Monday, July 1, 2013
Hiking Uphill: 3,200ft (Doesn't include Kearsarge Pass)
Hiking Downhill: 3,608ft (Doesn't include Kearsarge Pass)
Distance Hiked: 22 miles (14 PCT miles + 8 mile detour over Kearsarge Pass)
Post by Melissa:
Today we are disciplined and actually get up early, pack quickly, and get on the trail. Today is going to be a tough day. We have to hike over Forester Pass and Kearsarge Pass to make it into Independence. It's going to be roughly 22 miles and several thousand feet of climbing.
Early morning pictures of the terrain leading up to Forester Pass
That's Nick up the trail
Picture of the approaching pass
While we were hiking up to the pass we came across this sign. Kind of sad someone died when creating this trail. He was only 19 years old.
There was one small patch of snow as we approached the Summit. We were so excited. Now was the time we could play with our ice axes! We'd been carrying them since Kennedy Meadows and now we had an opportunity to pull them out and tinker with them.
We did some trick photography to make this look more dangerous than it really was. haha.
This is what it really looked like. Notice the trail is completely free of snow! We tilted the camera angle to make it look like we were vertical. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun playing in the snow for a brief moment.
We finally made it to the top!
Views from the pass
On our way down a few miles pointing back up at the pass. Yeah...we climbed that baby!
Hello Squirrel! We see you!
More views as we are descending Forester
We are starting to run into hikers coming Southbound on the trail. The majority of them are hiking the John Muir Trail (JMT) from Yosemite Valley to the Mt Whitney. They are almost all super friendly and eager to chat with us about their journey.
More lakes as we are approaching Kearsarge Pass
Second Pass of the day! Now we need to descend into Onion Valley Campground/Trailhead and try to hitch a ride into Independence.
There were several beautiful lakes full of fish along the trail to Onion Valley
We saw this sign and would have been excited to get an easy ride but had learned at the top of Kearsarge from other hikers that Tom was no longer in Independence. We'd have to fend for ourselves to find a ride into Independence.
When we arrived at the Onion Valley trailhead it was after 7pm. I had hoped to get there much sooner to try to hitch a ride out with a day hiker but getting 22 miles in over 2 passes took me all day. I walked around and spoke to a few people who were camping there asking if they planned to go into town for the night but they said no. One woman said she could take me in the morning and offered to feed Nick and I dinner. I said thank you and that if I couldn't find a ride I would be back. This campground is 13 miles up a windy road away from civilization. It's not an easy hitch.
Finally after about 30 mins of no luck a lone day hiker comes down the trail and is walking towards his car. Rooster, Kate, Emily, and Cougarbait were all trying to hitch a ride as well but they did not talk to this man. They let him walk right past them. I walked up to him and blurted out "You going into town?", he said "Yes", and I said "Have room for 2 more?". He looked a little annoyed and said his car was full of stuff but if we could squeeze in he would take us. I yelled to Nick to grab his pack! I was tired, my feet hurt, and I was hungry. I did not want to stay in the campground for the night. We followed him to his car and he had a small Subaru sedan. In the trunk he had a bicycle, and in the backseat a huge duffle bag full of rock climbing gear, hiking gear, etc. We moved a few things around and I squeezed into the back seat and held my pack on my lap which covered my whole body...I couldn't see. Nick wedged his pack in next to me on top of the duffle bag. I was pretty much buried in packs but was happy to have a ride. Nick sat up front with our driver. The driver was actually a really cool guy from Las Vegas. He was a state Prosecutor and was out doing some fun stuff while his wife and daughter were oversees visiting the wife's family. He offered to drive us to a hotel of our choice. He was staying in Lone Pine and shared his plans for tomorrows adventures with us.
We ended up at the Courthouse hotel in the center of the tiny town of Independence. We thanked our driver, tipped him and checked into the hotel. It was VERY hot in Independence. Even in the evening it felt in the high 90's. Our room was super hot. I turned on the air conditioning (small wall unit by the window) and left it running full blast but we didn't get much relief.
We ran across the street to Subway for dinner (only option) and then settled in for the night. It had been an exhausting day. We were glad to be showered and in a bed...even if we were still sweating!
