Hello Everyone!
We have walked a thousand miles-woo hoo!! It feels incredible to have gone so far. We have had a couple of significant milestones in the past hundred miles or so... John Muir Trail: We finished the famous JMT; a 211 mile trail. It began in the Sierras at Mount Whitney and ended in Yosemite National Park. This trail is notorious for it's wonderful views, high passes, and gorgeous lakes. It was challenging at times but it feels incredible to say that we hiked it. The JMT and PCT overlap for the majority of the Sierras, but the JMT splits off and ends in Yosemite. We decided to leave the PCT in Tuolumne Meadows and finish the JMT down in Yosemite- mostly for the accomplishment of finishing a trail and for bragging rights :) I actually think the feeling of completing something was a moral booster for me. The PCT still feels endless so it was comforting to put a large "check" next to the John Muir Trail. Half Dome: One amazing part about leaving the PCT and wandering down to Yosemite Valley was that we were able to see the park (a first for me), admire all of the waterfalls, socialize with normal people and families, eat tons of food, and climb Half Dome! Half dome is this intimidating, crazy granite dome in the park. From the base of the dome, you hike about a mile up stairs and scrambles, and the crest the first bump of the dome. After this minor accomplishment, you look straight up and practically lose your breakfast. The next part of the Dome is terrifying. It is a steep climb aided by two cables and planks of wood spaced every 10 feet or so. Anyone who climbs to the top of the Dome has to hoist their bodies up this congested, crowded path- mostly with their arms. I actually enjoy this type of climbing, but it was scary when you had to pass people who were making their way off of the Dome. This is such a popular hike that the park only issues 300 Permits a day. Still, even with the crowd control, we got stuck behind a couple of people who were scared of heights or who were struggling with the altitude. It wouldn't be an issue, but you are precariously balanced on wobbling wooden planks, with your arms supporting most of your weight. My recommendation is to hike Half Dome as early as possibly and avoid the crowds. It is extremely worth the hassle of retrieving a permit and making your way to the Dome. The view from the top was sensational. There is also a popular rock that looks like a diving board that provides an awesome photo op. Mama Sue (now OFFICIALLY Cognac), had a little vertigo but made it to the top and was absolutely fine descending the Dome. What ails us: I have been struggling with some lower back pain and went to the doctor yesterday. He gave me a couple of prescriptions so I hope those will help. In addition we are going to treat ourselves to a much needed massage and I hope that will help loosen all of the knots in my back. Sue has been dealing with tendonitis in her foot, but it only starts to pain her after a +15 mile day. She is also dealing with a pain between her shoulder blades, but we hope that the massage will work that out. Thankfully no blisters for either of us. We are now in South Lake Tahoe and are reuniting with some friends that we hiked with many miles back. We spent the last leg of the trail with some great friends who are now on different parts onf the trail. It is so nice to share this experience with fellow hikers and enjoy the company of others. It will be nice to reunite with our group. While we were hiking on the JMT, we saw very few PCT hikers. We met many people who were exploring the JMT or who were just day hiking. It was a nice change of pace, and at times we felt like celebrities- people were curious about our packs and gear, asked us about our miles. It was great. It will also be nice to get back to the isolated PCT, with fewer tourists and more PCTers. I am excited to begin this next section of the trail. Bears!: We saw one bear a few weeks back. It was a Cinnamon Bear, which is of the Black Bear family. We were walking up the trail and all of a sudden a big brown bear butt was in our way. We all started singing and clapping and making a lot of noise. That bear didn't care one iota. It looked back at us and slowly started making his way up the trail. We had no where else to go so we sort of slowly followed him. It is funny, but once you walk a long, long distance, and your goal is forward, it takes a lot, and I mean A LOT to make you turn around and backtrack. There was no way we were going to let a bear detract us from our forward momentum. So we kept singing and following this bear. It would look back at us and keep ignoring us. It just slowly made it's way up the trail with no care in the world. I think we all sort of accepted eachother's presence when all of a sudden we looked up and it wasn't there! Panic. Where the heck did it go? To the left or right? uh oh. What if it pops out at us? We continued slowly for about 15 more minutes and then started booking it out of there. Narrow escape, phew :) It was fun to see a bear, but I don't think any of us have the need to see one again soon. Well that is all I have time for, I will pass the computer over to Cognac. Love to all! xoxoxo, Lobby OK, only 9 minutes left in this library session, so once again I will be brief. I now have the name Cognac, as Sara mentioned, thanks to some trail friends who generously shared their bottle with us in the John Muir hut where we spent a night. Obviously, I liked it a lot. As Sara also mentioned, I am sorry to be done the JMT, but am excited to see what northern California is all about. I loved climbing Half Dome but am glad I never have to do it again. I'll miss Cynic and our other hiking companions from the JMT, but am looking forward to getting to know our current group of hikers. Of course, the best hiking companion is Sara who is generous, wonderful and kind every day! I hope her back feels better soon. I am also thinking a lot about my good friend, Barb, who's daughter, Paige, is dealing with health issues at the moment. Please keep Paige and her family in your thoughts! Thanks. That's all for now! Love, Sue Hey Everyone!
