Day 53 - Finding Safe Haven

Mile 786.1 to Mile 788.9. 2.8 miles

Once again the miles covered suggests an easy day. The nature of the Sierras means that to resupply you have to deter off the trail significantly to source salvation. For this section that means hiking 7.5 miles off trail up & over Keersage Pass on Onion Valley Track - tough miles that count for zip on the PCT. At the car park you then have a 13 mile drop to Independence then hitch 41 miles to Bishop.
It was a vicious start to the day being bitterly cold - it took an eternity to get feeling back in my fingers. The climb up from Kings Canyon was a tough slog climbing 1200 feet in 1.8 miles. But check out the view on what was a sunny day

That's East Vidette across from where I was camped.
After turning on to the Onion Valley Trail the views kept getting better

That's Bullfrog Lake down there tucked under the Keersage Pinnacles. The body was a bit flat this morning and I struggled up Keersage Pass to eventually reach the summit

The rest of the trail was all down hill - tempered by the fact I had to climb the 2000 feet in a couple of days when I get back on trail

I met a number of hikers on the way down including Becks who was going to get 2 to 3 days ahead of me so I may be lucky to see her again.
At the car park I was lucky to get a lift with a couple who have a cabin up that way. I didn't have to wait long for a ride to Bishop where I shouted myself to a reasonable motel unit - the idea of a busy hostel not quite what I was looking for this time around. Did some laundry, got some gear & updated the blog. Resupply tomorrow & a general drying out & cleaning up of gear to get ready for a Wednesday re-entry...Weta

Day 52 - The High Point....Just!!

Mile 780.7 to Mile 786.1. 5.4 miles

At 5.4 miles it seems like an easy day at the office. If only!!! Overnight the weather worsened. At 9.00 pm the thunder & lightening intensified followed by a pelting of groppel. Then the wind kicked in and finally the snow. At 12500 feet & listening to the war going on outside I didn't exactly sleep but rather played over in my mind our situation. The snow was piling up around the tent & I had to clear up to two feet to get to the pegs in the morning

The weather looked better at about 6.00 am but I was still iffy about committing to the switchback when so much snow had come down while black clouds were building to the South West. Banjo felt that avalanche risk would be reduced if we moved immediately. So with full crampons and ice axe Banjo led a group of 6 (without me) up the zig zag on this precipitous face

At a crucial point near the summit Banjo had to carve out a path in the snow that had cascaded through the gap and covered the trail. It is very steep. Banjo is the dot on the snow carving away the track

You can see the trail in the cliff face. They got through safely...thank goodness. I decided to commit to the climb and was on my way at 10.50 am with  spikes fixed around my shoes. In another "wish I had a Go Pro moment" I became conscious of a black mass of weather minutes away while I was halfway up the slope. Approaching the snow path near the top I glanced up at the overhanging cornice & didn't dally - my haste almost my undoing as a big slip 1/3 way across had my heart in my mouth. I topped out looking tired & badly in need of a shave

This was the view looking over the cornice

The north side was not as steep but there was a lot of fresh dnow that gave my spikes a work out. The view looking back up to the Pass

The view forward was Kings Canyon that I descended in to

The descent was difficult post-holing up to my waist and losing my composure often as I slipped and sprawled my way down the mountain. All the time the blizzard became worse with snow covering the tracks I was trying to follow. The Canyon is a massive glacial valley with towering peaks either side. The snow became groppel then rain as the descent continued & with soaked feet I was increasingly getting colder. At 3.30 pm I decided to pull stumps & found a decent campsite to set up. I was soon in my sleeping bag & warming up nicely. I'm the background was the roaring cascades of a snow melt water course that one would think matches the grandly named Kings Canyon - somehow Bubs Creek just doesn't cut the mustard.
When there was a break in the weather I was greeted with this majestic view across the valley

