Its the end of July, and Brandon has retreated back to TN for a wedding, an MRI and R&R. I will be spending the next 4 days here in Mammoth with my girlfriend Julia, who is flying in tonight, while Brandon is back home.
We've had a solid last 3 days, making the trek from Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite NP to back to Reds Meadow near Mammoth. We made our first big climb up and over a snowy pass in the Sierras. Donahue set at just over 11, 000 feet and is under 15 of snow. Over the last 3 days, we've easily had our best vistas of the entire trip. From the top there are mountains in in every directions, some looking like our Smokey Mountains, others reminding us we are in the raw, jagged Sierras.
-- Message truncated due to power outage in the Mammoth Library --
The views helped mask the reality that moving through snow, navigating, and general walking is slow going and exhausting. You can physically feel the calories burning off your body each time you push yourself up and out of the snow drift that your entire leg just post holed into. While you wear your Seal Skin socks (waterproof socks), your feet stay dry, until your sweat pools up in them. There is no escaping we are in a new climate, facing a new obstacle.
We've climbed up above the treeline, coming from the lazy rivers of the Yosemite Valley. Brandon has stepped on lose logs and taking swims in snow creeks, while I have easily post holed no less than 50 times, once both legs going through the snow. It's been an amazing adventure leading up to our July 4th weekend.
And now, as we celebrate the awesomeness that is our country, we will be doing so with our significant others, before returning to our journey. God Bless You All. We are born American, and Southern by the Grace of God.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Mammoth Updates
June 26, 2010
After spending several days in Echo Lake area, including our exploration of Desolation Wilderness, Caleb and I decided it was time to get closer to Mammoth Lakes. Again, going over these huge passes with no trail to follow and little to no ice/snow climbing experience seems ill advised. We had planned to hitch town to town to Mammoth, camping at lakes along the way. However, we were picked up in a 2010 Cadillac heading all the way to Mammoth. So, today we returned from the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, and Devil Post-pile National Monument. We sufficiently explored this beautiful area outside of Mammoth where the PCT and John Muir Trail coincide. Tomorrow (6/27) we will be traveling from Tuomulmne Meadows in Yosemite Valley to Agnew Meadows, the Northern point of the PCT leaving Mammoth. We will be climbing upwards of 11000 ft, but we should have footprints to follow in the snow. The section isn't that long (25+ miles) but we will be in a quite a bit of snow, and a stories bear country. Personally, I welcome the adventure, and look forward to the next 72 hours.
-Brandon
Monday, June 21, 2010
We Are Alive!
June 19, 2010
Folks. We have not died. Our adventure lives perhaps more alive than ever before. After celebrating US tie, picking up some things from the post office in Tehachapi, we began to weigh our options for getting into Mammoth by June 30th.
A. Push the miles, time, and roll the dice in getting through the snow clogged High Sierras faster than anyone to date
B. Find a way up to Tahoe and adventure South.
We choose B. Working our magic, we ended up in Reno, NV for $32/night and enjoyed a Dirk Stevenson/Baron C. Rad adventure where we both came out even. Woke up the next morning and pulled strings to Tahoe where we found a way to Echo Lakes. Now both equipped with ice axes and snow gear we are working our way Lake to Lake back to Mammoth. We have a fishing pole and plan to do some damage. Already we have hiked around several waterfalls, summitted our surrounding peaks and "Polar Bear Plunged" into a half frozen lake. With snow pack between 2-15 ft, we will have a mixed bag adventure to Mammoth. But we will be there-And it shall be glorious.
-Brandon
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Our March to Tehachapi: Ups and Downs.
In 2.5 days we have covered the distance from Agua Dulce (mile marker 454) to Tehachapi (558). It has been a trip of ups and downs, night and day hiking, excitement and frustration.
Ups:
- 30+ mile club. 34-mile hike from Agua Dulce into Lake Hughes propelled us into a club that typically doesn't start until Oregon.
- Going Old School. Taking the Old PCT straight across the Mojave Desert. While it may have required us to hop a few barbed wire fences in the middle of the night, and turn our heads to a couple of warning signs, we reduced 54 miles to 20 miles in an ill advised adventure, again, with no maps.
- Rock Inn. 5 delicious meals at the Rock Inn in Lake Hughes, CA. A flashback to the Old West, and a local town that many PCT hikers skip. We didn't, and we were rewarded with great food, a great atmosphere, and great conversation with the local community.
- Beards. Yeah, they are coming in pretty solid, extremely 'Murican.
- World Cup. We set a goal of making it to Tehachapi for the World Cup. While many called us crazy, we are here. Mile Marker 558.
Downs:
- The Wind. 24+ hours of 30-40 mph sustained winds. At first, I was excited by the 12+ anemometers that I saw. After about 30 minutes, I couldn't hear myself think.
- Night Hiking. What started out as excitement, turned into an exhausting, frigid, wind-filled death march.
- Pain. 74 miles covered in 60 hours has reminded our bodies that more miles is more pain.
