Eyes glaring in the night

May 31st, 2015

I sluggishly continued down the trail and came around a corner and I saw two eyes looking at me. I the first though that came to my mind was that I was looking at a mountain lion…

I woke up and realized that I had a long day ahead of me to get to the South Lake trail head by tomorrow. I had to go up and down two passes that were over 11000+ feet high. This also meant that there was going to be more snow. With this looming in my head I started going up the trail. Eventually I made it to the first pass which was pretty bad. I was able to get up and over it and wasn’t making great time. I hiked throughout the day and by the time I made it to the second pass I was looking at the setting sun. At the top I saw a lot of snow on the other side.

The good thing was there was a full moon which made it ideal for night hiking.  As I started to descend the mountain I started walking very carefully on the snow that seemed to collapse every five steps.  After about 15 minutes of crossing the steep snow field my leg went deep down into the snow and my foot was stuck. I did my best to get my foot out and lost a shoe again. Here I was in the snow at 10 o’clock with one shoe on the side of a huge mountain in the Sierras. I guess I should have gotten used to these things by now. I got out my headlight and lied down on my stomach and started digging down into the snow to retrieve my lost shoe. It took what seemed like forever and finally got back my snow filled shoe.

After I got to some solid ground I retied my shoes to the point where the circulation was being cut off to prevent this from happening again. By the time I got over the pass and was off the snow in was 1030pm and still had about 10 miles before I got to Bishop pass trail (the place where I was set on camping).  I kept on hiking going down the mountain and heard coyotes on the other side of a lake at 11000 feet. I thought this was a bit strange but were a lot of marmots in this area.

By about midnight I was getting very tired and I was 5 miles away from the trail/camp. I sluggishly continued down the trail and came around a corner and I saw two eyes looking at me. I the first though that came to my mind was that I was looking at a mountain lion. I took my trekking poles and hit them together real hard to see if I could scare it away.  It ran a couple of feet and then stopped and looked at me again. Then I got closer and got a better look at it and I saw a deer.  I was a little bit has relieved but when I started to walk something seemed funny. Then I noticed that one of my trekking poles was broken. I guess when I hit them together one snapped and flew off into the distance where I couldn't even find it. By around 1:30 am I was getting close. I hiked a little bit more and put down my sleeping bag off the trail and fell asleep instantly. 

Korean on the trail

May 30th, 2015

I got back to the trail and went over Kearsarge Pass. On the way down I saw a PCT hiker named Thermometer. He was an older Korean guy I've seen before on the trail. I said, "annyeonghaseyo." (Which means hello). He got really excited and started speaking really quickly…

The next morning I got up, packed and looked around and there was tons of insects and bugs crawling around.  I didn't notice them much last night but now that it was day time I could see hundreds of ants, flys and beetles scurrying about. After watching the bugs for a while I packed then went to the road and call my mom. My sister was coming up and she was going to come down and pick me up.  I told mom I can meet her at Southlake in two and a half days.  It was about 70 miles away over really difficult terrain and once I got started up the trail I was starting to question if I was going to be able to make it.

I got back to the trail and went over Kearsarge Pass. On the way down I saw a PCT hiker named Thermometer. He was an older Korean guy I've seen before on the trail. I said, "annyeonghaseyo." (Which means hello). He got really excited and started speaking really quickly in Korean. I did my best to talk to him but didn't successfully answer all his questions in proper Korean. I shook his hand and walked off. Then I remembered that you are supposed to use both hands if you shake someone’s hand that is older that you. I guess if I see him again I'll try to remember. 

I continued to hike up to the next pass(Glen pass). I didn't think that there would be a lot of snow but I was wrong. It took me over an hour to go a half mile. At one point I lost my shoe and had to spend 10 minutes digging it out with numb legs and hands from the snow. By the end of the day I only made it around 16 miles and was exhausted. This was a lot less than I expected to do. I was hoping to at least make it 22 miles. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier and I can get more miles into a day.

Also, made it to the 800 mile mark right before dark.

A hard hitchhike to the trail

May 29th, 2015

I got off the trail at Onion Valley trailhead near Independence at 8 AM. On the way down I got a ride from a guy named John who was a mechanical engineer. He wanted to know a lot about the PCT and about my gear and whatnot. So during the 50 mile ride into town he shot off questions and I did my best to give him answers. After about 45 minutes he dropped me off at Vons supermarket and I went and bought some food and charged my electronics. After taking care of all that business I was ready to try to go back to the trail head which was a long hitch.  It was so easy getting into town I just assumed that it would be a piece of cake to get back.

I went down the highway and stuck my thumb out hoping for the best. I waited for a long time and no one wanted to give me a ride. I even asked people at the corner gas station offering money to anyone that was willing to give me a lift but no one was willing to take me.

