pct day 53 - 06/27/13

i had every intention of leaving rather early, but after getting a bus from squaw valley i decided to hand out at starbucks for a while to update my blog.

i ended having such a great conversation with frank about politics and the state of our world, that it was hard to leave. several hours later and still having errands to do, i finally got on the trail at 15:00.

here is a pic from the hike from donner pass to i-80 overlooking donner lake and the town of truckee . . .



13 miles from donner pass to 1168. 1168 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 52 - 06/26/13

so yesterday afternoon after my weather-full day, i decided to give my body a rest and to allow it to heal and dry out. i got a hitch in to truckee and got a nice and warm hotel room. it was rather comical when i went to sign the receipt for the room and my hand was not quite functioning properly . . . lol.
after warming up and drying out, i chatted with family and enjoyed a great night's sleep. i woke up this morning and decided i needed a little more rest. i was invited by moonshadow and sherpah to visit with their families (they are first cousins) in squaw valley, just south of truckee. while on my walk to resupply, i ran in to operator, another hiker and friend of moonshadow and the gang. after hanging out for the afternoon, we took a bus down to squaw, site of the 1960 winter olympics, and visited with moonshadow and sherpah's families, along with israh and astrid. here is a pic of the six of us . . .

their family is so generous and fed us so well. thanx guys!
the closeness of these four hikers was great to be around as they had hiked together for the last 900 miles or so. this was their last night together and they invited us to share it with them.
o miles and great times.
- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 51 - 06/25/13

how blissful of a state of consciousness it is to experience something that may appear to be challenging or full of drama and to just surrender, not digging one's heals in, but to simply choose to flow forward . . .

in the middle of the night i somehow leaned against my drinking tube and emptied all 3 liters of water in to my tent. so it wasn't the pounding rain all night that got me wet, but my poorly placed left thigh . . . what more to do but laugh . . . so great. in sanskrit there is a word leela. it translates roughly as a divine game of consciousness . . .

here is an informative definition from www.sanatansociety.org:

"Leela is the great adventure and the great discovery. Again, and again, and again, and again - without any loss and without any gain - this endless game is played. Those who realize the "play" in the game are not caught by the game-board, and know it as the Leela (Divine game) of Leela-Dhar (Cosmic Consciousness). Those who identify with the squares and planes of the game-board are played by the game-board; and the game-board becomes maya (illusion), the great veiling power that binds the mind."

in ancient judaism, more precisely kabbalah, this illusion or maya is refered to satan. yes, satan. aka darkness . . .

in each of these moments of struggle we always have the choice of realizing the leela or the play, or being played by the game board.

this is why i laugh . . . how much of a leela is it to wake up having spilled my water in my tent during pouring rain, when my tent functioned perfectly by keeping the water out.

oh and here is what my inner thighs look like after just one day of hiking n soaking wet shorts . . .



yes, blood was running down my legs . . .

but i woke up and just chose to see the leela and the beauty of my experience. i am so grateful, so blessed to get to experience this . . .

i hiked thru another day of pounding rain and wind, along miles of ridgeline, got face planted twice by strong gusts, and yes i choose to love it all because i see the leela. i chose this experience and i surrender to it all . . .

30 miles from cs1125 to donner pass at highway 40. no, i did not resort to cannabalism. 1155 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct days 49 and 50 - 06/23 - 06/24/13

is it too much to say that i feel like one of the most blessed people in the world. i so do . . .

last year i met these three brothers hiking the appalachian trail together. we met briefly before the smokies and hiked again for a couple days after the smokies.

it was one of those introductions where you think, "wow, these people really get it. they know what life and living is all about."

i was actually really bummed when i lost them coming out of hot springs, nc and then never got to hike with them again.

i ended up getting in touch with one of the brothers, shankara, his trail name and a name of shiva, like my name, meaning wisdom, and we emailed a few times since the appalachian trail. i ended up emailing him out of the blue letting him know about my blog and he emailed back letting me know that he is now living in south lake tahoe with his other two brothers. since tahoe is a major resupply, he wrote, "Definitely let me know when you get here! We will pick you up and trail magic the hell out of you!"

