Today is Sunday and normally I would not hike but I want to get at least over Selden Pass so I don’t have so far to go to get to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) tomorrow. Lenora is going to pick me up at VVR and then we will stay in Mammoth Lakes for a day and then head to Utah for the Mickey Goodliffe Memorial Junior Golf Tournament. I had hoped to make it to Mammoth Lakes (30 miles beyond VVR) but it was not to be.

Wild flower where I was camped

So today I get up and just relax and enjoy my camp site. Fix a good breakfast, listen to the stream, do a little bird watching, watch a deer browsing for food and just relax and give thanks for my blessings.

I get started hiking about noon. I decide to go as slow as possible so as to never sweat during the hike. Here are a couple pictures to show how different this section is with regards to water. The forest is dry, very dry.

But after a mile or two I come to a lake and of course above the lake is a stream inflowing into the stream.

Moving on up from the lakes it is level for awhile and a marmot watches me go by.

Continuing on up there is Heart Lake because it is shaped like a heart but I could not get a shot that showed its heart’ness.

Shortly after I reached Selden Pass and looked down on the lake below, Marie Lake. I will go just beyond Marie Lake and find a campsite for the night, just short of Bear Creek which is suppose to be one of the harder rivers to ford A very nice and relaxing and stress free day. Leaves me only 10 miles to VVR tomorrow to meet Lenora.

Here is a view of Marie Lake from Selden Pass

Lenora’s Note:
For me much of the trail experience centers around the 0 days. My adventure centers on finding Don and hearing about his days on the trail, the challenges, the fun, the other hikers and the incredible people who are trail angels. We try various eating places, indulge in wine in the evening, ice cream whenever we see it and a new church to celebrate the Lord’s Day almost every week. This Sunday we walk to mass and I think we are almost regulars in the tiny parish of Lone Pine since we have been there two weeks in a row. Saturday is a 0 day for me as I experience my first migraine in many months after my short trip up to Horseshoe Meadows. Sunday was more of an adventure. We drive up to Whitney Portal and explore the waterfall for a short time before we have one of the worst hamburgers I have ever eaten. I think these folk cook for the starving hiker because nobody else would put up with such dry, overcooked and bland burgers. After eating all I could we headed up the Mount Whitney trail just to see what it is like. It made me want to give that hike a try and we started to plan how we might do the training necessary to get me ready to do it next year.

A fairly good night and I get up early and decide to try a good breakfast before hiking. Some hot food. So I make some Raman Noodles and add some peanut butter for calories. I have no figured out why food is making me ill but am going to try to eat a good meal before I get started to see if it makes a difference. I actually make 2 batches of the noodles. I am only able to eat about half and need to throw the rest away. I start walking and not too long into it, I am feeling sick again. Not as bad as before and I am able to walk it out. Here are some pictures of Evolution Lake as I start hiking.

I now arrive at my first real river crossing. Evolution has been published as being one of the most difficult crossings on the PCT. It is not too bad when I reach it but it is the first time I actually have to wade through the water.

After couple hours of hiking I arrive at some nice meadows. There are deer about that they really pay me no mind. No fear.

Another couple hours. Another stream to wade across.

Just below the nice easy stream that I waded it gets a little more interesting

Towards 4 pm I get to a point where I am entering a new section of the wilderness. As you look at the picture of the sign do you notice how dry it looks? I did not notice at the time. About an hour later, I noticed how the forest floor had changed to being very dry and I had not seen water for a long time. It was going to be 6 miles before I would see water. What a shock after having water everywhere for a number of days. I ran out of water on the ascent to Selden Pass but was able to borrow some from a PCT hiker that was coming down from Selden.

Anyway, all along the trail today everyone was wishing a Happy 4th or Happy Independence Day. I always responded with a thank you and a May God Bless and protect your hiking today. I thought it a good opportunity to try and remind people that our nation was founded under God in whom we trust. Most seemed to appreciate my response. Perhaps I planted in seed in those that had not thought about God lately. It also got me thinking about how I could explain the beauty of this place I am hiking in.

