The beginning of the Sierras

After accidentally taking a week off of hiking, we found ourselves back on the trail this past Monday. We were so excited to finally be in the Sierras. 

The first day back on trail was a late start with trying to find a ride, but we managed and then got started uphill. After realizing how unacclimated we were to the elevation, we only went 7 miles this first day back, but all was well because we got to sleep at the beautiful Chicken Spring Lake. 

The next day we only had a few miles to go before entering Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks! I was so excited to finally get to see this park! Then was adjusting to the altitude, which has been really hard for me. Taking deep breaths feels nearly impossible at times, but thankfully the views are absolutely insanely beautiful so that's what keeps you going (and playlists from loving friends). We eventually got to the meadow at the base of Mount Whitney, and we were so excited at the hike to follow the next day. The mosquitos, however, were atrocious and really make you want to go ape sh*t! That said, the meadow we found ourselves at was filled with marmots being adorable, and plenty of deer frolicking about - the good with the bad. 

Wednesday was Mount Whitney day! We were all so eager to summit the highest peak in the lower 48! After waking up a tad later then we should have, we didn't get started until 8:30. But after taking off, it wasn't long before the beauty was all around us! First was Timberline Lake, which was hard to resist, but we knew we had to keep going if we wanted to complete our hike in a day. Then as we got higher was all of the snow. A snowball fight ensued, and I can't remember the last time I had that much fun playing in the snow. Then was to begin the switchbacks up to the summit. I have never had such a hard time catching my breath, or finding the motivation to do only 5 miles of true climbing, but damn the altitude is a real thing. With only a bit over a mile left to go, we had to put on our microspikes, as the snow was too slick and it started becoming too sketchy to not. Honestly, I was glad to have the excuse to wear these damn things! We reached the summit, finally, and an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment swept over us. We have been hiking with a couple of French dudes for a few weeks now, and the one lost another bet while playing cards (cards are a dangerous sport around here), so he got stuck carrying the celebratory bottle of wine to the top! So after plenty of pictures to document our actual success, we were making lunch inside the emergency shelter (to avoid the wind). Post lunch was relaxing on the rocks in the sun and finding the strength to go down. Casey wanted to stay at the top, but we all knew we had to go down mostly because of the lack of food - I even bummed some trail mix off of some day hikers because I was so hungry. Then the trek down was fun because at a point there was a straight snow face, so we all went sledding! From there was more downhill and eventually back into our gorgeous meadow just in time to catch the most insanely beautiful sunset of my entire life possibly. Later I learned that the word for what I was seeing was the Sierra Wave, see below. We got back to camp around 9:00, had a fire and all passed out after a strenuous, but truly unforgettable day!

On Thursday we promised ourselves no alarms, and we would just wake up when we pleased. This turned into a 10:15 start, but neremind! We had high hopes of getting through Forester Pass this day, but once we got going we realized we were too drained for this. There were more snowy passes and the altitude continued to be exhausting. So instead we set up camp at 12,030 feet just shy of two miles before the pass. This was a cold night, but the view was epic. 

Friday we woke up bright and early, despite the cold, and psyched ourselves up for the climb to Forester Pass. In comparison to Mount Whitney, I realize that this sounds like nothing, but Forester Pass is actually the highest point of the Pacific Crest Trail, as Whitney technically isn't on the trail. That said, we got to the base of the pass and began our ascent. At first, Casey and I were on the trail, doing as one does when climbing a mountain, but before we knew it we had accidentally found ourselves off the trail. After it was too late to turn back, we realized that we were in fact on climbing tracks of someone who wanted to forge a new path. After admittedly having a mini panic attack, Casey talked me off a ledge and we powered our way up the pass. We got to the very top using our ice axes and all our strength, only to be greeted by loose rocks at the connection back with the trail. Thankfully, Slim Jim (one of the sponsored veteran hikers) was there at the exact moment we needed a hand, and he pulled us back up on to the trail. Once we got up to the trail again, we made our way to the top of the pass and took a break to soak in the view we had worked so hard to see. Oh and the blood on Casey's knuckles can vouch for how hard the snow was on our body..!