and trail magic the hell out of me they did. what more could i ask for. great conversation, memories of the trail, totally grounded and chill friends, tons of food . . . amazing. they are so generous, welcoming, and laid back i think it was easily the most relaxed i have been on the trail.

here is a pic of the four of us when they dropped me off on monday back at the trailhead. from left to right: superbeat, me, karuna, and shankara . . .


oh, and here is a little video of their awesome dog, eva, entertaining us with her eerily human skills with a bone . . .

they dropped me off around 10:00ish and i took off to hike around the west side of lake tahoe. holy rain and wind batman! it wasn't so bad in the trees and lowlands, but by the lakes and up on the ridges it was tough. gusts easily up to or over 70mph. i was so very grateful for my time with the brothers as i was continually pelted with rain and wind. thanx superbeat, karuna and shankara. i feel so blessed to know you and so very grateful for your generosity and hospitality. great times.

o miles and awesome memories on 06/23 and 32 miles from highway 50/south lake tahoe to cs1125 on 06/24. 1125 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 48 - 06/22/13

another awesome day. the others left camp around 04:00 and i was feeling so great that i ran a little in the morning. i ended up catching up with them by 07:00 and then made my way up and over carson pass.

when i got down to highway 88 there was a visitor's station with forestry volunteers. they had a supply of cookies, oranges, plums and coffee. so welcoming and so generous. two women showed up just passing by and because they were knowledgable about thru-hiking, they gave me a whole bunch of food, which was great cuz i was completely out. thanx eve and laurie (i hope i got that right!) . . .



the other four showed up shortly after. here is a pic . . . (sorry for the finger across the lens)


i then hiked with the other four the rest of the afternoon. i let them try out my super light backpack and had a great workout carrying their 45lb packs. we got to highway 50 and got an easy hitch from a guy with no sense of smell, lol!

i get to see some awesome dudes i hiked with on the appalachian trail! more to come . . .

27 miles from tamarac lake trail to highway 50. 1093 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 47 - 06/21/13

i left camp with the goal of getting to south lake tahoe in two days. i flew thru the morning and early afternoon and came to this cool section where the trail wound down into this valley. it was so amazing the way the trail carved along the cliffside, but the pic does not do it justice, as most of the don't. here it is anyway . . .


as i made my way down o ran in to super, the outfitter from mt. laguna who i met on day 2 of my pct hike. he has a little lull in his business until july 4th and decided to hike south for a little while. then, i ran in to mr. anderson, one of the amazing trail angels from back in the desert. he is doing a little nobo section.

my afternoon got even better when i ran in to moonshadow, izra, astrid, and shirpa. i met them way back silver pass and was so happy cuz they are all so great.

i ended up camping with them and had a great night.

36 miles from 1030 to tamarac lake trail. 1066 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 46 - 06/20/13

i got my usual early start and made my way up the long climb up to sonora pass. here is a video of me along the ridge . . .

i then made my way down to highway 108, which is, i guess, technically sonora pass. when i got there this other thru-hiker, heffe, pulled up in a car with his parents. they were so unbelievably kind and generous to me. they had apples and coffee and his mom ate half her peanut butter and apricot jelly sandwich and gave the rest to me. they then drove me down the road to the north kennedy meadows pack camp and store where i ate a huge lunch and got some extra food to get me to south lake tahoe.

after getting a ride back up to the trail i ended up running in to marie, whom i met back at red's meadow, as she was taking a break. i decided to hike the rest of the afternoon with her. on our way we ran into gnome god, a great guy from boston, and i was very happy to pay forward my good luck in getting a ride to kennedy meadows by sharing some food with him, as he was running low.

marie and i had a wonderful hike and the conversation was so great. here is our surprising view as we crested a pass on the hike up from the road . . .


we did a steep climb towards the end of the day and then set up camp, shared an awesome dinner, a nice and toasty campfire, and of course, some magical conversation. easily one of the best days on the trail. thanx marie!

