody shows up. I have not seen any PCT hikers going my way for the last two days. I expect I am truly at the end of the pack of PCT’ers. There are a number of people that are just wandering around Yosemite and also a fair number that are doing a hike from South Lake Tahoe to Tuolumne Meadows.

Here are some wildflowers that caught my attention

Lenora’s Note:
Hotel life is interesting. We have a big house for two people and to spend a week or more in a small room with two cats changes the dynamic of interaction. They quickly seem to adapt, find a favorite spot and snooze much of the day. I notice they are not playing as much this week but they seem to delight in looking out at the world so we have figured out how to wedge the playpen into the open doorway so they can be almost outside with not real risk of them getting out of the room and they both spend hours looking out as the cleaning crew and maintenance man move around the motel cleaning room after room. Often hotel neighbors come by and say hi and of course there are new people every day. I am stitching as much as I can and spend a whole day watching back to back episodes of Star Trek and enjoy greatly seeing Captain Picard, Data and all the cast again. I have not heard yet if Don is going to try the new doctor or if he will agree to go see the old doctor’s PA since we are told new patients cannot see the old doc until September. At least today they do tell me I can get an appointment on the coming Thursday with the PA so I make it, just in case Don cannot face starting with a new doctor and we have to pursue getting the old doc to take him back as a patient.

All the waiting for the Doctor during the last few days was very frustrating. They have it set up so you never talk to a real person but only a machine and then they only commit to returning your calls within 24 hours which is pretty much what they do. So…. if you happen to miss their call then the whole process starts over again. Since they never answer their phone but seemingly let it always go to a message, this can be a never ending process. Let me see if I can think of a word for this process… I got it… STUPID. We miss the call from the Doctor but at least she does leave a message that she does not think the numbers are all that high and that I should just continue taking the medicine and I can continue hiking. This is the first realization we have had that they have at least finally paid attention to what is going on. Before they were acting like we were still up the street in Escondido! Neither Lenora or I actually agree that the “numbers are not that high” and I am just not feeling right but I decide to hike the next section while Lenora continues to try and get me an appointment. There is no sense me waiting because since we missed the call from the Doctor and because of the system they have in place it will take at least another 24 hours AT BEST for her to call again and actually have a conversation.

Lenora drops me off at Tuolumne Meadows at about 9 in the morning and I start my hiking of the next section to Sonora Pass which is about 73 miles away. I hope to do it in 4 or 5 days and I’m thinking since I am passed all the high passes this next section should be rather easy. WRONG AGAIN. Maybe I should change my trail name from “Mr. Burns” to “Wrong again” or “No Clue” or “Does not pay attention to maps”. Ok, that last name might be a little too long. After hiking for about an hour which was really easy and beautiful and FLAT, I meet a guy coming the other direction while crossing a river. We talk for awhile and he tells me he is doing the PCT in sections and that his name is “Turtle” and I ask how he got that name. Turns out he has been hiking sections of the PCT for 25 years and he is about half way through!! He then tells me that his wife has put her foot down and that he has to complete the PCT faster and so he has committed to finishing within the next 10 years. I really do LOL at this and he indicates he thinks he will probably set the record for the longest time to complete the PCT. I agree that he probably has a very good chance of doing that. Then he says he wants to challenge my memory and asks… Do you remember coming out the Bear Lake and walking along this large valley until you came to the Mojave Dam and then you go a little further and you go past another dam and then a little while later you go into a patch of trees and within the trees was a cooler that contained oranges and candy? I look at him and indicate that I remembered it very well. Do you, my readers, remember when I wrote about the magic I ran across and how much it meant to me at the time? It was the day after I burned my knee and I actually took pictures of the candy and the orange. He tells me that it was him and his wife that maintained that little bit of magic and that they had to refill the cooler every day and that 70% of the hikers he has talked to remember it. I told him I not only remembered it but it was one of the best days of the hike so far and that it meant a lot to me. We talk more about that and the circumstances and then he proceeds to tell me that the section I am about to hike is the “hardest section of the PCT”. Again, I actually LOL at that and tell him how many times I have heard that about the next section of the PCT. He is a bit annoyed that I am laughing at that and indicates that I will find it to be true this time. I will tell you right now that “Turtle” was correct in my opinion. The PCT has guidelines for how steep the PCT should be and indicate those guidelines will only be exceeded for short periods of time and only if there is no other option. The guideline is: “As a general rule, the trail should not be steeper than 15 percent (15-foot rise in 100 linear feet).”. I will submit to you that for at least 40 miles there is no part of this section that when going up or down meets this guideline. During this 40 or so miles the trail pretty much is always going up or down from a peek and other than very short sections, exceeds by a large margin, the guideline. For this section the guideline was thrown out the window. It may sound like I am whining. I am not as I enjoyed every moment of my hiking. I only mention it because it factors in to me being “WRONG AGAIN” about my expectations and why this section was indeed the “hardest section of the PCT”, up to this point.

