From out of the Desert and into the Mountains (Finally!)

(Mike)
Over the past couple of weeks we have traveled up the trail another 150 miles or so. We're closing in on MP#800, or I should say that we were until "reality"--in the form of a snow pack which totals more than 50% deeper than any previously recorded in this area--appeared. Reportedly, in some places the trail ahead lies under as much as 40' of snow. This has caused us to rethink our strategy and to choose between a limited number of bad options. We have a plan, albeit amounting to a mere crapshoot.

We have left the desert behind (finally!), and we have gradually climbed and begun to encounter real trees, trees which I recognize as trees and not some burned-over, thorny and leafless shrubs. A whole new world has re-opened after 7+ weeks of hiking through sand, cactus, and other unfamiliar stuff. I have felt as though a pall was lifting. However, we discovered that Southern California was not finished with us quite yet: within a mile of entering a sort of token forest, we came upon another large “burn”. We had probably, up until then, walked through about 75 miles of “burn”. Some burns date from fires that burned as long as 10-12 years ago, and they still look awful--in fact, a burned over area of former forest has come to symbolize Southern California to me (nahhh..., I guess that's not really fair, but we have trudged for hours and hours through dry, dusty, blackened, really ugly burns and they are boring and tiring and make one's feet and legs simply filthy!). Each of the burns we have encountered are named (as in Deep Creek Burn, Station Fire, etc.). Here is what our last and final burn looked like:





Kinda ugly:


However, once in a while we have been able to enjoy a sunset like this:










This (final) burn lasted for at least 5 seemingly interminable miles, the hill we were on gradually dropped down to a valley floor to a creek overgrown with willows and there we pitched our tent and cooked supper.





This was a fitting and memorable place for us to end our Southern California phase and to enter THE SIERRAS. Oh joy! Relief! Along with trees and mountains came WATER. No longer would water availability be foremost on our minds. We are mailing home our camelback water bags, because from now on one or two liters of water will be the most we will need to carry.

The new forests are very lovely. It is great to be back in a more sylvan countryside. What beautiful trees! Pine, Fir, Cedar, and a species with which I was unfamiliar but which I find especially attractive: a large juniper (AKA “Juniperus Occidentalis”, I believe) which is a type of cypress, a prolific, large, gnarly, ancient tree resembling a Western Red Cedar, which I like a lot. Here's one:





And another:





And yet another:






They like to twist:






As the desert transitioned into a wooded, unburned area, we came upon lots of these plants (a variety of cyclamen, perhaps?).





They are quite fragrant.





The desert is, after 700 miles, behind us and, in reflecting, I admit to there being some very interesting and pretty things to see there (if one looks closely--very closely). I had been anxious to see the desert first-hand and I would say that 700 miles of desert at less than two miles per hour has enabled me to have a pretty good look. I feel that I have at least made a start toward learning a bit about deserts (and I'm not referring to a golf course in Scottsdale, Az., but to serious full-blown, hot, dry desert). I am moved to wonder about those who choose to live there, and to consider that they may have never experienced the pleasure of walking through a forest, and further to wonder why in Hell one would want to stay there (heck, the only animals we saw there were some lizards, lots of huge and surly snakes, several cute little horney toads and one scroungy old coyote!). I had wanted to see the place, I've seen it, and now its time to move on (whew!). Here's what we've been looking at for the past 7 weeks:





Or this:





And now we get to walk through scenery like this:





And this:





Or





The last place at which we stopped in SoCal was Kennedy Meadows South. Not much of a place, way out in nowhere, down a dusty road, about 25 miles from the nearest highway. There is a tiny general store, and a free campground (of a sort which affirms that one can usually expect no more than what one pays for). The PCT goes right past K.M., we had sent a resupply box there, and they sell beer in the tiny store. Jan was pleased to see a couple of portable toilets placed at the edge of the parking lot. Early the next morning, Jan trotted over to one of the "comfort stations", opened the door, looked inside, gagged, retched, and walked around behind and dug a hole :-) Here's Kennedy Meadows (the beer was cold, so I was happy with that):





The store:





Inside the store:





We spent only one night at K.M., leaving at noon the following day as my thermometer registered 110 degrees F., such was our enchantment with the place.

Jan and I have, over the past year, become (at least borderline) vegetarians, but in working and burning calories as much as we have of late, and losing so much weight, we are discovering that we need a lot more protein in our diets. Meat makes a noticeable difference in our energy levels. Now, I know that her daughters and others of you who know Jan are gonna have a hard time believing this, but back about 100 miles ago I actually watched Jan hungrily grab a weenie from a filthy picnic table, slather it with mustard and catsup, wrap it in a slice of bread and gobble it down like it was a chocolate truffle (I went for the camera but she was too quick for me, and she declined my request for an encore). Yep, the trail does surprising things to people. We now stock up on packaged tuna and jerky at every opportunity, and it seems to help.