27 miles from 1003 to cs1030. 1030 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 45 - 06/19/13

how amazing is the human body? so just this morning i can now put my full weight on my forefoot and can therefore push off with my foot. i am so very happy to be able to hike more normally again.

the great thing about my time off is that i have run into so many great people that i met earlier on the trail. it has been great to reconnect.

my goal for today was to make it to the 1000 mile marker or beyond. as i approached dorothy pass and the end of the yosemite wilderness i hiked thru grace meadow. holy mosquitos batman! i have never experienced something quite like this in my whole life. they were unbelievably thirsty and overwhelmingly numerous. i was so very happy to have my headnet.

just before the top of dorothy pass i met this great section hiking couple, steve and jen, with their totally awesome german shepherd.

shortly after dorothy pass i hiked pass the 1000 mile marker! here is a pic . . .


i made it just past the long lakes trailhead and bridge and slept very well.

30 miles from benson lake to mile 1003. 1003 mile total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 44 - 06/18/13

not much to write . . . today was just one of those days where i was in the zone. not a lot going on in my head, such a blessing, and i just hiked. it was quite blissful. there were many fords and the cold water felt great on my foot and seemed to act like a cold compress as i hiked along. i ended up going to benson lake. what is crazy is that two section hikers that i met way back around mile 338 told me to do the short side trail to benson lake because it is so beautiful. wow, were they correct. it actually reminded me of being on a beach in hawaii or something. here is my camp site . . .


yes, i jumped in and it felt glorious.

25 miles from glen aulin camp to benson lake. 973 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 43 - 06/17/13

i decided to sleep in late again, knowing i would limit my miles. my alarm clock this morning was a marmot who walked right in to my tent. i wish i had a video to show you, because it was quite an entertaining sight. he walked in to a guy line and when it snapped and made a noise he just shook his head like he was stunned and kept on trekking. very cute.

i made my way up to donohue pass and in to yosemite! here a pic of my first view of yosemite from donohue . . .



i made my way down from donohue, quite steeply, and entered in to the tuolumne meadow valley. so incredibly beautiful! no pics, however, because the mosquitos were ferocious.

i did get a pic of this buck with half his rack grown in as i walked by. he didn't seem to care about my presence . . .



i made it 15 miles to the tuolumne meadows store and cafe by 13:00 and filled both my food bag and tummy. it is 151 miles from the store to south lake tahoe, my next planned resupply, so with my injury i am planning on five days after today.

i continued on for another 6 miles to glen aulin camp. here are the tuolumne falls from the top and the bottom that i passed along the way . . .





i spent a great evening by the fire with three other thru-hikers.

21 miles from marie lakes trailhead to glen aulin camp. 948 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 42 - 06/16/13

so my first real day of hiking since my accident. not so bad. i decided to sleep in because i knew that i wasn't going to do many miles so that my body may heal.

this is my morning view . . .


i hiked along in the stunning ansel adams wilderness and finally ended up rejoing the john muir trail at thousand island lake in the afternoon . . .


i met a lovely family from san francisco just out for a weekend backpacking trip on the cliff shown above overlooking thousand island lake. it was great to see people enjoying the outdoors as a family.

i ended up making it 18 miles today without too much soreness and camped at this really sweet spot before donohue pass. i am really happy to be back on the trail and so at peace with my decision to leave even though my foot isn't 100%.