After about 2 hours I was just about to give up hope and then a car pulled over. There were two guys in the car and once I got in the driver turned around. He said, “I got eggs in the backseat and if you break them… I’ll break your legs.” I said, “No problem.” Then we took off. 

The guy in the passenger seat was an avid PCT hiker. Since he was nine he said that he has been hiking large sections of the PCT by himself. He told me that he used to run away from home and basically live on the trail every summer. He also said that he would hike up to 60 miles in one day when he was on the trail last season… That’s about twice as much as I’m able to do! He also told me a story about running from the police on the trail. I never found out for sure why the police were looking for him but he told me that he ran from them near Crater Lake and got away. Then he hiked 700 miles south and then got caught near Yosemite. I asked him if he was going to hike on the trail this year. He said he wanted to but had to get visits from his babysitter. I’m guessing that he was talking about a patrol officer of some sort. His name was High Walker because he was into slack lining. It was a really interesting ride and I like it when the people giving me a ride do the talking. They dropped me off on the road that goes to the trail head. I was still around 11 miles away but I was happy to be closer. I ended up walking up the road and stealth camping at a campground near a creek. As I drifted off I heard the rustle of bug crawling on my sleeping bag. 

The highest point on the trail

May 28th, 2015

When I got up it was very very cold. The last four nights it had been getting below freezing around 2 AM. Normally I would sleep for a couple of hours then once it starts to get really cold I wake up and won't sleep until the sun hits my sleeping bag. 

After crawling out of my sleeping bag I packed up and started walking up the trail. Yesterday was tough and today was also going to be tougher because I was going towards the highest point on the PCT which is Forster Pass. There's been lots of stories that on the top of the pass there's a snow on top and it was really dangerous. 

I walked up and approachung the pass I was confronted with tons of snow fields. After a big climb I got up and over the past with no big problems. But on the other side there was lots of snow. It was getting warm and the snow was getting very soft. As a result there was a lot of post holing. For about for 5 miles there were big patches of deep snow and I got completely soaked.  Once I got over the mountain I met a guy with his two grandchildren. The kids were wearing Nike flattop shoes and sweatpants. Their gear was totally insufficient for the terrain but I felt like it was good that they were out here.

I kept on going and made it to Kierkegaard pass where I was planning to hitchhike to Bishop. 

There were some amazing views going over the pass and I was glad to  finally have cell service so I called my mom, sister, and my girlfriend. My mom told me that my sister was flying into California from Washington. She offered to come down in a couple of days to pick me up so I could visit for a little bit. I told her that I would have to look at my maps and I would talk to her later. After this I set up camp near a lake not too far away from the trail head parking lot.

Climbing Mt. Whitney

May 27th, 2015

Got up at the ranger station 8 miles from Whitney Summit and this time I was going to put most of my stuff in a bear box to lighten my load.  I took some food and water and started my hike. The first 4 miles were pretty easy. There were lots of lakes and it wasn't very steep. Then right before I got to the mountain it started to get steep and snowy. The trail seemed like it was cut out of the mountain. The side of the trail was very precarious and if you lost your step it would be very hard to stop until you hit the bottom of the mountain thousands of feet below.

I was one of the few that didn't have crampons so that made it a little bit more dangerous. But after a while I got used to walking on the snow it was a little bit better overall. I just went very slow and made an effort to be careful about each step I took. As I went up the mountain I passed people carry ice axes wearing crampons and wearing helmets. They were in full mountaineering gear and when they looked at my shoes they said I should be careful. 

With little oxygen and a little bit of effort I made it to the top. I sat down had a snack, took some pictures and checked for cell phone service. There were a rumors that there was service up on Whitney but I didn't have any luck. After only about 15 minutes I started heading back down the mountain. 

As I went down the mountain there were some people in front of me that were having a lot tougher time than me. One girl was taking each step very slowly and when she slipped she would scream. My strategy was just to get down the mountains fast as possible. I fell over about 20 or 30 times but each time I just punch the snow with my arm and got a good grip to prevent me from sliding off the mountain. I made it down back to the ranger station by around 3 pm. I got my stuff and aired everything out. Then I had some lunch and started going back up the trail. I  hiked until about 10 PM and then I found a place to camp tired and happy.

Going into the backcountry

May 26th, 2015

I woke up after a freezing night on top  of Owens Valley peak and looked at my map to see what lies ahead.  I noticed the Pacific crest Trail went a long way around these mountains and it would take all day to get to the trail that goes to Whitney. Then from there it would take almost a full day to summit the mountain. 

I decided that it might be possible to go on a backcountry route to get to the trail up Mt. Whitney. I would have to climb over maybe a couple of mountains to get to the trail. The problem was I didn't have a good enough map were I can see the elevation and the terrain.  If I could make it up and over a couple mountains theoretically I could get up Whitney a lot sooner. Also it would be a loop instead of going there and back.