I also meet another Ranger in this section that wants to see my permit and my bear canister. This is the 3rd time I have been stopped by a ranger. Not a problem because I have a permit and I have a bear canister, I am legal. All of the rangers have been really nice and helpful. This encounter was a little funny because she asked for my permit first. My permit is within my pack and so I have to take off my pack, undo about 4 straps to get inside the pack and dig out the container with my permit to show her. She looks and says OK and I proceed to put the permit in the container, the container in the pack, redo the 4 straps to tie down the pack and put it back on my back when she says… “oh, I am also suppose to check for the bear canister”. I am sure I pulled a face at this point and indicated that I had a bear canister, that it was at the bottom of my pack, and I would have to remove everything to get at it. She was sweet and indicated that if she could feel the canister in my pack it would be good enough. She could, she did, and I was good to go. Just before I left, she asked me if I had passed a group of young girls while I was hiking. I had indeed. Earlier in the day I caught up to about 20 young girls and I passed them, then they passed me back about 1 mile later, and then I passed them again in another mile, and I had not seen them since. I asked if there was a problem, where they lost or something? She indicated that there was no problem she knew about but that she was suppose to meet up with this large group of girls to help and guide them and answer questions and was wondering how far away they might be. It was unusual that they had not passed me again in the 4 hours since I had last seen them but I am sure they were OK. Since they were a group they were only going to be as fast as their slowest member which means there is at least 1 teenage girl in the world that walks slower than I do.

There was also rain and hail during the hike today. I have good rain gear and so do not really mind it as long as it stops before I have to put up my tent. Much prefer hiking, especially steep slopes, in very cool weather. The scenery in this entire section is pretty much a constant of forest with a river, stream, and lake thrown in from time to time. Not as dramatic as the previous sections when coming off the passes but still beautiful. I camp about mile 957 which is just short of Spiller Creek. A beautiful, cold, water source. Fix up my dinner of instant mashed potatoes, cheese, summer sausage, and olive oil. Yum, yum.. I made it 15 miles today. Tomorrow the real fun begins.

During the day, I got a message from Lenora indicating that she heard from the Doctor’s office and since I have not seen the doctor in over 3 years, I have been dropped as a patient!!!! Seriously. I have received a call from the Doctor and she did not indicate that. I got my prescriptions changed before going on the trail… didn’t that count? She has renewed my prescriptions over the last years and never indicated I NEEDED to come in, didn’t that count? I am being punished for being healthy and not going to the Doctor for no apparent reason? What is really going on? I am not sure if I am more mad or more worried at this point. Lenora immediately calls around to folks in the Church and gets a recommendation for Dr. Delgado who runs the “Culture of Life” organization. As it turns out, due to a cancellation, he can see me and give me a physical on Monday. It is going to be hard to make that as I am in the middle of no where and need to get to Sonora Pass so Lenora can pick me up and we need to make it back to Escondido by Monday (about a 7 hour drive). Should be possible, but I am on the “hardest section of the PCT” (I know I could turn around and go back to Tuolumne Meadows, but I don’t turn around and go back…. ever). I have a decision to make. Do I change the doctor I have had for 17 years? Need to pray about it. Wait… a 7 hour drive. I have been hiking since April 6th and I can get back home in the car in 7 hours. I find that funny and go to sleep laughing.