18 miles from 909 to the marie lakes trailhead. 927 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 41 - 06/15/13

i left nate's house and the lovely town of mammoth after a relaxing morning and got back to red's meadow by about noon.

something i have been conscious of during this hike is the potential for growth and evolution thru the interactions i may have with other souls. because of this, whenever i interact with new people, i check in to see if it feels like i should spend more time with whomever i meet.

i got a strong feeling to stay with some hikers who had just arrived in red's meadow shortly after i was dropped off by two generous and kind mammoth natives who were camp posting at one of the local campgrounds.

so i spent some time with marie, drama, and hooligan and thoroughly enjoyed myself. as i hiked out later in the afternoon, i got to this point where the trail did a sharp turn to the left. i couldn't quite make out the sign and then hooligan walked up and checked out the sign.

long story made short, hooligan and i took a wrong turn. several extra miles later, with my fresh and sore injuries, i found my way back on to the trail.

here is this theme again of the choice in how to perceive of and then act on an event in one's life. as with my recent accident, i could have chosen to be very upset and wrapped up in the pain and soreness of my injury and the hiking of needless miles. however, i shared a wonderful satsang with hooligan on our little detour . . .

if whatever the reason my mind comes up with to make sense of an event isn't satisfying enough for my ego, i always go back to a place of surrender. in my current state of consciousness, i do not know fully the reasons for this potentially trying detour, but i surrender in the knowing that there may be a larger picture i do not see. might i have been hurt by taking the correct turn and hiking more miles on the pct? is there someone i may not have met by hiking onward?

i currently do not possess the ability to know these things, but i trust and surrender that all happens for a reason and that therefore everything is always well . . .

just 3 miles from red's meadow to just after the pct/jmt split. 909 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct days 37 thru 40 - 06/11 - 06/14/13

big lessons for me here in mammoth. i went to the store to resupply and of course chose exercise over public transportation, cuz when you do something like this your motor is always going and you just want to move. i think it must have something to do with cortizol levels or something. this happened last year on the appalachian trail. i don't sleep much on the trail, maybe 4-6 hours a night, if that, and i am more than rested. so then when i get in town, then same thing happens. it seems to take about 2 zero days in a row to slow down and actually sleep for more than 4 hours at a time.

anyway, on the way to the store i had a pretty bad fall. after getting up and focusing on not passing out, i actually started laughing out loud. i mean, think of it. i walked 906 miles thru desert, rain, snow, up and down rugged trails with not one injury. i get to a town and fall . . . so me.

not boring you with the details, let's just say it involved a car and i am lucky to be alive. large patches of skin now missing from my back, elbows, hands, and buttocks aside, my right hand and left foot are not so good. this happened on tuesday morning. yesterday was not fun. it is always the day after that one comes to terms with the details of the injuries.

after the initial shock and the thought to go stay with family for a while, i am giving it until saturday to heal. of course my host, nate, has been more than generous offering his house for as long as i need to heal.

not sure what this is all about. maybe i needed to slow down? be humbled in the knowing and remembering of the fragility and eventual loss of everything in this physical world? just a random event? what kharma did i take on? lots of thoughts and wonderings. lots of time for reflection.

of course my family and friends have been amazing. big lesson for me in accepting the generous gift from nate to stay as long as i need. susie has been so caring and helpful. ramloti and ashram crew sends their love and the blessings from the divine mother.

my extended family both in crestone and in denver. people who have opened their lives and homes inviting me in often times as a part of their families . . .

my closest friend kirsten . . . always there and always dedicated to our mutual growth. what more could one ask?

my guru and guide, paige. completely dedicated to my evolution totally beyond the constraints and rules of our current matrix of our collective culture . . .

have i mentioned what amazing parents i have? let's face it, they have an out-of-the-box son. probably not at all what they thought or dreamed of upon my birth or life. they have been nothing but supportive and loving.

i am so beyond thankful. this injury and time of reflection has served its purpose of opening my heart even further. of course my ego wanted to feel like a victim - to make this in to an attack against me. it is what it is and my only job is to learn from it. we do not hurt each other intentionally . . . ever. i have always rejected the idea of evil. i struggled for a long time with the idea of good, thinking it was the better of the two choices. this is precisely the physical metaphor that is hiking for me. when one is up on these ridgelines at 12, 13000 feet, walking the fine line where both sides of the trail, either choice - right/left, good/evil, black/white, dark/light, happy/sad, love/hate, etc - aka duality is laid out in front of you, you begin to realize that either choice, even though one may appear to be better than the other, is still a choice within duality. the true beingness that one experiences is in the choice of neither and both at the same time. this is walking the ridgeline. the knife's edge of balance between duality. it is as christ proclaimed on the cross, "forgive them mother/father consciousness, they know not what they do . . ." we crash in to each other, not fully knowing what we do because this is the experience we came here for - separation . . . and what a great experiment it is . . .

o miles and infinite reflection. thanx to all . . .

