Josh and Sammy's PCT Adventure : June 2014

So here we are, its been over 500 miles since our last post and so much has happened. To start my trail name has changed several times. It went from Grimace to Thundercat and then to Candyface. But now we have found a name that has stuck, Sambo. So now for where and what we have been up to. When we last left you we were at mile 455 and we hiked out from there with Clint and Cheesesnake on a very hot day in the desert. We didn't have far to go to our next stop at Casa de Luna which was one of our favorite trail angel stops. The Anderson's, who opened there wonderfully huge backyard to hikers, fed us taco salad for dinner and pancakes for breakfast! They even stocked the best water cache on trail that was shortly before their house.

While we took some rest and relaxation time at their house, Josh's mom Karen met up with us to join the adventure. The three of us set out to hike the stretch along the aqueduct with sun shinning down on us. Karen had a beast mode first day on trail hiking 18 miles! We walked through the wind farm and enjoyed the new company of Karen on trail with us. The next night was intensely windy, the tent wouldn't even stay up. Luckily Karen spotted a bush that we all were able to cowboy camp behind and catch some shut eye.

The next day we woke with excitement as we were hiking into town. We were greeted at the road by the trail angel Coppertone and he was making root beer floats! After hitching into Tehachapi we got a hotel room with our friend Nick and the four of us settled in for a zero. Unfortunately Karen got wicked blisters, some under her toe nails , so she had to leave us and the trail. After our goodbyes Nick, Josh and I got a ride back to the trail and then we were on our last stretch of the southern California section.

It was so lovely walking through the wind mills and we started listening to Game of Thrones audio book which made the miles go by fast. The walking was easy and the weather was perfect over the next few days. I even had the pleasure of celebrating my 23rd birthday on trail! Nick gave me a hot chocolate for my birthday and we discussed how the trail should airdrop one present on your birthday. I decided that I wanted a Capri Sun.

We struck some luck the next day with trail magic! A couple that had just stocked a huge water cache in the middle of the 36 mile dry section had hummus, Gatorade, carrots and grapes for us. They told us to take advantage of the cache so we didn't have to carry 6-7 liters of water at once. The three of us started back up the trail and no more then ten minutes later we hit another bit of trail magic...a cooler full of Capri Sun!!!

After all the lovely magic we hiked on and camped off trail after scrambling down some boulders to get to water. We then set out to get to Walker Pass and were all filled with excitement as we wrapped up our walk in the desert. Coming down the hill to Walker Pass we saw a big canopy tent set up and looked at each other with disbelief. More trail magic!! This time the trail celebrity Yogi had set up a hikers paradise and it was wonderful. We rinsed off, drank cold sodas and munched on some burritos. We had to get back to the trail though because we were itching to get into the Sierra.

The transition from the desert to the Sierra was breathtaking. We got into Kennedy Meadows and couldn't believe that we had made it 702 miles! Our hiking buddy Nick was meeting up with one of his hiking buddies at Kennedy so our 3 man group became 4 once more. It turned out that it happened to be Joe Anderson who ran Casa De Luna. He drove up to Kennedy so we had the opportunity to drive up to the next town, Lone Pine, and make a resupply box. Joe had the great idea to stage our resupply boxes with eta dates in the bear boxes at the campground we would hike into the next week. So after chores and seeing the mountains we would be hiking over we headed back up to Kennedy Meadows. Unfortunately when we got there one of our package from Karen hadn't arrived so we had to have them forward it, it was Saturday and we didn't want to wait that long to hike.

We were so excited when we got back on trail, it was time for the High Sierra! Hiking with Joe was really fun. He knew so much about the Sierra it was great to hear it all. Over the next few days we saw amazing cliffs, mountains in the distance, lakes and marmot. Joe left the trail eventually and it was the three of us again. We arrived at Crabtree Meadow and downsized our packs (utilizing the bear boxes) to do a side trail to summit Mount Whitney. The trail up to the summit was ridiculous, lake after lake and views for miles. The summit was so exciting we had made it to the tallest mountain in the continental United States! After calling our families from the summit we headed down and a light hail storm followed us.

The next day we took it slow and even got a tour of the new Crabtree Ranger Station which was beautifully crafted. We made it to Big Horn plateau and the panoramic view was jaw dropping. The next day we went over Forester Pass, the highest elevation on the PCT. The other side provided lots of snow and our first opportunity to glisade. The same day we went up another pass to get to the campground we had staged our food at, Onion Valley. We met some fellow thru hikers atop Kearsarge Pass who gave us the option of one Snickers bar or two, so we each trotted down to the campground with a candy in each hand.

We caught a ride down the mountain with a nice local named Dave who drove us down to Subway and drove us back up the mountain. After getting chores done at the campground we hit the trail again. The walking was filled with mountains all around and lakes. The next several days we went over lots of snowy passes. First was Glen Pass. On the way up our views were filled with crystal clear lakes and on the way down we scrambled in the snow. We enjoyed a sunny lunch at Rae Lakes. Shortly after we reached mile 800 and had a deer stroll through our camp that night.

The next pass was Pinchot which was lovely both up and down. On the evening part of the day another storm rolled in and we set up camp to escape the rain. Luckily it didn't last long and the next day we headed up Mather Pass. After an icy decent and scrambling down the rocks we set up camp. For the second time of the trip we had deer stroll through our camp. This time they pranced around and then licked up our pee off the ground. The next day we headed up Muir Pass and again all the snow.

The afternoon was filled with post-holing in the snow and wet feet but we eventually made it to the top of the pass and the Muir hut that sat atop. We came down the pass to see Evolution Lake and shortly after we had our first wild onions of the trip. After a few days of fording rivers and a beautiful hike on the side trail to Vermillion Valley Resort we had another break. Josh got to catch up on the World Cup and we stuffed ourselves with pie and burgers. Plus we got our first showers in 329 miles! We smelled just a little bit.

On the trail again we went over a few more smaller passes and passed tons of lakes. We passed by Devils Postpile National Monument and snagged a great view of hit then jumped on the John Muir Trail that connected up with the PCT to go by even more lakes and wonderful meadows. Unfortunately that brought many mosquitoes as well. We connected back up with the PCT at Thousand Island Lake and then entered Yosemite National Park. We got into Tuolumne Meadows and were in awe of the domes that scattered Yosemite. The next day we hopped on the park shuttle to a trail-head that went to the top of Clouds Rest. We got to look down on the valley and Half Dome! After having many burgers at the grill we hit the trail again. We stopped to fish in a creek with an amazing view. I even caught two fish that we had with dinner!

I took a fall after dinner while we were hiking but only got a few scrapes, not the hardest fall of the handful I have had. The next few days were tough, the elevation change of the Sierra was not over. We unfortunately got split up from Nick after over 400 miles. Josh and I decided we needed a zero day to rest up and planned to head into Bridgeport. We hit mile 1000 after a wonderful lunch at Dorthy Lake with our friends Paka and Luna. After a raining night and a freezing walk in the high wind and drizzle we made it to the highway to hitch into Bridgeport. After I snagged a ride for a nice Australian hiker heading to the opposite town Josh and I got a ride into town from a nice guy on vacation.

Josh and I have enjoyed resting in town and the views of the Sierra in the distance has been wonderful. Tomorrow we hit the trail again towards Tahoe and further north! Adventure on.