Kings Canyon National Park

Summited Whitney

I summitted Mt Whitney for the second time on 6/13.  It's the highest peak in the US outside if Alaska.  Several of us set off from Crabtree Meadow at about midnight to catch the sunrise from 14,500 ft.  Hiking at night was awesome and somewhat surreal, especially after only getting a few hours sleep.  The moon partially lit up the landscape.  We reached the summit at 4:00 am and quickly put on all our layers and got in our sleeping bags, which we had carried up.  It was only in the 20's while we waited for the sun, but it was worth it to watch the sunrise.  It wasn't enough to climb 4,000 ft and descend again to Crabtree Meadow.  Later that day we hiked on another 8 miles.  Quite an exhausting day.

Cheeseburgers Galore

Spent too much money on cheeseburgers, beer, and soda at the KM General Store. Spent two nights camping at the KM Internet Cafe (<a href="http://www.hikethepct-km.com">Toms Place</a>).&#160; Toms Place was interesting.&#160; Had trailers for sleeping, an internet cafe in an old airstream, outdoor kitchen, and outdoor movie theater.&#160; ET played the first night and Butcher Cassidy and the Sundance Kid the next.&#160; Nothing nice just the typical place to stay for us hiker trash.&#160; Left 6/8 at 5 pm to spend night at KM campground 2.5 miles north.&#160; Got trail magic at the campground from Sparky who quit his thru-hike attempt this year back at Idyllwild due to health issues.&#160; Ate my third greasy hamburger for the day.</p>
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Altitude, finally

We've spent the last two nights camping above 9,600 ft and hiked two days as high as 10,500 ft. I can feel the elevation, but so far it hasn't bothered me much. I felt light headed for 15 minutes the first night, but did a good job of staying more hydrated and used pressure breathing to keep my oxygen levels up. That seemed to work. Some of the others in my group are starting to feel altitude effects as well.  All good prep for Whitney.

Girlfriend vs. Beard

Gretchen will be visiting me at Independence, and I'm super excited to say the least. There have been few moments when I haven't thought of her. I wonder what she's gonna think of my hairy face though.  I'm on my way to looking like a caveman. I dig it and can't wait to see what it looks like in 4 months. By the time this gets posted I'll probably already know what she thinks.

I've had several tell me I look like Bradley Cooper in the past day. Odd, cuz I look nothing like that guy...

One Day, Two Milestones

Walked into Kennedy Meadows a day early (6/6).  I also did my first 30+ mile day to do so.  I walked 34 miles with almost 10,000 ft of elevation gain and loss.  I'm not sure why I did it.  I felt like I was flying high, and simply decided I should go for it. Even after that I felt I could go further.  I felt so great physically and emotionally.  I'm definitely feeling strong and in the best shape of my life.

The last few miles to KM were emotional for me.  I feel so lucky to have made it here after dreaming about it for so long.  Luck has allowed me to continue but perseverance and single-mindedness have carried me through.  I've seen many others get injuries.  I hope that I can be smart about how I hike to minimize injury, but sometimes it just happens.

I'll be entering the high Sierra tomorrow.  I'll try to get some photos up here soon.  The ones I get over the next week will be some of the best! 

Trail Name

Everyone on the trail gets a trail name or pseudonym.  Usually there's some story or reason behind it.  Other times some make up there own name.  Sometimes they're silly, sometimes serious.  My trail name is Macho Taco.  There's a short story about it, but I'll just leave it at that for now.

Kennedy Meadows

2.5 days from Kennedy Meadows at mile 702. KM is considered to be a major milestone on the PCT by thru-hikers. It marks the point where we leave the dry and hot deserts and mountains of southern California for the high sierra.  The PCT makes you.go through hell to get to heaven. Were all extremely excited.

Southern California has offered little wilderness and the heat and long (up to 25 mile) dry stretches have been difficult. On average I've carried a gallon of water each day. On the otherhand Southern California has offered outstanding vistas and several awesome opportunities for us to experience trail magic. Often we can look back and see the mountains we have walked thru for several hundred miles in the previous weeks.  Knowing and seeing the distances and mountains we have crossed makes us feel strong.  Due to the numerous cities and road crossings we have met so many people eager to help us on our journey with food and drink and shade and rides to town. Honestly one of the most exciting sections required hiking across the Mojave desert for about 20 miles. So there we were crossing the desolate landscape studded with Joshua trees. I think it will make us appreciate the Sierra Nevada that much more.

While we leave the desert challenges behind in the coming days the High Sierra will offer its own. In a typical year the High Sierra includes colder temps, hazardous creeks swelling with snowmelt, snow covered high mountain passes (some higher than 13,000 ft in elevation), horrendous mosquito swarms, and lots of bear activity. On the upside I often won't be carrying more than two liters of water at a time, and due to the low snow pack I don't anticipate too much snow on the passes or high creeks.  Usually ice axes are recommended for the mountain passes but they're probably unnecessary this year. We will have to carry bear canisters to prevent bears from getting our food. Bears in the Sierra Nevada are smart enough to get food hung in trees. Well be doing much shorter days in part due to increased elevation gains and losses in the high mountains and in part just to enjoy the scenery that we have so long sought.

Were almost there and I can sense the excitement among the other thru-hikers.  Today we got out first glimpse of the High Sierra from above Walker Pass. In just a little over a week we will be climbing to the top of Mt Whitney, the highest in the contiguous US.  I'll take some photos and pass to Gretchen when she visits me in Independence, CA.  It will be my second time summitting Whitney.  This time I'll be up there to watch the sunrise at over 14,500 ft.

The Hunger

My brother always talked about his extreme hunger while thru-hiking the PCT.  Now I understand what he means.  When resupplying in town all of us think we have way too much food.  After a day out on the trail you can often hear us talking about how hungry we are and how we could eat our rations in a single sitting.  I have to consciously think about how much I can eat and not let myself get out of control but sometimes its difficult.  It may sound like were not carrying enough, but its a balancing act.  The more you carry, the more calories you burn.  My food bag that I thought could carry about 7 days of food at the start can now carry about 5 days of food and I had to pick up a second food bag.  We often find ourselves daydreaming and talking about foods that we cant have on the trail.

Wildlife

For anyone curious about what wildlife I have seen on the trail, the list below summarizes what we've been fortunate and unfortunate to see:

-dozens of snakes including 4 rattlesnakes, 3 of which rattled at us
-1 gray fox
-3 deer
-1 pronghorn antelope
-1 bear
-and the 1 skunk mentioned previously.

Based on previous thru-hiker reports I didn't expect to see as much as this, but then again we've walked 651 miles at this point.