Lenora’s Note:
When someone builds a wall across your path you can find a way around the wall, (how do I get this doctor to see Don even though the office claims he is no longer a patient?), or you go get a ladder and climb over the wall. As I processed our options I thought of people who had recommended their doctor to me and I settled on Dr. Delgado mainly because of his leadership in the Culture of Life and his obvious intelligence and caring manner that comes through when he speaks on behalf of life.
I do not expect to get an appointment but he is my first choice and nothing is lost by trying so I pick up the phone. Not only do I get to talk to a real person but she tells me that Dr Delgado will accept new patients and by chance they have just received a cancellation for Monday. Now I do not believe in ‘chance’ but I do believe in providence and my next action is to thank our loving God for attending to our needs.
For 17 years we have seen the same doctor and we both like this doctor so it is with regret that I make this appointment but finding out what is going on with Don trumps my emotional attachment to our ‘old’ doctor and so I go ahead.
The rest of the day I feel restless and have trouble focusing. Don is moving forward but I begin to wonder if he will make enough miles for us to reach Escondido before the appointment time.
Nothing to do but pray and finally comforted to fall asleep.

I wake up to a beautiful morning. I am camping right by a stream and so I fill up my water containers and add the purifying drops. The water always looks so amazingly clean, I wonder if I can’t just drink it straight. But I always purify or filter. There are hikers at the other extreme. I met a guy named “Rat water” and he got his name because he never purified his water unless it was very obviously necessary. Supposedly once drank water straight that was reported to have had a dead rat in it. I have not seen this guy since I met him and found out the story of his name. Perhaps he is in a hospital somewhere…. Just kidding… I hope not.

There are a couple little flowers where I am camping and I start the day by taking their picture.

Here are some pictures of the start of the day hiking.

For the most part this is another rather gentle ascent. Only the last part gets a bit steep. Here is a picture looking down on the way up. This should look rather familiar to you and the tundra look with lots of streams going between lakes seems to be common on the South side of a pass. The north side is always more rocky and dry.

Once I reach the top of Donahue Pass and look to the North I can see the wonderful valley into which I am going. Meadow after meadow of wonderful flat hiking.

I have a decision to make about the point I took the picture of the deer below. There is no camping within about 6 miles of Tuolumne Meadows and so I need to decide if I want to camp or go another 6 miles and spend the night in a hotel with Lenora. OK…. not a hard decision!! I decide to push on and text Lenora with the InReach indicating I will be there tonight between 6 or 7. I actually go a little faster and get to Tuolumne around 5:30. There is a great general store there and I walk into the store and while waiting for the register line to go down, I sit down in a corner of the store and drink a Gatorade and a double chocolate milk and then realize my money is out in my pack. I put the bottles in a safe place and go get my money. The gal at the cash register was amused when I gave her two bottles and indicated I drank them while waiting.

A 16 mile day is not bad considering I stopped many places along the way and just enjoyed the view, the sounds of birds, the sounds of water and just realizing how lucky I am.

I found out in Utah that my blood pressure had gone sky high. I was really surprised because after losing so much weight and feeling great I did not expect a higher blood pressure but a lower one. It was about 160 over 100. Those numbers are not good. I am on blood pressure medication and so I called my doctor and she told me to double the dose. If it does not go down, I will be off the trail until the reason can be found.

As of writing this post (Sunday) my blood pressure has gone down to 140 over 80. Will keep checking but will probably keep hiking AND schedule a complete physical with my doctor and go off trail when that can take place.