Rudy (Der Hairmeister):
The foretold event has come to pass. Yesterday, Jan decided it was time to deal with her hair. Yep, now we both know its natural color (and it ain't blonde). 'Looks good, though. After making an appointment for a cut, we went by the salon to see how the place looked; Jan's reaction was that she was not going to let anybody in there touch her hair. She was shaken and said something like “Goddam, I'm not going in there,...dumpy old ladies, etc.”. Well, today she bit the bullet, kept the appointment, and actually came out later feeling pretty good about it. Her hair--or what is left of it--looks great (and quite appropriate for a PCT hiker). Here's Jan's new look (I like it).
A fine looking lady, n'est pas? Havin' a good hair day:

















There is a lot of snow up ahead. We have encountered a bit thus far, but only at elevations of around 10,500' or higher. There is a lot of higher trail coming up, and here in Lone Pine there are a lot of hikers wondering how to handle it. It isn't only the work and drudgery of hiking all day over 8'-deep snow, but with the heat (it was 110 degrees F. as we left Kennedy Meadows!) the resulting snow melt is swelling the rivers so as to make them difficult and dangerous to ford—and there are maybe 20 significant stream and river crossings to wade across (some as deep as 4') in the next couple hundred miles. Some hikers have gone ahead and tried it and have returned back to Lone Pine to re-strategize (there is gonna be a stretch of about two weeks where one will rarely walk on bare ground, while cooking and sleeping on snow as well). Others have jumped ahead, with a plan to come back and do the really difficult parts later in the Summer when the snow is less. A few have reportedly made it through the rough spots. There is also a large number who have decided to bag it right here, go home and forget about it. We still hope to finish the entire trail this season, and to actually enjoy it whenever possible. Soon we will be going through that portion of the PCT known as the John Muir Trail, reputed to be among the most beautiful sections of trail in the world, and we hope to be able to appreciate it. Our plan, such as it is, is to leave Monday AM by bus for Reno, where we will take the Amtrack to Redding. There, we will sit for a few days (while the snow melts), and then slowly hike back toward Lone Pine. It's not really much of a strategy, but the options are really pretty limited. Upon arriving back here in Lone Pine, we will hopefully ride back to Redding and then continue north through Northern Calif. and Oregon, etc. Here's what the last few miles of countryside were like (very nice):











Remember back on our very first journal entry, where we mentioned that we'd eventually be required to haul a "bear can" around with us (are you paying attention out there?)? Well that eventuality has materialized and so at Kennedy Meadows we picked up the two cans we had ordered to be sent there. These cans are to hold all of our food, and anything else that might be of interest to a bear who is too lazy (or too smart) to go out and forage like they're supposed to (stuff like toothpaste, perfume--yeah, we hikers like to smell good). We carry the cans to keep the park rangers happy, really. Anyway, they weigh around 2.5 lbs. each (the cans) and have inspired some bitching on the part of us porters. The cans are actually pretty handy when used as stools.
Here, Jan proudly models her Bearicade Model BV500:





Here's a friendly fellow with whom we shared a campsite***





He liked us.





My medical crisis:
I'm pleased to report that my wounded pinky is healing well. At the hospital, the doctor initially pronounced it broken, but an x-ray showed that it was merely dislocated. There was also a deep cut in the skin. It took 24 hours for me to get to a hospital, so I attribute my recuperation in part to Jan's deftly applied first aid. Here's what she did, selflessly donating her nail file for use as a splint:





(Jan)
We arrived at south Kennedy Meadows on a very hot morning after losing our way on the trail as we walked through an overgrown grassy meadow. About here is where the bugs got to be annoying. Big yellow biting flies and our first real run-in with Mosquitos--I managed to live up to my trail name (Skeeter Bait) without a bit of hesitation. I also found that Deet is about all that works to keep the buggers at bay.

The heat has come on full force, with temps running in the high 90s.

We hiked through the first leg of the Sierras in the heat, climbing first to 8000 ft and then to 10,700. Of course, what goes up must come down, so we went up and down and over several saddles with some fantastic views over a period of three days for more than 50 miles.























When we arrived in Lone Pine (cowboy movie capital for such old-time favourites as The Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers) we caught up with several hiker friends who were bagging the
hike due to the tough snow conditions from here. We weighed our options and decided to jump up to Redding where there are several miles we can hike before we try this section again. We are still hoping to finish this hike this year, but snow and weather conditions may win out.

In the meantime, my wonderful Rudy-coiffed hair is lying on the local beautician's floor where I had it chopped off in favour of coolness and ease of upkeep. Big surprise--I nam also a lot greyer!

We will be in Lone Pine until Monday morning at 6:15 am when we will catch the only bus of the day to Reno from where we will take Amtrak to Redding.
A view from the center of Lone Pine (those mts, about 11,000' high, are less than 5 miles from town):





In the meantime, we are eating our way through the several good restaurants in town and drinking lots of water to nourish and rehydrate our skinny (mostly Mike's) bodies.

The silver lining to our new plan was that we got to spend a few hours with my Dad in Reno as we waited for our Amtrak connection to Redding. He is coming up on 90 later this year and it was fun to surprise him with our visit.














We will keep you all posted as to our next trail location (hopefully Fish Lake, Oregon, and hiking south through Ashland, through Castle Crags (Dunsmuir) and back down through the Sierras.

We apologise to all who are waiting in the wings to meet us here and there with resupply packages. This hike has become a logistical nightmare and you are all no doubt becoming as frustrated with the many changes as are we. Please don't hesitate to opt out of previous plans to meet us if they interfere with your own commitments. We will be able to make adjustments.

Happy trails,

***Oh, my mistake. I guess that bear lives in the zoo, at Balboa Park, San Diego. Sorry....

Mike and Jan

Location:Lone Pine, CA