Do you remember when you were a kid and your would go on a special vacation into the mountains? Seems everyone has their favorite spot in the mountains to go for a few days and either camp or stay in a mountain cabin. These places usually involve trees bigger than you had ever seen before and a cold stream near by to wade in and a meadow to wander in and perhaps see some birds and some animals that caught your imagination. Perhaps when seeing the trees and the different plants you became interested in protecting the environment so that everyone could enjoy the same thing. Perhaps when seeing all the different birds you became interested in knowing more about birds and in protecting them or perhaps you just became a life long bird watcher and contributor to conservation/protection efforts. Perhaps when seeing the animals, you were told about how there is a balance in nature and that laws are made to limit the number of animals that can be hunted and when, so as to keep a perfect balance and at that time you decided you wanted to study those types of things. Perhaps you went fishing and learned that you only keep the number of fish you intend to eat and you let the rest go and from that time forward you learned to only take what you need and leave the rest for others. So this beautiful, wonderful spot where you had the family outing because a learning experience and may have even determined what you were going to do the rest of your life. If it did not do so immediately, the seed was planted in you and when the conditions were right the seed bloomed. I was one where the love of the outdoors seed was planted and it took a long time for the conditions to be right for it to bloom. A lot of the seeds planted in me were that way. Anyway, back to the point, that special vacation place in the mountains that you went to….. EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK UP HERE IS JUST LIKE THAT!! Pick any spot, sit down and listen and you will be blown away. It is that good.

So there was about a 10 mile ascent to Selden Pass. I made 6 of those miles today. From the profile, it looks to be hardest of the miles and it appears things level out for the last 4. I make it to Senger Creek where there is indeed water and I stop there. Tomorrow is Sunday and I am not sure if I will hike at all. If I do hike, it will be very little.

Rained hard again last night, really hard, but not for very long. I am getting rain but each day I hear about people that are getting hailed on. It is always about 1 day ahead of me the hail occurs. Good thing I am slow I guess. The morning was beautiful and I felt ready to try to get to Muir Pass. It was only 7 miles away. How hard can it be. Well it took me from 7:30 until 2:45 to make the pass. 7 hours to do 7 miles. Do not believe I set any speed record. This was the hardest ascent for me. But it was beautiful. It was a series of steep ascents to a plateau where generally there was a lake. The trail would generally take you across the outflow stream from the lake, take you around the lake, and across the inflow stream to the lake and then a steep ascent to the next plateau. Beautiful but for whatever reason, I found it difficult. Here is my hike in pictures.

I camped by Evolution Lake and it looked as if it was going to rain but it did not. First night in awhile there was no rain. Ate some dinner and got ill again.

Last night the skies opened up and it rained hard and it rained most of the night. My tent did its job and I was mostly dry. One of the other campers had a miserable night as all he had was a tarp and when the rain started coming sideways because of the wind he got soaked. He was basically up all night in his rain gear and in the morning he was walking around trying to get dried off a bit. He was in remarkably good spirits however. He made the best of the situation and said he thinks he figured out how to set up his tarp for the next time so he would stay dry. Away from the other 3, he liked to talk. His name was Patrick and did not have a trail name yet. If I had any imagination, I could have given him one. I told him about my “I will never be dry again” experience in the snow and rain and how I learned from that it is critical to have the tent set up properly no matter how cold it is at the time. We both laughed at our “learning” experiences. I would see this group off and on for the next two days and then they would disappear into the sunset.

I was feeling good this morning and started hiking about 7:30. As it turns out, I think all the hikers this day were blessed by the rain. It was incredible hiking towards Muir Pass. There was water EVERYWHERE. There were waterfalls all over that were not there the day before. I met a JMT hiker coming from the North and he told me I was going to have to dodge a few waterfalls along the way down. It was just amazing. Here are some pictures of the waterfalls and the flooded PCT trail…

There is no point in trying to keep feet dry today. It is just an amazing scene everywhere I look. Here are some more pictures and a close up of the waterfall mentioned above

There is a steep decline from Mather Pass to the bottom of the valley before you start the climb towards Muir Pass. Combine the steep decline and the rain from the night before and you have a raging river. You go from 12000 feet to 8000 feet. Most of this decline happens very rapidly and is called the golden staircase. I had heard about this golden staircase from hikers earlier in the trail. Wait till you get to the golden staircase!!! It is impressive for sure, but it was not any harder (going down) than it was coming down from any of the passes. Going the other direction and going UP the golden staircase would be a different story but I found going down it not all that taxing.