Lenora’s Note:
Don making great time to be at pick up point today. Unfortunately I ignored Apple a little too long and finally got locked out of my account because I had not updated my password. It took hours of phone calls that resulted in my leaving late to fetch him from Tuolumne Meadows but we still had part of the evening together.
I am in worried wife mode now because of the blood pressure so I am determined that he get checked out asap. On the weekend I completed another of my ‘unfinished’ projects.

Lenora July 18:
Since I’m not hiking I get to add notes for the 0 days, days Don makes no progress on the trail because he is with me. These are great days. Today we took a long drive over miles of dirt road to the ghost town of Bodie. It was a gold mine town and is a popular tourist spot. So popular they ran out of parking and after a long wait we decided looking at the town from the road below was enough and headed back to town for lunch. As we drove I noticed how sparce the vegetation is at this high elevation but from high on the mountain you can see part of Mono Lake. We saw lots of sage brush, cedar and juniper but little else.

July 19 (The Lords Day)
Infant of Prague church is both tiny and delightful. Fr. Jorge Romano gives a very good homily that stressed resting on the Lord’s Day and family. Today I finished the Leaf Collage needlepoint and worked on blogs. A good day of rest for us.

July 20, (Monday)
Another 0 day since we are hoping for a call back from the doctor’s office about Don’s BP and need for a physical. Stitching Day for me. New car carrier arrived as zipper broke on the Utah trip and everything inside got soaked in the rain. We got it put on car and loaded and think it will be much better solution for our needs. Don ready to hike tomorrow but still waiting on call from doctor.

July 21, (Tuesday)
Another 0 day. Waiting for doctors office to call we went for a ride and found we had cell service by resevoir so watched birds for a while. Of course we missed the doctor’s call and so we are trying again to get appointment. Blood Pressure seems to be improving so all may be ok.

So between July 6 and July 16 there was some more down time from hiking and in that time Lenora and I traveled to Utah for the annual Mickey Goodliffe Memorial Junior Golf Tournament. This is a tournament that is in memory of my Mom and it not the usual junior golf tournament. Rather than competition, the emphasis is FUN! My Mom was ahead of her time and she could see that the balance of all sports was trending toward competition and away from fun. The “Love of the Game” was being replaced by the love of the big paycheck. She always liked to emphasis the fun part of sports and by having fun you could also have success. So this tournament is not part of the junior circuit but is out there on its own and the focus is to provide a good time for all the kids involved. We do give out trophies for the age groups and a watch is given to the mentalist for both boys and girls but frankly if we could put a device on the kids to measure fun we would also give out trophies for those that had the most fun. The parents of the kids help with the tournament as many of them help the kids around the course and keep it moving. The most a kid can take on any hole is a 10. We had over 100 kids for the tournament this year. We put drinks all around the course to keep the kids happy and hydrated and cook hamburgers for them at the end of the day. Being the traveling child, I have missed these tournaments most of my life. This was the 42nd and I have been there for about 10 of them. Been there for the last 5 and will never miss another one. They are emotional and fantastic.

Took some pictures on the way back from Utah to Mammoth Lakes. Here is one of the Bonneville Salt Flats. I wanted to take the car out and try for a world speed record but Lenora would not let me.

So you may also notice that I skipped PCT miles 878 to 914. I just could not make Lenora drive the 7.5 hours between Mammoth Lakes and the VVR where the last hour is a bit of a dangerous road again. So rather than going back to VVR, I started from Agnew Meadow near Mammoth Lakes. I may do those 36 miles some day. Probably not.