We are still working on figuring out the next couple of weeks. We have 18 days until my flight out of Mammoth Lakes. We will keep you all in tune with the next leg of the adventure. In case you were wondering, the American Flag bandanas are out, it's almost kickoff.
We've been singing Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" for about 48 hours. It's time.
- Brandon
Ups:
- 30+ mile club. 34-mile hike from Agua Dulce into Lake Hughes propelled us into a club that typically doesn't start until Oregon.
- Going Old School. Taking the Old PCT straight across the Mojave Desert. While it may have required us to hop a few barbed wire fences in the middle of the night, and turn our heads to a couple of warning signs, we reduced 54 miles to 20 miles in an ill advised adventure, again, with no maps.
- Rock Inn. 5 delicious meals at the Rock Inn in Lake Hughes, CA. A flashback to the Old West, and a local town that many PCT hikers skip. We didn't, and we were rewarded with great food, a great atmosphere, and great conversation with the local community.
- Beards. Yeah, they are coming in pretty solid, extremely 'Murican.
- World Cup. We set a goal of making it to Tehachapi for the World Cup. While many called us crazy, we are here. Mile Marker 558.
Downs:
- The Wind. 24+ hours of 30-40 mph sustained winds. At first, I was excited by the 12+ anemometers that I saw. After about 30 minutes, I couldn't hear myself think.
- Night Hiking. What started out as excitement, turned into an exhausting, frigid, wind-filled death march.
- Pain. 74 miles covered in 60 hours has reminded our bodies that more miles is more pain.
We are still working on figuring out the next couple of weeks. We have 18 days until my flight out of Mammoth Lakes. We will keep you all in tune with the next leg of the adventure. In case you were wondering, the American Flag bandanas are out, it's almost kickoff.
We've been singing Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" for about 48 hours. It's time.
- Brandon
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Relaxed, Revived, Refocused?
We have spent the last two, no, better part of three days in a place called Hiker Heaven (http://www.hikerheaven.com). It it located in Agua Dulce, CA which is approximately an hour out of Los Angeles. It was a 100+ degree hike into the town, the first town that the PCT officially runs through, and we had no issues migrating to Jeff and Donna Saufley's humble abode.
The Saufley's have set up their backyard with 7 large tents and 4 smaller tents that can accomodate up to 50 people. They have a hiker cabin equipped with showers, fridge, oven, television, internet, laundry, rides to the store, and a lot of company. Folks resupply, relax, and plan their next week or two into the Sierras, or whatever their plans may be. We've been able to finally met up with many other hikers who are all moving North as well.
Tonight, we will head out in the evening to attempt to hike 24 miles (or the better part of 24 miles) to the Andersons, another trail angel house that is located along the trail. We will be hiking again with Chris and Nick, two British folks, who are literally in love with America. I might even argue that they not only understand, but embrace, the American Dream of being Huckleberry Finn more than many other Americans do. Stories of trainriding, and experiences across the globe have swapped for the better part of the week.
Hiking at night has become a reality for the next week. At temperatures of 100 at 10am, it's unbearable to hike during the heat of the day. So, we have our headlamps, extra batteries, water and food and will be hiking towards Lake Hughes where we hope to arrive tomorrow evening, and then from there, head across the Mojave (16 miles) to Cottonwood Creek. From there we should be a solid day (or night) from the Tehachapi where we plan to resupply and watch the USA vs. England World Cup opener.
For those keeping score, Caleb has gained 5 pounds, I have still only gained 2 pounds. Yet, we are two of the only people gaining weight out here.
New Greatest Trail Moment Update: Brandon Catches a Fly in His Beard.
The Saufley's have set up their backyard with 7 large tents and 4 smaller tents that can accomodate up to 50 people. They have a hiker cabin equipped with showers, fridge, oven, television, internet, laundry, rides to the store, and a lot of company. Folks resupply, relax, and plan their next week or two into the Sierras, or whatever their plans may be. We've been able to finally met up with many other hikers who are all moving North as well.
Tonight, we will head out in the evening to attempt to hike 24 miles (or the better part of 24 miles) to the Andersons, another trail angel house that is located along the trail. We will be hiking again with Chris and Nick, two British folks, who are literally in love with America. I might even argue that they not only understand, but embrace, the American Dream of being Huckleberry Finn more than many other Americans do. Stories of trainriding, and experiences across the globe have swapped for the better part of the week.
Hiking at night has become a reality for the next week. At temperatures of 100 at 10am, it's unbearable to hike during the heat of the day. So, we have our headlamps, extra batteries, water and food and will be hiking towards Lake Hughes where we hope to arrive tomorrow evening, and then from there, head across the Mojave (16 miles) to Cottonwood Creek. From there we should be a solid day (or night) from the Tehachapi where we plan to resupply and watch the USA vs. England World Cup opener.
For those keeping score, Caleb has gained 5 pounds, I have still only gained 2 pounds. Yet, we are two of the only people gaining weight out here.
New Greatest Trail Moment Update: Brandon Catches a Fly in His Beard.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Postholing!
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010.
