The first day on the trail with my sister

June 9th, 2015

As I was packing up with my sister I was looking through the food and some other stuff that she brought.  One of the thing that she had was a copy of Yogi's guide to the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). I was very interested in the CDT and wanted to do some research for future hikes. I took the guidebook and ripped out different sections that described the trail, what you needed and how it was different from the PCT and the AT (Appalachian Trail). All I knew about the trail was from talking to other hikers. I remembered asking people who hiked the AT and the PCT if they were considering hiking on the Continental Divide and a lot of them said that the trail seemed to be too difficult. This was intriguing to me so I figured now would be a good time to learn about what made the CDT more of a challenge compared to the PCT. 

A little later after I was packed and ready my sister and I started hiking North on the trail. In the first hour I spotted a bear in a small valley down below. I tried to point it out to my sister but by the time she got there the bear was gone. As we kept on going up the trail I wasn't doing the best job at checking my maps and we got to a point were it seemed like we were going the wrong direction. We checked and we did take a wrong turn and ended up going four miles in the wrong direction. We had no choice but to turn around and go back the way we came. This wasn't a big deal but I did feel a little stupid for not paying closer attention to where I was.  Then farther up the trail I saw two coyotes around a corner.  At first I thought it was a mountain lion and then about 50 feet up from me there was a big rock and two coyotes stood up on top of it and looked at me for about five or six seconds and then they walking off. Shortly after this we found a lake with a nice view and set up camp. 

Red's Meadows

June 7 and 8th, 2015

I got up in the morning feeling really really tired. I think that all that walking in the rain took a toll on my body. It took me a little longer than usual to pack up but I eventually got back on the trail groggy and tired.

By the afternoon I was feeling better mainly because the weather was getting better. The sun was shining bright and it was getting warmer. The rest of the day was uneventful.  I hiked and took some pictures then set up camp for the night.

I woke up the next day with about 15 miles to go before I get  Reds Meadows (a small resort with a store and a restaurant about a mile away from the PCT). Here I was going to meet my sister and hike with her for a bit. I packed up and got going. I made good time and I was at Red's Meadows by the afternoon. I called my sister and she was still at my mom's house which was about six hours away so I got a ride down to Mammoth City to go supermarket and get some food. I got some food and did my best to replenish much needed calories. By about 930pm my sister made it to Mammoth City and picked me up. After this we went back to Red's Meadows and spent the night there.  

The man with a bag full of two dollar bills

June 6, 2015

I got up and went about my morning routine and got back on the trail. As I was walking I passed some southbound John Muir Trail hikers. They told me that I was passed the majority of the snow from here on out. That made me happy because I was starting to get tired of all the snow so far. I cant imagine what most years are like because supposedly the snow pack is really low.

 As I continued up the trail I met a guy that gave me a two dollar bill. I was a bit confused but thanked him. He said that he hike the PCT in 1977 and the weather was similar that year and now he was hiking southbound giving out two dollar bills to hikers. He gave out 300 dollars worth so far to  various hikers. I thanked him again and continued up the trail.

I kept walking and as usual there was not much excitement on the trail. Then by about 5 o'clock the weather started to turn. The rain came down hard and the wind swept over the mountains. I kept on walking and faced a lot of of creek crossing. To avoid taking off my shoes I ended up doing a lot of log crossings which were very slippery and was luckily enough to make it across all of them without falling. As it got later as I got more and more tired and the rain kept on falling.  I was dreading the prospect of setting up camp with this wet weather because my poncho was my shelter and I would end up getting wet if I attempted to camp. Then right before dark it cleared up. I was grateful for the change in the weather and set up camp for the night.  

Going up Muir Pass

June 5th, 2015

When I got up the sun was out and the snow was melting. The air was cold and crisp as I packed up camp.  After finishing up I started going up towards Muir Pass. As I went up the snow got deeper as I climbed higher.  I was surprised to find long snow fields and frozen lakes.

The top had an amazing view of everything and there was a nice shelter sitting on the top in the snow. I wanted to keep on going to get through the snow then back on solid ground again so I kept on hiking. 

There were lots snow fields and got to a creek with lots of golden trout and decided to give hand fishing a shot. I remember reading an article about noodling which is a rare sport where you find a catfish nest and you put your hands down in the water. You wiggle your fingers around and try to get a fish to bite....  the goal is to have the fish engulf your entire hand. Once you get to this point you yank the fish out of the water.These weren't catfish so I would have to try the old grabbing method.  After three tries I caught one but only took a picture and threw it back. 

After this I made it to Echo lake which is a place where I visited about 10 to 12 years ago with my sister and it was first time that I went on the PCT. As I continued the weather started to turn.  It got really windy and snowy. It only lasted a little while and then it started to clear up. I hiked until about 8 PM and by that time the rain stopped and I found a place to camp.

Heading back up the trail

June 3rd and 4th, 2015

I had a nice visit with my sister but it was very short. I only spent one night at home and then by the next day we were driving six hours back towards Bishop, California. While I was home I scrambled to try to get everything organized,  get my pictures off my camera and repair some gear. Of course all this stuff took a little longer that expected but I ended up getting everything done.

By late afternoon we were on our way going back towards Tahoe and then down we headed south on Highway 395 towards Bishop. By the time we got to Bishop it was already getting dark so my sister, my mom and I got a hotel in Bishop and spent the night there. 

The next morning we got up had some breakfast and drove to Southlake.  While we were driving back to the trail head it was getting a little stormy and even snowed a couple of times on our way up the road.

We ended up getting back to the trail. Then my sister and I started hiking up towards Bishop pass which is about 5 miles from Southlake. At the top of Bishop Pass there was a lot of snow and like always we a had to do a little post holing  which was not fun. Near the top of the pass we found a bear canister and my sister grabbed it. Shortly after this I said goodbye and I started to hike back towards the Pacific Crest Trail. But my sister decided to postpone her flight and was planning to meet me in a couple days at Reds Meadows resort and do a short section of the trail with me. 

Once I got back on the PCT it was already late afternoon and I started heading up north towards Muir Pass. I hiked until about dark and then found a place to camp. While I was setting up camp the clouds looked a little ominous so I set up my shelter. The right when I was finished it started snowing for a couple hours. I was warm and tired and fell asleep while listening to the snow come down. 

Meeting my family

June 1st and 2nd, 2015

I woke up the next morning and only had about 16 miles to go before I got to the trail head to meet my mom. I still had to go over Bishop pass which was a little over 11000 feet.

 I was still a little worn down from last night but I managed to start trudging up the trail. It was a long hard hike up to the top of Bishop Pass. I was running late and didn’t have any cell service. As I went down the trail I met a guy and asked if I was a Thru hiker. I told him that I was and he told me that my mom was waiting in the parking lot and was going to wait until 10pm. It was about five o’clock so I was in the clear to make it before then. It seemed that the other thru hiker wanted some company but I kept on moving because I didn’t want my mom waiting there all night.  Before no time I made it and went down to Bishop and got some food. Then before long it was getting late so we stopped at a hotel in Bridgeport for the night.

We were supposed to pick up my sister at the airport at 4 PM and it took all day driving to get back to the greater Sacramento area.  Once we were there I went to an REI and got new trekking poles and a few other things.  After I was finished doing that we went and picked up my sister at the airport. She was there with three huge bags filled with backpacking gear and other stuff for work.  

After that we went down to Auburn to get sushi at a local Japanese restaurant. Then by the time we got home it was around seven or eight PM.  Then I spent the night trying to organize my things, use the computer, and get ready to go back on the trail. 

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.