Hiking Uphill: 3,200ft (Doesn't include Kearsarge Pass)
Hiking Downhill: 3,608ft (Doesn't include Kearsarge Pass)
Distance Hiked: 22 miles (14 PCT miles + 8 mile detour over Kearsarge Pass)
Post by Melissa:
Today we are disciplined and actually get up early, pack quickly, and get on the trail. Today is going to be a tough day. We have to hike over Forester Pass and Kearsarge Pass to make it into Independence. It's going to be roughly 22 miles and several thousand feet of climbing.
Early morning pictures of the terrain leading up to Forester Pass
That's Nick up the trail
Picture of the approaching pass
While we were hiking up to the pass we came across this sign. Kind of sad someone died when creating this trail. He was only 19 years old.
There was one small patch of snow as we approached the Summit. We were so excited. Now was the time we could play with our ice axes! We'd been carrying them since Kennedy Meadows and now we had an opportunity to pull them out and tinker with them.
We did some trick photography to make this look more dangerous than it really was. haha.
This is what it really looked like. Notice the trail is completely free of snow! We tilted the camera angle to make it look like we were vertical. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun playing in the snow for a brief moment.
We finally made it to the top!
Views from the pass
On our way down a few miles pointing back up at the pass. Yeah...we climbed that baby!
Hello Squirrel! We see you!
More views as we are descending Forester
We are starting to run into hikers coming Southbound on the trail. The majority of them are hiking the John Muir Trail (JMT) from Yosemite Valley to the Mt Whitney. They are almost all super friendly and eager to chat with us about their journey.
More lakes as we are approaching Kearsarge Pass
Second Pass of the day! Now we need to descend into Onion Valley Campground/Trailhead and try to hitch a ride into Independence.
There were several beautiful lakes full of fish along the trail to Onion Valley
We saw this sign and would have been excited to get an easy ride but had learned at the top of Kearsarge from other hikers that Tom was no longer in Independence. We'd have to fend for ourselves to find a ride into Independence.
When we arrived at the Onion Valley trailhead it was after 7pm. I had hoped to get there much sooner to try to hitch a ride out with a day hiker but getting 22 miles in over 2 passes took me all day. I walked around and spoke to a few people who were camping there asking if they planned to go into town for the night but they said no. One woman said she could take me in the morning and offered to feed Nick and I dinner. I said thank you and that if I couldn't find a ride I would be back. This campground is 13 miles up a windy road away from civilization. It's not an easy hitch.
Finally after about 30 mins of no luck a lone day hiker comes down the trail and is walking towards his car. Rooster, Kate, Emily, and Cougarbait were all trying to hitch a ride as well but they did not talk to this man. They let him walk right past them. I walked up to him and blurted out "You going into town?", he said "Yes", and I said "Have room for 2 more?". He looked a little annoyed and said his car was full of stuff but if we could squeeze in he would take us. I yelled to Nick to grab his pack! I was tired, my feet hurt, and I was hungry. I did not want to stay in the campground for the night. We followed him to his car and he had a small Subaru sedan. In the trunk he had a bicycle, and in the backseat a huge duffle bag full of rock climbing gear, hiking gear, etc. We moved a few things around and I squeezed into the back seat and held my pack on my lap which covered my whole body...I couldn't see. Nick wedged his pack in next to me on top of the duffle bag. I was pretty much buried in packs but was happy to have a ride. Nick sat up front with our driver. The driver was actually a really cool guy from Las Vegas. He was a state Prosecutor and was out doing some fun stuff while his wife and daughter were oversees visiting the wife's family. He offered to drive us to a hotel of our choice. He was staying in Lone Pine and shared his plans for tomorrows adventures with us.
We ended up at the Courthouse hotel in the center of the tiny town of Independence. We thanked our driver, tipped him and checked into the hotel. It was VERY hot in Independence. Even in the evening it felt in the high 90's. Our room was super hot. I turned on the air conditioning (small wall unit by the window) and left it running full blast but we didn't get much relief.
We ran across the street to Subway for dinner (only option) and then settled in for the night. It had been an exhausting day. We were glad to be showered and in a bed...even if we were still sweating!
Those pictures are gorgeous! The lakes everywhere...simply stunning!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy how much water is in the Sierras. Even in low snow years.
DeleteWOW, these pictures have to be the most scenic. How fun to see all those high alpine lakes and way above tree line scenery. Nice job on scoring the ride into town, it was just meant to be yours!
ReplyDeletewere you tempted to go for a swim in the cold water of those lakes?