Once we took in the view, and glared at what lay ahead we took off down the pass. There was still plenty of snow to greet us, and honestly going down can be spookier than going up because you get scared of falling. Anyways, we were greeted by another slope where there was actually no choice but to sled down, so we did and enjoyed all the snowy play time. Before too long we were down in the valley, and the true beauty of this national park really hit me. We were walking in forests that were so spectacular that the hike was a real pleasure. But, before long we had committed to going in to town this evening, so we had yet another pass to climb this day. After realizing how exhausted we were from the past 48 hours, getting to Bishop became an obsession. So, with our motivation we began the climb up again, after having dropped down from 13,200 feet at Forester to 9,500 in the valley. We found ourselves climbing back up to around 11,500 feet to get up to Kersage Pass - another incredible vista with picturesque views of Bullfrog Laks and the waterfalls feeding the valley. Then came 5 miles down to the Onion Valley, where we thankfully stumbled upon an ultra marathoner completing his 40 mile run across the Sierras. Jeff took us down into town and we gorged ourselves on Subway before finally resting our clean heads on a real bed!! 

After this was all said and done we felt like such badasses! Neither of us have ever been more physically exhausted in our entire lives, but we are beaming with pride! We know this is only the beginning of more passes to come, but successfully completing these 3 epic beasts back to back has given us the inspiration and confidence we needed to tackle the rest of the Sierras! So we find ourselves in Bishop today, enjoying eating and being lazy, but tomorrow it's back to the mountains for more beastly climbs! 

As always, the love is felt and reciprocated, and all of your words of encouragement keep us going in the hardest of moments. But honestly the change of scenery to the snowy mountains and alpine lakes alone has been keeping us alive after that damn desert! We can't wait for what lies ahead these next few weeks!

A quarter of the way through!

This past week started with a Full Moon Hike. Back on the trail as we were told, "Another day in paradise, girls!" Paradise was too cold for my liking and was so windy that it blew us off the trail several times. It was rather pretty though! Oh and the person who gave us a ride back to the trail asked us to share why we were hiking the PCT, see below..

In the days following we got to walk through meadows and pine trees. I love walking on pine needles, sitting on pine needles, laying on pine needles, smelling pine needles. After so many desert miles, my (and my joints) appreciation for pine trees has grown immensely. But good things never last and we soon walked through a 42 mile stretch without a legit water source. Lucky for us, kind trail angels left several gallons of water through this stretch to help hikers out. 

Our next venture led us to an old cabin in the woods. Our friend made a fire while I swept off a spot for my tent, a chore typically meant for my farm hands. About an hour after I went to my tent, I heard JLa leaving the cabin because it was already inhabited by a family of rats. Of course I am too nice of a person to say, "I told you so." 

The next morning we only had 8 miles to Walker Pass where we found PBRs and a ride to Lake Isabella. We immediately found the nearest bar, Shady Lane Bar, to drink Bloody Marys in celebration of our trail pal's birthday. That night ended at a campground, where we waited for a ride to Kernville the next day. Oh and I got new shoes in Lake Isabella, look at how gnarly the first pair got..!

Kernville turned out to be a beautiful little town. We played in the river, had drinks and danced to live music. We found an elementary school obstacle course to camp at, and spent the night lounging in a huge hammock/jungle gym while star gazing. French word of the day: etoile filante.

We ate a huge breakfast the next morning and met up with our new friend, Rex, who gave us a long ride back to the trail. Three more days of hiking led us past mile marker 666 and into a surprise memorial day hiker celebration. Attempting 19 miles, we stopped short at 17 to find several people who had hiked the PCT in the 70's. They graciously provided us with food, drinks, live music, and hiking stories. 

22 miles later we are stuck in the infamous Kennedy Meadows awaiting packages that may or may not be here in the next couple of days. Kennedy Meadows is an iconic place on the PCT because it is the gateway to the Sierras. We will maybe see the Sierras if our mail ever comes, but the road has been blocked on account of a fire about 20 miles away. In the mean time we've been trying to entertain ourselves the best we can with various extra curriculars. We've gotten really great at card games (Jla lost a round and had to wear a tutu) and origami, and I've been perfecting French phrases and learning to play chess. On a more positive note, we are finally out of the desert and a quarter of the way through this madness!! Jla saw the snow of the Sierras for the first time on the trek and even got misty eyed! We are so eager to get on to the next section!