Friday, June 28, 2013
Hiking Uphill: 2,440ft
Hiking Downhill: 3,054ft
Distance Hiked: 15 miles (+1 to get to Ranger Station)
Post by Nick:
We woke up early near Chicken Spring Lake and it was very cold outside. I had setup the stove outside of the tent so that I could make coffee from the warmth of my sleeping bag and tent.
We were lazy and waited till the sun came up to warm us until we started to get ready for the day.
We hiked from Chicken Spring Lake with Emily, Kate, Rooster, & Pippin who we had camped with. As we were leaving, Cougarbait showed up. He was hiking with Emily and Kate from the start of the PCT but got delayed waiting for new shoes at Kennedy Meadows. He had woken up at 4am and already hiked ~12 miles that morning in order to catch up. Here's some of the scenery along the way...
When we reached Rock Creek, around midday at mile 760, we found Royce, Tank, and Tweak there playing hacky sack. We were surprised to see them and decided to take a break there as well and I joined in on the hacky sack for a while. Royce apparently takes pride in wearing completely worn out socks.
Hacky sack game in progress...
Rock Creek
Golden Trout
Royce pondering the meaning of life while sitting in a crooked tree.
Melissa crossing a creek.
Our climb back up from Rock Creek was tough and it was getting later. We wanted to reach Crabtree Meadows so that we could climb Whitney the next day.
Thunder clouds were forming and it was getting windy and cold. As we came up over Guyot pass the wind was stronger and we starting seeing lightening and hearing thunderclaps. In the distance we saw the rain coming down. We were walking right towards it. We would later learn that other hikers were quickly evacuating the summit of Whitney and that they were being hailed on.
We got to Crabtree Meadows as it was getting dark and found a place to camp near some other tents. As we were setting up we saw a head poke out of the neighboring tent and it turned out to be Julia and Kelsey who Melissa spent time hanging out with at Kennedy Meadows. They informed us of the hail storm as they were fleeing the summit of Whitney.
Around midnight I was woken up by Royce, Tank, and Tweak setting up camp nearby. I guess they had continued to hang out at Rock Creek for quite a while longer.
Post by Melissa:
Just a few more things to add. This morning I woke up and experienced true "hiker hunger" for the first time. It's that gnawing hungry sensation in the core of your being. I believe it's when your body is eating itself. LOL. This wasn't normal hunger pains. My pop tart breakfast didn't seem to do it justice.
Today I felt the hair on my legs getting blown around in the wind. It was a strange sensation because normally I don't have leg hair. I hadn't been able to shave in quite some time and didn't really enjoy the sensation of it's movement. The majority of the female hikers are just letting their leg hair grow out during the hike (like the men do their beards), but I shave every chance I get!!
Hiking Uphill: 2,440ft
Hiking Downhill: 3,054ft
Distance Hiked: 15 miles (+1 to get to Ranger Station)
We woke up early near Chicken Spring Lake and it was very cold outside. I had setup the stove outside of the tent so that I could make coffee from the warmth of my sleeping bag and tent.
We were lazy and waited till the sun came up to warm us until we started to get ready for the day.
We hiked from Chicken Spring Lake with Emily, Kate, Rooster, & Pippin who we had camped with. As we were leaving, Cougarbait showed up. He was hiking with Emily and Kate from the start of the PCT but got delayed waiting for new shoes at Kennedy Meadows. He had woken up at 4am and already hiked ~12 miles that morning in order to catch up. Here's some of the scenery along the way...
When we reached Rock Creek, around midday at mile 760, we found Royce, Tank, and Tweak there playing hacky sack. We were surprised to see them and decided to take a break there as well and I joined in on the hacky sack for a while. Royce apparently takes pride in wearing completely worn out socks.
Hacky sack game in progress...
Rock Creek
Golden Trout
Royce pondering the meaning of life while sitting in a crooked tree.
Melissa crossing a creek.
Our climb back up from Rock Creek was tough and it was getting later. We wanted to reach Crabtree Meadows so that we could climb Whitney the next day.
Thunder clouds were forming and it was getting windy and cold. As we came up over Guyot pass the wind was stronger and we starting seeing lightening and hearing thunderclaps. In the distance we saw the rain coming down. We were walking right towards it. We would later learn that other hikers were quickly evacuating the summit of Whitney and that they were being hailed on.
We got to Crabtree Meadows as it was getting dark and found a place to camp near some other tents. As we were setting up we saw a head poke out of the neighboring tent and it turned out to be Julia and Kelsey who Melissa spent time hanging out with at Kennedy Meadows. They informed us of the hail storm as they were fleeing the summit of Whitney.
Around midnight I was woken up by Royce, Tank, and Tweak setting up camp nearby. I guess they had continued to hang out at Rock Creek for quite a while longer.
Post by Melissa:
Just a few more things to add. This morning I woke up and experienced true "hiker hunger" for the first time. It's that gnawing hungry sensation in the core of your being. I believe it's when your body is eating itself. LOL. This wasn't normal hunger pains. My pop tart breakfast didn't seem to do it justice.
Today I felt the hair on my legs getting blown around in the wind. It was a strange sensation because normally I don't have leg hair. I hadn't been able to shave in quite some time and didn't really enjoy the sensation of it's movement. The majority of the female hikers are just letting their leg hair grow out during the hike (like the men do their beards), but I shave every chance I get!!
glad you weren't at the summit for the hail, I know you had great weather for your summit, so woo hoo to that! haven't heard about the pain in your feet, so hopefully the scenery is helping to take your mind off it.
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