I also chatted with my near neighbour Mud Guts who is Russian and going like a freight train.
The plan tomorrow is to do the 3 mile to the junction with Onion Valley Trail. This will take me 7.5 miles off the PCT & over Keersage Pass at 11771 feet to get to the road that will eventually get me to Bishop for a zero and some planning...Weta

Day 51 - Mother Nature Bites Back

Mile 767 to Mile 780.7. 13.7 miles

Today was always a quandary.  Being 13.7 miles from Forester Pass meant we were unable to get up & over first thing when the snow has a hard crust. Forester Pass is the highest point on the PCT at 13200 feet. The day staryed ominously when after a couple of miles I had to don wet weather gear and a pack cover as snow flurries arrived. With having to ford 3 creeks as well, progress was slow. The PCT has now joined the John Muir Trail so views like this are common

The first pass of the day was Tyndall Pass at 11350 feet which have 360 degree views including a view ahead to our lunch at Tyndall Creek

After a lunchtime meeting with Two Packs (carried 170 pounds out of Kennedy Meadows & spends a lot of time fishing the remote lakes up here) we started the climb towards Forester Pass

But the weather was looking threatening as we climbed (Banjo in picture)

In the photo below Forester Pass is the small notch in the mountain range with a steep switchback climb carved in to the rock

As we got closer the weather closed in with groppel falling and conditions darkening as lightening flashes around the mountain tops. Rather than risking the ascent at 3.30 pm & dealng with snow on the other side we decided to camp at the base of the Pass on an exposed site. I had to scrape around to get a tent site on what was fundamentally rock with tent pegs wedged by rocks.
Two hikers came through and went over the Pass at 6.00 pm - advising that there was a weather warning for Sunday mid morning with snow. We decided to stay put with 7 others as company. Our plan was to ascend at 5.00 pm and get down towards an exit at Keersage Pass....weather permitting...Weta

Day 50 - My Everest

The ascent of Mount Whitney (the highest point in the bottom 48 states with Denali in Alaska higher) is not part of the PCT but because of its proximity to the trail it is not turned down by many - our PCT thru hiker permit giving us permission to climb from the John Muir Trail side. Others come from the portal on the Line Pine side which is permit controlled. At 14505 feet (Mount Cook is 12218 feet) I don't think I will ever get the chance to climb this high again (unless I trek in Nepal) so this was my Everest and what a day it was...
From our campsite it's a 3853 foot climb over 7.5 miles with the big question mark being the elevation. Banjo, Schweppes, Scabs & I set off at 5.40 am with the first highlight being Timberline Lake from which we had a clear view of Whitney

The trail goes to the right up a glacial valley. We then climb a switchback to the right of the long sharp ridge. We then scramble along the ridge from right to left and up to the summit which is on the left but on the eastern side hidden from view.
Timberline Lake had gorgeous reflections on the water

Further up we had this massive tower of rock look over us which I renamed Cathedral Towers

We then skirted around Guitar Lake

before crossing ice packed snow to start the switchback climb. The ice and snow made it tricky in places but it was just a good hard slog

The trail joins the Whitney Portal from the eastern side with a warning about lightning

Surprisingly the elevation did not affect me and I picked up the pace along the top before 400 metres of a snow covered slope and one last sprint up the table top to the summit had me stop tbe clock at 4 3/4 hours. I was a happy camper...

The other folk are those that have ascended up the Whitney Portal as day hikers.
It's hard to translate the view in to photos with the Sierras to the North West, Owens Valley to the East and my PCT trodden path to the South.
Whitney has a sheer drop off on the eastern side which climbers use (Scabs getting a fright when two appeared over the rim later on). From the summit you can see this amazing glacial lake

There is a stone shelter near the summit

North West and we can see the mountains we will travel through in the next 200 or so miles to Yosemite

There was a bitterly cold wind at the summit so we had to find shelter in the rocks that were populated by chipmunks (which eat what??). We also saw dear on the way up as well as Jack rabbits and the ever present marmots.