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 36 - 06/10/13

i flew from square lake with the knowing that i would soon be in mammoth so i can fatten up on some town food. when i got to reds meadow, just as a thunderstorm was starting to make some noise, i got a ride from two awesome guys from switzerland on vacation here in the states doing some. hiking in the sierras. thanx guys - great to meet you!

i went to india in march with a dear friend, ramloti, a resident at the ashram where i have been living this past year. here sister susie came along with us, along with her friend annie, now both dear friends of mine. here is us at the ashram in haidakhan, india, along with the pujari, gohari, who lives on the gufa side of the gautama ganga river . . .



when i was in san diego before i left for the pct and having a last town meal with ramloti's son and his amazing wife and family, susie inquired whether or not the trail goes near mammoth. i told her yes, that it was one of the major resupply stops in the high sierra. she told me her son nate has a house in mammoth and would ask if it was alright to stay there.

when i got to kennedy meadows, i fb'd susie to take her up on the generous offer. long story short, including me having limited communication via only wifi and getting in a day earlier than scheduled, susie and nate have been amazing. he opened his beautiful house to me, even ensuring the jacuzzi was turned up. how incredible. i feel so blessed! planning on taking a zero tomorrow here in mammoth and at nate and ali's beautiful house.

thank you to ramloti for sharing your beautiful, amazing, and so very generous family with me. thanks to susie for caring for me so much in setting this whole thing up. and thanks to nate and ali for so generously and openly sharing your house with me. it is quite humbling to feel so welcomed and cared for with such ease. thank you . . .

20 miles from square lake to reds meadow. 906 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 35 - 06/09/13

i attempted to wake up at 02:00 to try and catch the ferry to vvr, but i pressed the wrong button in the middle of the night on my watch and switched the time to east coast time, hehe. oh well, it obviously was not meant to be.

my feet are totally fine. it always amazes me how efficiently the human body can heal itself. even my heal feels fine - there is a large lateral crack that scabbed over nicely, helped along by keeping my feet out of my sleeping bag all night.

as i hiked along i was entertained by my ego mind being full of regret for not having pushed on a little further the previous day. the ascent up to seldon pass proved to be quite easy and there was almost no snow. i chose not to get involved with this idea of regret and thoroughly enjoyed my morning.

here is a pic of me at the top of seldon pass . . .


i decided to hike the side trail to vvr because all i had left for food was a pop tart, which was gone by 06:30. in two hours i ate a big lunch, checked email, resupplied, and caught the 16:30 ferry back across the lake. i decided to get in and out simply because their internet was by satellite and extremely slow and i had decided to zero in mammoth, which i will get to tomorrow.

here is a pic on the way up to silver pass . . .


here is a video at the top of silver pass . . .

and finally, here is a beautiful sunset from just below silver pass . ..



34 miles for day with 6 to vvr and 28 pct miles from florence lake trail to square lake. 886 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 34 - 06/08/13

it's my mum's birthday. that was my first thought. not bad for not really ever knowing the date or day of the week while out in the wilderness. happy birthday mum! (even though you will read this after the fact . . .)

this was the most challenging day, bar none! the morning was totally great. i made my way down the remaining 8 miles from mather pass and then started the 10 miles up to muir pass. (as a side note, i have been hiking the john muir trail as the pct since i started the whitney side trail) i met a jmt sobo hiker about 4 miles from the top and was warned that i was in for some snow. now, to give you an idea of my speed, i typically can hike between 3-4 mph, even on the ascents. this is how i get so many miles in the day while still stopping to enjoy the views and interesting souls i meet. ya, it took me 2.5 more hours to get to the top of muir pass. i hiked thru a couple miles of snow. here is a pic on the way up . . .