Here are some raging river pictures

Some pictures associated with the golden staircase

Some pictures descending the golden staircase and looking back up once reaching the bottom

When I got basically to the bottom where I stopped to dry things (picture above) may JMT’ers came by and looked up at the golden staircase and paused a bit. I could imagine their thoughts as they looked at the mountain in front of them and 3000 feet of elevation gain they had to make in a short distance. So happy I was going down!!!

Still some down to go and still have the raging river beside me. Wondering if I am going to have to cross this bad boy at some time.

Mostly down from Mather by now and walking in the forest and at times what appears to be a rain forest.

And some pretty flowers at the end of the day…

Stopped by a stream and washed out some clothes and hung them out to dry. Hoping there would be enough sun left in the day to do the job. There was not. Here is my camp and you can see where I have dung a little channel for the water to run. There is suppose to be another storm tonight. I am 7 miles from Muir Pass.

Lenora’s Note:
This is the day I have chores scheduled and my goal is to get things done early so I start at the car dealer at 7:30. I make it to mass at 8:30 and my Thursday group is down to two of us this week but we don’t let it keep us from sharing or praying together. Tonight is my big night out, work-out followed by dinner and drinks. These girls (Linda and Jenn) have a killer routine, at least killer for me and I push to keep up. I’d love to do this every week, maybe I would learn to keep up. Bev is at dinner and she looks great. What with travel I haven’t seen her since her hip went south and we enjoy talking surgery recovery and getting caught on the welfare of other friends. I miss seeing these folks regularly.
After a late evening I sit down to watch a little tv before bed and it suddenly strikes me. I have to get ready for the closet people. I’m tired and nothing works better than putting off a big job until tomorrow so to bed I go.

Again a little bit of rain during the night and again I did not sleep great. Perhaps it is elevation. Spend a lot of time at night thinking over the day and the wonderful sights I have seen and giving thanks to God for the ability to do this trail and the wonders I am seeing. Generally these types of thoughts help me go to sleep. I am getting good rest but not sleep. A good friend told me that worrying about sleep is not necessary and as long as you allow the body to rest you will be fine and sleep will come in due time. The target for today is going to be Mather Pass. As I start to walk there is a coyote coming up the trail towards me . He sees me and veers off to the side. Wanted to get a picture but he was too fast for me. Here are some shots of Lake Majorie where I start my day

Here are some pictures of the trail on the way down the valley. In this section you are always going down from one pass or going up to the next pass. Very little walking on level ground. There is also generally a rather big stream on one side of the other. Every chance I get I look at the stream to see how far I can see where the water the going with me which means I will still be on the downside. When the water turns against me, I am on the upside, but I generally don’t need the water direction to tell me that 🙂

The day was short. I stopped pretty early after getting over Mather Pass. I was not feeling good with an upset stomach. I am not actually eating very much because food is causing me to be nauseous. Again, perhaps an elevation thing, but I have found eating proving difficult for most of the trail. Just seems to be getting worse at these elevations. Make it to Mather Pass and below is a picture from the top looking down to Palisade Lake where I will stop and camp for the day.

I camp early in a spot where I figure I will be alone. Not the greatest camp site and just ahead there are plenty of good camp sites according to Guthook. Since I am not feeling well, I want to be alone. However about 7 pm, 4 other PCT hikers show up and decide to camp at the same spot. Oh well….. anyway they did not start the PCT at the beginning but started at Cottonwood Pass skipping the first 740 miles. They did plan on going all the way to Canada. They were not interested in talking much.

Lenora’s Note:
Today the pool demolition was supposed to start. Following morning mass about 7:15 am I am ready but no workers, and no Tom to present me with a contract to sign or a request for money. 8am, 9am, 10am still nothing so I send a text. Nothing. Next a phone call. Several hours and several phone calls later they agree to send a small crew on Friday. Good news is I have filled the time waiting and am going to finish my current project soon and I have this evening and Thursday to run errands, get car serviced and cleaned, etc. I make a date to see Linda and Jen at the gym tomorrow followed by dinner and drinks – I’m thinking Margaritas :).
One of the blessings of this “time out” of our ordinary lives is getting the chance to realize how very petty most of my daily anxieties really are. If the pool guy doesn’t show today I can stitch, not tomorrow? It is ok I can get the car serviced. Things work out for the best when I relax and accept the disappointment and irritations as a part of the journey. I am thinking about Paul a lot and how he could rejoice in his suffering and I pray that my trust in Jesus grow as I face life with less rebellion and fewer demands for my own way.
The sat phone runs out of minutes during this week and feel more lonely once I realize even the voice contact is being taken away. However I am happy to be going out with friends tomorrow and know they will pepper me with request for information on Don’s journey, progress, well-being and mood. I am excited to share.