The descent took about an hour less with a nice view of the Hitchcock Lakes all frozen over

A wonderfully satisfying day in which I felt good all day. The day ended with a long chat with England (from England - funny that) and his time in NZ. Like many others I have met, he would love to live in our cool little country...Weta

Day 49 - Sierra Time!!

Mile 747.9 to Mile 767 - 19.1 miles

Actually it was 20.1 miles as we did an extra mile up the John Muir Trail to be within 7.5 miles and 4000 feet of our Mount Whitney climb tomorrow.
Today felt like we had really reached the Sierras as the mountains started to surround us.
After a fitful nights sleep (at altitude I reckon the body wakes you up anytime you are short of breath) Banjo rocked up having camped 3 miles back. We soon climbed to 11500 feet just past Cottonwood Pass before our first water stop at Chicken Spring Lake with its surrounding mountains - the brown coloured water presumably my mineral intake for the day

The trail took on a familiar scene all morning as we headed towards Rock Creek

To our left was Siberia Flat

and we soon hit the boundary of our first National Park - Sequoia & Kings Canyon (the previous Parks being Californian State Parks). GK  "Happy Trails" posed with me for the obligatory photo

After fording (no bridges out here) Rock Creek we climbed steeply towards the John Muir Trail/Whitney track junction. Just before getting there we opened out in to this amazing meadow

With a bit of work it would make a brilliant cricket ground.
We are camped near Crabtree Ranger Station in a beautiful setting including a number of resident marmots - a curious creature about the size of an overgrown opossum. Our goal tomorrow is hidden from view but Becks and others who had ascended today assured us it was worth the effort...Weta

Day 48 - Finding My Altitude Legs & Lungs

Mile 725 to Mile 747.9 - 22.9 miles.

On a testing day, the PCT had us questioning our altitude limits with climbs up to 10700 feet and 10797 feet (where I am camped short of Cottonwood Pass at 11145 feet). The early morning saw us battle mosquitos and gnats again (it wasn't advisable to stop). In the drop down to Death Canyon the trail passed through trees typical of the trail ahead

We also had further glimpses of the Sierra Nevada's ahead

In the climb up from Death Canyon I was minding my own business when a naval jet fighter scared tbe bejesus out of me with a low level pass - lucky I was wearing black undies to hide the stains. In a "wish I had a Go Pro moment" you'll have to believe me that the pilot had brown eyes & a scar on their left cheek.
At 10700 feet the desert in Owen's Valley looked a long way down

After dropping to Diaz Creek to collect water, the day finished with a long climb to my current campsite. The climb includes Mulkey Pass and Trail Pass along the way - pockets of snow appearing. It's 9 pm & no sign of Banjo who is struggling with the pack from hell - Monster II with his guitar, skateboard, crampons, ice axe, boots & a lot of food...Weta

Day 47 - A Taste of the Sierras

Mile 702.2 to Mile 725 - 22.8 miles

The Kennedy Meadows vortex seemed to have taken hold & there were only a handful of combatants gearing for an exit. Banjo & I left at 5.30 am and we were soon swallowed up the Southern Sierras. Our first climb of the day up to Haiwee Trail Junction saw us climb 1700 feet often in burnt forest with numerous fallen trees over the trail. A half mile over the crest and wow...

All we needed was bison to roam in to view. Lunch was at the upper Kern River again in a delightful spot that was hard to leave given we had an 8 mile climb ahead of us from 7845 feet to 10400 feet.

With some shade it made the climb bearable as we sweated out way toward the high point near Olancha Peak. Before topping the climb you could look back to see where we had come from

We had crossed the pass to the right of the pointy mountain.
I've coped with the altitude better than San Jacinto and even camped at 10200 feet. An excellent day then with the hazy mountains looming large and seeing & hearing new animals including the odd booming sound made by grouse. One downer - the arrival of swarms of mosquitos at my tent site...Weta