Yesterday we left Wrightwood, a trail angel named Mary gave us a ride up to the trailhead. I guess she's a trail angel legend there for the past 30 years. We climbed halfway up Mt. Baden-Powell, found a nice spot amid the snowdrifts, we had an amazing view of the Mojave to the East. The snowdrifts were great for chilling the Microbrews we picked up in town before we left. That's a trick I picked up in Washington.
That's where the fun ended. Soon after we started the summit climb this morning, the trail became lost under the snow. We made the decision to head straight up the mountain, it took a while but we did reach the snowless peak. There's a monument to Baden-Powell at the top. I didn't tell Brandon, but it was moving for me. It is somewhat of a boy scout mecca.
The snow coming down was even worse. Neither of us has boots or ice axes. After puncturing through snow drifts (postholing) a few times we were soaked up to the knee. It took six hours to cover 4 miles. We made it through and now we are camping near a natural spring right next to our first Giant Sequoia. Awesome. We earned some stripes today. The Adventure continues...
-Caleb
Yesterday we left Wrightwood, a trail angel named Mary gave us a ride up to the trailhead. I guess she's a trail angel legend there for the past 30 years. We climbed halfway up Mt. Baden-Powell, found a nice spot amid the snowdrifts, we had an amazing view of the Mojave to the East. The snowdrifts were great for chilling the Microbrews we picked up in town before we left. That's a trick I picked up in Washington.
That's where the fun ended. Soon after we started the summit climb this morning, the trail became lost under the snow. We made the decision to head straight up the mountain, it took a while but we did reach the snowless peak. There's a monument to Baden-Powell at the top. I didn't tell Brandon, but it was moving for me. It is somewhat of a boy scout mecca.
The snow coming down was even worse. Neither of us has boots or ice axes. After puncturing through snow drifts (postholing) a few times we were soaked up to the knee. It took six hours to cover 4 miles. We made it through and now we are camping near a natural spring right next to our first Giant Sequoia. Awesome. We earned some stripes today. The Adventure continues...
-Caleb
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Fattened Up, Ready for Baden-Powell
Today (June 2) we found our way to Wrightwood (mile 364), yet another small, hiker friendly, or maybe just friendly, mountain town in So. California. It is our first night to stay with trail angels. Trail angels are defined as people who live along the PCT who help out PCT hikers by providing rides, shelter, laundry, shower, or a combination of the above. We are very fortunate to be staying with Matt and Becky Johnson, who are bold enough to list themselves at the Hardware store in town, where the PCT hikers register their names. Caleb and I have enjoyed the hospitality offered here, and the chance to spend some time with their family, which includes kids of age 3, 5, and 7. Caleb correctly named all the seven dwarfs. I informed them that they could learn all they needed to know about football by watching the University of Tennessee. Educated? Perhaps.
Tomorrow we are going to the post office and then headed up to a 10,000 ft summit of Mt. Baden-Powell. Caleb has informed me that this guy started the Boy Scouts. Anyways, this will be our highest elevation, and we will encounter snow. Almost directly after this we are encountering a 50 mile detour around a rather significant fire closure. A lot of the walk is along roads, which, isn't the greatest feeling in the world.
Thanks Mom for the junk food, I really enjoyed it. This trail is quickly becoming about food. For those wondering, Caleb and I parlayed McDonald's with a healthy dosage of Del Taco which included a deluxe chili cheese fries to top off the 1 pound worth of burritos we ate before hand. And yes, as always, Ben and Jerry's for dessert. In Wrightwood, we continued the chili cheese trend polishing off a chili cheese burger and two chili cheese dogs. Eat big or go home, that's the name of the game.
See y'all in Agua Dulce (hopefully by June 7-8) then its to Lake Hughes (June 11th) and Tehachapi (June 14th). It takes 3-4 days for mail to get out here, so I'd suggest sending to Tehachapi anything you might be interested in sending. Prost!
- Brandon
Tomorrow we are going to the post office and then headed up to a 10,000 ft summit of Mt. Baden-Powell. Caleb has informed me that this guy started the Boy Scouts. Anyways, this will be our highest elevation, and we will encounter snow. Almost directly after this we are encountering a 50 mile detour around a rather significant fire closure. A lot of the walk is along roads, which, isn't the greatest feeling in the world.
Thanks Mom for the junk food, I really enjoyed it. This trail is quickly becoming about food. For those wondering, Caleb and I parlayed McDonald's with a healthy dosage of Del Taco which included a deluxe chili cheese fries to top off the 1 pound worth of burritos we ate before hand. And yes, as always, Ben and Jerry's for dessert. In Wrightwood, we continued the chili cheese trend polishing off a chili cheese burger and two chili cheese dogs. Eat big or go home, that's the name of the game.
See y'all in Agua Dulce (hopefully by June 7-8) then its to Lake Hughes (June 11th) and Tehachapi (June 14th). It takes 3-4 days for mail to get out here, so I'd suggest sending to Tehachapi anything you might be interested in sending. Prost!
- Brandon
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