My target for today is to get over Pinchot Pass. Perhaps a good time to give you some information about the passes which comes directly from the Guthook application I am using for PCT Navigation.

1) Forester Pass: mile:779 elevation:13098 At 13200 feet in elevation, Forester Pass is the highest point on the PCT, and the first of the major passes that a northbound hiker must cross. The pass is named in honor of a group Forest Service personnel who found the pass in 1929.

2) Glen Pass: mile 791 elevation:11968 The second major mountain pass of the Sierra Nevada Range on the PCT, Glen Pass isn’t the hardest pass, but it is far from easy. Heading north, however, a spectacular landscape of lakes awaits you. The pass was named in 1905 for Glen H. Crow, a Forest service ranger.

3) Pinchot Pass: mile 807: elevation 12104 The third major pass in the Sierra Nevada Range, Pinchot Pass is no less scenic than the previous two. The final climb to the pass is less steep than some of the others, but its higher elevation makes the ascent just as rewarding. Pinchot Pass is named after Gifford Pinchot, appointed by Theodore Roosevelt as the first director of the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. He later became a two-term governor of Pennsylvania.

4) Mather Pass: mile 817 elevation:12047 While not the tallest pass on the Sierra section of the PCT, Mather Pass often ranks as one of the most fear-inducing due to the steep headwall that the trail climbs on the south side of the pass. Use caution when climbing, but remember to take a look around. Mather Pass is named for Stephen Mather, a retired industrialist millionaire wo was appointed as first director of the National Park Service in 1917.

5) Muir Pass: mile:838 elevation:11978 Muir Pass is a long and gradual ascent to almost 12000 feet, and is often cited as one of the most difficult passes on the PCT due to the miles of snow fields you must cross in either direction to reach the summit. The John Mir Shelter marks the top of the pass. The John Muir Shelter atop Muir Pass was erected in 1931 by the Sierra Club and U.S. Forest Service in honor of John Muir. It can be an emergency shelter for hikers. Muir Pass is named after the famous conservationist and writer, John Muir.

6) Selden Pass: mile:865 elevation:10877 The first of the mjaor PCT passes below 11000 feet in elevation, Selden Pass is not significantly easier or less snowy than the higher passes, so don’t let the numbers fool you. As with previous passes, the views from Selden are glorious. The pass is named for Selden Stuart Hooper, a topographer with the US Geological Survey in the 1890s.

7) Silver Pass: mile:885 elevation:10781 Another high point on the trail through the Sierra Nevada Ranger, Silver Pass sits high above several alpine lakes and makes for a beautiful view. There is something of a false summit to this pass, so once you get to the obvious top of the pass, you still have to climb some more.

8) Island Pass mile:924 elevation:10224 While not quite as dramatic as the other major passes in the Sierra Nevada Range, Island Pass can be difficult to navigate due to the more open terrain and lack of pronounced landmarks. The pass is named for nearby Thousand Island Lake.

9) Donohue Pass mile:929 elevation:11031 Another dramatic pass. Donohue has plenty of wide, open space at the top for relaxing in good weather after a tough climb. In heavy snow, it may be a long slog to get to the top. The pass and nearby Donohue Peak were named for Sergeant Donohue of Troop K, Fourth Cavalry, in 1895 after he ascended the peak.

I did not sleep that great last night, perhaps worried about the rain, but woke up to a glorious morning and almost immediately was treated to a view of deer in the meadow by the lake. A great way to start the day.

There were also some beautiful morning scenes of the sun coming up and reflections of the mountains in the lakes.

The trail was pretty gentle early on and here is a nice picture of the few places on the trail where you could just walk without worrying about where your feet were landing.

You keep on coming into new types of habitat along the trail. Below we have a little stream that is feeding into a marshy area. First time I have seen this type of habitat in the Sierra’s.