So I got everything packed up and started climbing the mountain that was probably around 12000 feet high. It was slow going and there's a lots of rocks and boulders. It seemed like  every time I got to the top amount of a mountain I would see a higher peak. After about five or six hour hours of climbing I got to the the final peak and to my surprise it was basically straight down and was definitely not a route that could be done without ropes.

I had no choice but to find another way down. I ended up skirting the mountain and couldn't find a way down. So I ended up going back where I came from and hiked  probably 14 to 16 miles and didn't get anywhere. There were some amazing views and I think I went somewhere where probably no one ever went. 

Since I wasted a day and I didn't have a lot of food I decided that it's play better to skip Whitney. I continue hiking on the trail I saw the sign for Whitney. It said, "Whitney 8.5 miles" and I thought to myself that's really not that far. I thought more about it and I decided that it would be silly to pass up an opportunity to climb the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. So how you took the trail to the base camp area which is ranger station that has bear canisters and set up camp. Think about the mountain and my food. I quickly got tired and fell asleep.

Another nice day

May 25th, 2015

Today was a pretty uneventful day of hiking. Basically seeing a lot of beautiful country lots of mountains and Juniper Trees. There were a lot of areas where the trees would be struck by lightning. 

I was lucky that there was not too many thunder storms. After another full day I camped on the top Owens Valley peak which was around 11,000 feet. I watch the sun go down and set up camp and went to sleep.

The gateway to the Sierras

May 24th, 2015

I got up in the morning from my camp above the restaurants and packed up. I took my time because I didn't think the restaurant would be open that early. When I got down there it was around 830 and there was already around 20 to 30 hikers waiting for food. I saw a familiar face among the sea of hiker trash paparazzi. He was an older guy that I hiked with very briefly from way back on the trail. I sat down and talk to him and the other hikers that were sitting around.  

Everyone at Kennedy Meadows basically talked about the snow in the mountains and the upcoming storms. There were stories of 10 feet of snow and winter conditions in the Sierras. More and more people were not to going into the Sierras. Instead they decide to skip ahead. I was determined to talk to the locals and find out what the trail is really like. They said it wasn't that bad. They told me that there was snow but crampons and ice axes were not required. 

I eventually ate my breakfast which was pancakes bacon and eggs. I went back to the Kennedy Meadows store and got my package of food. Then I quickly put my food in my backpack and started heading up the trail. The country from here on out has been a big change. 

There have been lots of, trees, big valleys and beautiful views. I hiked around 10 or 15 miles and I set up camp.

Kennedy Meadows

May 23rd, 2015

My goal today was just to get to Kennedy Meadows and get my package. I hiked all day and finally got to the point where I got to a road. Then I saw was a sign that said Kennedy Meadows store .8 miles. I walked up the road and got to the store. It was cold and rainy most the day and all the hikers were inside and next to a fireplace. There must of been more than 50 hikers in and around the store. A lot of the people I talked to started in March or in the beginning of April. 

I talked to some people and then asked owner of the store if he had a restaurant or some food. He said he didn't but there was one up the road. He called s number and a guy came in a lifted Chevy pickup truck full of hikers in the bed of the truck and gave me a ride a couple miles up the road to the restaurant.

I ordered some food and sat down and ate some food. After finishing my dinner  I asked the owner if I could camp somewhere in the back of the restaurant. He said, "I don't give a shit." So I went out and found a place far from the road to camp. 

Drinking uranium water

May 21st and 22nd, 2015

I got up that morning happy because I had so much food from the market yesterday. But I still didn't have a lot of water. So kept on walking and I was gonna get my water at this place called Joshua Trees spring. When I got there there were signs everywhere saying do not drink this water it's not safe. 

I got to the spring and it looked good so I started filtering it. Then I looked into my guidebook and read about the water and it said it had been tested for having trace amounts of uranium in it but hikers choose to drink the water anyway. Since I was thirsty and there wasn't water for another 17 miles I decided to drink it.  The water was surprisingly good and so I walked up the trail. After this there was nothing very special so I just ended up setting up camp and going to sleep

Got up and the day turned out to be fairly uneventful. It was very cold and rainy.  As I walked I  just tried to stay warm and dry. My hands got a little cold and wet but I kept on going and made it to the 700 mile mark which is very close to Kennedy Meadows and it's set up camp then went to sleep.

Trail angel saving me from hunger

May 20th, 2015

I got up happy that I had water. But I realized that I didn't have much food and I have 60 miles to go before I got to Kennedy Meadows were I was planning to resupply. It's weird how much you appreciate things like water and food when you are out here. Also when you are low on ether one it is very difficult not to think about them.

I got to Walk Pass campground and a trail Angel name Twinkle Toes offered me and some hikers a lift down to Lake Isabella to get food. She drove us to the supermarket and then took me to the trail. It was nice to have food and be on the trail so quickly. I went up the trail about 10 miles and set camp on a ridge overlooking the desert.