There are lots of wilderness around these parts. I am entering a new one. Not sure which one I am exiting…

So I know I am only going to Tuolumne Meadows where Lenora will pick me up for the weekend and Sunday church. So I have 3 days to go 28 miles. I think I can manage that. Starting north from Agnew Meadow I am amazed at the number of wild flowers I am seeing and I stop to take a picture of each new species I see. I find out later from Lenora that they actually have a wild flower trail around Agnew Meadows for that very reason. She went on that trail (and many others around the area) and took a number of the same pictures. Here are a few:

I have two passes between me and Tuolumne Meadows. The first is Island Pass and there is a steady but gentle incline all the way from Agnew Meadows to Island Pass at 10200 feet. It is a very easy hike and here are some pictures along the way.

From Island Pass you drop back down to about 9700 feet and then start the ascent to Donahue Pass at 11031 feet. I am a little surprised by the elevation of Donohue because I thought my days at 11000+ feet were over. About the time I have finished the descent from Island Pass, a thunder storm develops over Donahue Pass. Thunder and Lighting, oh my!! I am amazed as it seems each time I approach a pass this happens. This time it seems more serious. It is only about 3 pm and I have 5 more hours I could hike but I decide to play it safe and set up camp for the night. Thunder and Lighting continue into the night but there is never any rain where I am camping. I have a nice meal of Idahoan Potatoes (BACON FLAVORED!!) with some extra cheese and some olive oil added. The package says it contains 4 servings. I eat them all and feel good. I have talked with other hikers who indicated over the higher passes that they also experienced problems getting sick after eating. They all attributed it to mild elevation sickness and so I guess that is what I had as well. That makes more sense than my body starting to reject food…. I like food!!

A good nights sleep and only 10 miles to go to VVR to meet Lenora. How hard can it be? Turns out harder than I figured. I get into an unexpected dry section again and again run out of water. BUT, I met a man who is hiking with his 15 year old daughter and later I would find out with his sister. They are going the opposite direction. I meet the 15 year old first and hope she is not walking along. I then meet the Dad and he tells me his daughter is just ahead of him, which I acknowledged, and that she will turn 15 on the trail. I asked him if he could spare some water and he had plenty and gave me a liter. This was more than enough to get me to the next water source. This was in the middle of a 1000 foot ascent and it is just nice to have water when going uphill on a warm day. I was very grateful. After getting to the top of the 1000 foot climb and starting on the 2000 foot descent, I met his sister and talked to her for awhile and asked her to thank her brother for me once again. This is an interesting day because I also met 4 other PCT hikers that I have hiked with off and on at other times and was surprised as I thought they were way ahead of me. Rock City, 8Track, Lighting, and another whose name escapes me. It was nice to see them. All of them were going on to Mammoth Lakes and so we departed when getting to the VVR cutoff. VVR is about 5 miles (a number I don’t agree with) from the PCT and is right on Lake Edison. There is a ferry that picks you up and takes you to VVR BUT the ferry only runs in the mornings and I got there at 12:30 and so I had to hike the 5 miles “around the lake” to get to VVR. I don’t know about you but “around the lake” sounds like a nice mostly level walk to me but this was anything but and it just had to be more than 5 miles. Perhaps the 5 miles was as the crow flies and since I don’t fly it was different for me. I’m guessing at least 7 miles. I have 3 resources that list the distance. One says 4 miles, one says 5 miles, one says several miles. At any rate I did make it to VVR. VVR is a full function resort and so I was able to shower, have a steak dinner, and a great breakfast the next day. Lenora picked me up the next day a little after noon. Now the distance on the PCT between VVR and Mammoth Lakes is 30 miles. However it takes 7 hours to drive between VVR and Mammoth Lakes!!! Talking to the people at VVR about it the manager there told me that he could hike to VVR faster than I could drive there.

Lenora’s note:
July 6, 2015 (Monday):
After getting my moving chore done I realize the next time I see this room it will be very different. So many changes in a short time. We are really looking forward to the redo of the office. I’m actually glad I could do this while Don is hiking so he can enjoy the result when he gets home and now I can relax and enjoy the journey. I’m very anxious to get going. I now know D will reach VVR early but I’m not ready and need to meet Mike H, return his shot.