The next two pictures show a nice meadow I am hiking thru and then 5 minutes later out in the rocks looking at the next section of trees. Love to be hiking towards trees as that is the only hope of getting a softer trail to walk on.

About 30 minutes later I feel I have been transported to a rain forest.

About an hour later I reach the suspension bridge over Woods Creek. There is a good camping spot here and I stop to have lunch. The sign on the bridge says only 1 person at a time. Looks pretty stable but once I start walking over it, it starts to sway and I’m trying to hold on pretty tight to the sides with one hand with my trekking poles in the other.

Its about noon and I have apparently hiked 6.1 miles and have at least 7.7 miles to go. Not bad. However those 6.1 miles were down and the next 7.7 miles are going to be up.

Always a rushing stream around somewhere and you can always hear a waterfall before you can see it. For some reason for me it always at first sounds like the wind is picking up in the trees but then it clearly becomes the sound of water.

Once at elevation the terrain going to Pinchot is the same as the terrain heading into Forester Pass. Lots of little lakes and streams flowing between them and grassy tundra areas. Very pretty. However with Pinchot the trail goes above rather than right thru the tundra.

Once again while heading to Pinchot Pass the clouds move in and it starts to rain. Some thunder and lightning and again wondering if I should continue or wait for the storm to pass. I decide to continue and the rain the noise don’t last very long.

The always present beautiful wild flowers especially when you get above the tree line.

Finally reach the top of Pinchot Pass at about 6:30. Looking down I can see Lake Marjorie which is where I will camp. It is about 1.5 miles down from the pass.

But on the way down I pass another wild flower that I just have to stop and take a picture of. Seen and posted these little guys before I think….

There have been a lot of JMT hikers going the other direction but no PCT hikers. I’m expecting “The Crew” to catch up to me as I think they started at Kearsarge Pass the same day as I did but just later in the day. But so far the trail has been empty of anyone doing the PCT.

Lenora’s Note:
The Lenora routine seems to demand that I drive one day and rest the next. That is one reason I will be staying close to Don’s position from here on. At least I have enough energy to stitch and I have finished the first piece I was working on during my time following the PCT.

Time to get back on the trail and the next section of my journey. In order to do so, I have to go back up over Kearsarge Pass to get back to the PCT. Not really looking forward to that as I have to go from 9200 feet at Onion Valley over the pass as 11370 feet and then work my way back to the PCT. A 7 mile trek. Some pictures I took along the way up to Kearsarge Pass. Perhaps some better views of some of the pictures I took on the way down.

Finally make it to the top of Kearsarge Pass and now I get to go down about 1000 feet so that I can rejoin the PCT trail only to go back up to go over Glenn Pass. The clouds are moving in and it is going to rain. When I reach the PCT, I stop for a rest and rearrange my pack so that rain things are easy to get to. While I am doing that, it does start to rain. So I get dressed up in my finest rain gear and head for Glenn Pass. On the opposite side is Rae Lakes that I have heard a lot about. How beautiful they are. Glenn Pass is relatively close but I thought it was a very hard ascend. It is raining and there is thunder and I’m wondering if going to the top is wise.

By the time I reach Glenn Pass the weather is a bit better. No thunder and no lighting so I take some time to take a few pictures of the lakes.

The Rae Lakes drain into each other and I came down on the West side of upper Rae Lake and take a land mass right along the lake and cross to the east side. In the middle of the land mass is an outlet where upper drains into the middle. It was a fantastic walk. I camped at Middle Rae Lake for the night. I felt pretty good about the day. It rained a little but not much.

Lenora’s Note:
We set out early for the drop off so I could get an early start on the long drive back to Escondido. This section of the hike with a goal of Mammoth Mountain is going to be the longest without a break for Don and I will be at home dealing with accumulated mail, pool demolition and preparations for the closets and office installation that happens later this month. We both have a lot on our minds but I remember his travel blessings and head for home. The journey was easy and so I had time to regret not staying behind later so we could ferry “The Crew” back up to the trail. Focused on my own concerns I just wanted to be home to tackle the upcoming week. After the elevation sickness incident the cats now seem to throw up on every car ride and I arrive home with a car sadly in need of a good hosing out. I unpack quickly and fill the downstairs with bundles of bags and boxes that will need to be reassembled before I head out again on Tuesday.
I have become so accustomed to the routine that I check Don’s progress 5 or 6 times a day rather than that many times an hour. Forward progress = good hiking and I no longer panic that he is injured if he stops to rest for an hour or two in the heat of the day. Life off the trail is developing its own rhythm. I am reminded frequently of Don’s habit of praying as he walks and I try to guess what his current prayer is so I can join mine to his as we both go about the routine of our day.