I am writing to you after a strenuous couple of weeks in the wilderness. We just completed a section of the trail that was both the Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail. It was spectacularly beautiful but full of 12,000 foot passes and mosquitoes. Here are a few of the highlights from the past section: Kearsarge Pass: We left Bishop and got a ride up to Kearsarge Pass (11,700 ft). It was a tough 7.5 mile climb up, but the view was gorgeous. Through the last section, we have seen some of the most brilliant blue lakes, full of crystal clear, glacial water. It has been making all of the uphill worth it :) Glen Pass: Glen was a beautiful pass and not too difficult. The best part was descending down into the Rae Lakes, which were magical. All of the colors were outstanding. There were streams and creeks trickling everywhere. Wildflowers popped up in bring pinks, purples, blues, and yellows. They lakes reflected the cerulean skies and majestic mountains. It was like a fairy tale. Pinchot Pass: This pass sucked. It was hard and uphill. Pounce decided to turn around here and hike back to Bishop. The altitude has really made hiking in the Sierras a new experience. Our mileage has dropped from around 20 miles a day to between 10 and 12. Flat portions of the trail still leave me breathless and tired. It is strange how even surrounded by all the incredible views and beauty, the trail can still stink. As I said in my last post, this part of the PCT has been challenging both mentally and physically. I think part of what makes this section discouraging is that we don't have the need for much forward momentum. In the desert, we were prompted by water. We had to keep hiking or else risk dehydration and extreme thirst. We had our days broken up by the heat. We didn't want to hike between 11 am and 4 pm because it was crazy hot. That provided us with a nice siesta between our long miles . It motivated us to wake up early and hike through the early morning. Here in the Sierras it is a shame to hike at night when it is dark. There is so much to see! So we wake up when our bodies feel like it, lounge around with a cup of camp coffee and a power bar, and admire the spectacular views as the minutes tick by. We don't have a need to stop because of the heat so we have all day to conquer a dozen or so miles. Our trail blazing is broken up by treating water and taking pictures. It is a relaxing way to hike but the ample time makes me feel slightly stagnant. It would be a shame to rush through this beautiful and unique portion of the trail but it is also hard to transition from a "go go go" mentality to "oh, we have ALL day! Why hurry?" This is one of the new challenges that I am trying to adapt to. Mather Pass: Beautiful Pass with a few tough switchbacks. It led to gorgeous views on either side of the mountains. Muir Pass: Amazing. We hiked up this pass with our jaws on the trail. It was probably our favorite pass. At the top we reached the Muir Hut, a round stone building that provided warmth and comfort for the night. A few other hikers were staying there so it was nice to socialize and have a good night sleep where we didn't have to worry about our bears. John Muir Ranch: We hiked down to a little ranch where some hikers resupply. It was so much fun because JMTers who pack great food in neat little packages realize that they have packed too much and don't need all of it, so they give it to us crazy PCTers. The ranch had an incredible hiker box system where all of the food was well organized and labeled. It was a little slice of hiker heaven. We actually ran out of fuel, so we were able to resupply there. Vermillion Valley Resort: We were supposed to reconnect with Pounce and VVR but it was unfortunately really tricky for her to get there and she didn't make it in. We still went to the "resort" (campground) and had some great food, beer, milkshakes, and a much needed "zero day." This was the most relaxing day that I have taken off from hiking. There was nothing to do but read a book, eat, and socialize with other hikers around a fire. There was some rain and the threat of thunderstorms, so we just cozied on down and enjoyed an afternoon off. Sue has been doing really well on the trail. She has had very few blisters and is a genuine bad ass :) It has been great having her. She has a little tendentious in her foot, so we are being careful and making sure she puts it in an icy stream when she can. I am about to get booted off of the computer in this library, so I am going to go. So for the staccato update. My love |