One of the challenges of this adventure is leaving our faith community and not knowing when we will return. Among the things I know we will miss is Friday morning Adoration where we spend time with Jesus and see Ardie. Joan is there when we arrive and Tim arrives before we leave. Every week I am reminded how blessed we are to be in a place where the Body of the Lord is present for worship in a familial but also intimate way every week. Another thing is the meetings of our Small Church. This little community has become family and they share with us in the excitement of our adventure. Thank you guys. Another parting is our morning rosary and mass group. These are the people who encouraged Don every day of his RCIA journey and my heart is lifted with joy every time I enter that small chapel to pray and worship with these faithful brothers and sisters. There are many others and I hope they all know I carry a little bit of them with me on the journey.

July 7, 2015 (Tuesday):
Could not fall asleep last night. Decided if I’m awake I might as well drive. GPS said I had 6.5 hours to go to meet Don. GPS was wrong and not based on I-5 roadwork. LA is not my favorite city and much of the night was chewed up trying to get past LA. No bathrooms, no coffee and what is the deal with ALL the gas stations north of Temecula always claiming their restrooms are all out of order? Long night ending with a couple of short naps and starting drive again around 7 am. GPS says I have 50 miles to go and I have 150 miles left in gas so the closed gas station does not concern me. After driving around Huntington lake for a while I conclude there is no VVR in area and think to try “find my phone”. Still 26+ miles away? Now I need gas so get gas and directions. Two false tries and I’m on another mountain drive that surpasses all expectations of beauty. Too bad I’m so terrified of the sheer drop off that I can only stare at the road right in front of me. Thankfully on the way down Don drives and I enjoy the views. Lots of things to thank God for today.

July 8, 2015 (Wednesday)
My husband has uncanny fortune in hiking weather. A 0 day and he is missing the sleet, hail and wind. Too stormy for many birds but we drove over to Mono Lake anyway. Meagan’s news is both good and bad. Morgan’s aunt Carla continues to struggle with multiple issues related to diabetes and needs many prayers. Meagan has been assigned her first client at the Mercer clinic, the first in her class to be deemed ready to work with a client. We are suitably proud of her accomplishments.

July 9, 2015 (Thursday)
On our way to Brigham City for “The Mickey” and in checking in with Susan we learn of Rod’s ‘minor’ stroke last month. These Goodliffe men are a stubborn lot.

Heading across Nevada on Hwy 6 and the rain finds us again.
There should be photos but I’ve forgotten how to do that 🙂

July 10, 2015 (Friday)
At Rod and Susan’s. Cats in playpen in garage. Dinner w Reid & Jane who will have hip surgery soon.

July 11, 2015 (Saturday)
Rod went golfing while Don worked on his blogs. Lots of time spent identifying the wildflowers he photographs.

July 12, 2015 (Sunday)
Mass in Brigham then down to Jarek’s farewell reception in the park. He leaves on his mission to the Dominican Republic in two days. Watched Ashlynn walk completely unaided. Miracle child.
Heidi there and Chris.

July 13, 2015 (Monday)
My birthday and the Mickey. Whole family gathered to work and support and cheer on the kids. Saw Lori and all her kids. Mindy, Kaden a Gma Eloise there all day. Don manned the grill all day with first Susan then Shawn. Both of Shawn’s kids, Brinley and Tajer played.

July 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Drive back to trail to Silver Maple Inn in Bridgeport, CA. Long drive. Both tired. Room very small, no ac and teeny shower with a bad shower head but room bright and park like tree filled lawn out front very inviting.

July 15, 2015 (Wednesday)
Getting ready to send Don out tomorrow morning. Checking out drop off spot. Cats left in playpen. They ran and tumbled and played all night. Visit to the drop off point. If there by 7 can drive up – if later take shuttle. Want to take shuttle myself to see the sights.