Not a great nights sleep. Really wanted to make it yesterday but we start at 6 am so that we can do the 1200 foot climb ahead of us while it is cool. Here are some pictures of the sun coming up just before we start hiking.

Nice thing about the scenery is that you just have to stop while you are climbing to take pictures. It is not that you are tired. It is not that you can’t catch your breath. Rather, it is that you want to take a picture. Here are some of the Kearsarge Lakes.

We took the Bullfrog Lake Trail and here is where it joins the Kearsarge Pass Trail.

Kearsarge Pass is right up there somewhere

We get to the pass and now we have 4 miles to descend to Onion Valley where Lenora is going to pick us up.

We are descending into the desert but there is no lack of beauty on the west side of the High Sierra’s. Here are some pictures on the way down.

I do not get up as early as I wanted but early enough and start the hike up towards Forrester Pass at about 6:15 or so in the morning. Cool but not cold. Perfect. Tyndall Creek was at 10900 feet and the first part of the hike today gently takes me to 12000 feet and then a someone less gentle (ok way less gentle) ascent to Forester Pass at 13200 feet.

I am not sure words, or at least my words, can do this justice. The hike to 12000 feet was filled with views that took my breath away. Each time I turned my head, I had a picture worth taking. I think I will just let the pictures give you a flavor for this experience. Of course, the pictures, taken with an IPhone do not do it justice either. Here are the pictures on the way to 12000 feet.

The trail is becoming more and more rocky and frequently you have steps carved into the trail. These would become more frequent and higher. I am 6 feet tall and sometimes the step up was difficult for me to make. I can’t image how people with shorter legs manage the task. They all do.

Around 12000 feet it levels off and you have a tundra environment. There are small lakes with streams leading to larger lakes that drain into still larger lakes. I thought I had a picture from on top of the progression but I guess I do not. However here are some pictures of this environment. My Home Owners Association would be happy if I had grass that looked this good in my yard.

Here I am getting closer to the final ascent to 13200 feet. My destination is the little notch middle which is called Forester’s Chute. I will have a close up of it later. The picture does not do it justice. When standing where I was and looking up you can’t even imagine how it is possible to get to that point

The trail from 12000 the 13200 is pretty steep with looks of big step ups. BUT, not as bad as I had imagined. I took my time and rested often and pretty soon I find myself at the chute. Here is a picture.

So why was I worried about this point you might ask. Please go here or here and watch a U-tube video of people crossing this point when snow is present. I was very happy to find out there was no snow for me.

Here is part of the trail leading to the chute. The video above gives a better image.

I reach the high point. Pause for about 10 minutes with a bunch of others, including Paul and Sam. It is only 10:15 and so there is still a lot of day left and so we continue on down into Kings Canyon where the majesty just gets better.

Starting down we continue with lakes and with streams and with tundra and with flowers and with a little bit of snow on this north side and I am going to descend way down to 9500 feet into Kings Canyon. At this point going down to 9500 feet only means you get to go up again but the lower I get the more beautiful it gets.

All the little run offs and streams I am passing are feeding into a river that goes right along the trail for a long ways. Never have to cross this river as the PCT bends up and the other way.

There are mountains on either side as I continue down Kings Canyon.

Eventually the trail heads up and it heads up very steeply. Everyone I talked to found this section that leads to Kearsarge trail and Kearsarge pass more difficult than the trail leading to Forester Pass. Get to the Bullfrog Lake trail and in .5 miles see Bullfrog Lake and a dear browsing.

More of Bullfrog Lake. We camp about .5 miles from this point. Beyond Bullfrog Lake and just before Kearsarge Lakes. What a day!! Over the highest point on the PCT. Picture moments everywhere I looked. Paul, Sam, and I hoped to make it to Onion Valley to be picked up by Lenora but there was no way. We still had 6 miles left with a 1000 foot climb and we were beat.