unfortunately, i have no other pics on the way up or at the top because of the snow blindness. the sun on the snow was so intense that under my chin and my eyelids are burnt. i was squinting even with my sunglasses on.

but, here is a picture of a lake on the way down. so amazingly clear . . .



yes, those are mountains reflected on the surface.

the snow on the north side was not as much as on the south side, oddly enough, and the grade of the trail was not enough to glissade, but hopefully i will catch a video of me slippin and sliddin soon enough.

i actually had plans to do over forty miles today, getting me close enough to lake edison at mile 878 so i could catch the 09:45 ferry over to vermillion valley resort. by 19:00, however, my body was in full protest. my feet were in a lot of pain from being wet and cold for nine hours. at one point i had a pain so sharp i was afraid a large chunk of my right heal came off. i know gross, right? so i stopped and quickly set up my tent, because the mosquitos are unbelievably ferocious, made a big dinner, and will go to sleep momentarily.

my lesson for today is simply to not get so stuck on an idea held by my ego mind that i sacrifice my body or soul. sacrifice not required . . .

39 miles from cs819 to just before the florence lake trailhead. 858 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 33 - 06/07/13

after hiking with hacksaw off and on since way back in big bear, he got off the trail today at kearsage pass to visit his wife. i'll miss him as he is the only other hiker i know to do the miles i have been doing. guess it will be solo for a while.

here is a beautiful mountain on the way up to kearsage . . .



i said goodbye for now to hacksaw and made my way up to what was the first of three passes i summited today. this is glen pass from the north side and a pic of another hiker navigating the snow field i had just hiked thru . . .



i made my way down into this valley and had a little snack and a dip in the most beautiful glacier lake . . .


i then made my way up to summit my second pass of the day - pinchot pass. here is a great waterfall i saw on the way up . . .

here is a video from the top of pinchot pass . . .

here is a video from my hike thru the valley over to mather pass . . .

and finally here is a video from the top of mather pass . . .

this next picture is of the snow field coming down from mather pass. the pic does not do it justice as it was by far the most difficult crossing thus far. i did actually glissade down the side of the mountain at one point and attempted to video it, but i hit the stop button early on by mistake. oh well, hopefully more slippin and slidin to come . . .



and finally to end another epic day, i roll into the camp site i picked for the night and i meet someone i hiked with last year on the appalachian trail. diesel is here, but not the kid, in an amazing show of synchronicity. unbelievable! i met him and his son, aka "the kid," who was 14 at the time, in harper's ferry back in april of last year. so cool.

my lesson for today is just another confirmation of surrendering. my mind/ego wondered if i have been pushing my body too hard and it was fearful of the mather pass snow late in the day, but then i end up meeting someone from the appalachian trail because i surrendered to my intuition to push on . . .

34 miles from cs785 to cs819. 819 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 32 - 06/06/13

mt whitney! highest point in the contiguous 48 states. recent satellite actually has it at 14,505 feet. i left at 05:15 with hacksaw and zoomed up the mountain and the 4000 feet of elevation gain. here is a pic of some snow we had to hike thru . . .


i made it to the top by 07:50 - here is the plaque . . .



i shot this little video from the top . . .

here are pics of me alone at the top as well as with hacksaw . . .







oh, and here is me being crazy at the top . . .



we made our way down and jumped in guitar lake - brrrr, but refreshing. after a quick lunch back where we camped last night, we made our way with the goal of summiting forester pass on the same day.

here is an amazing meadow on the way over to forester . . .

here is a video of the climb right before forester. i know it is hard to believe, but we actually climbed up that little tear drop of snow at the top of the pass shown at the beginning and end of the video. crazy and amazing all at once . . .

here is that little tear drop of snow right before we crossed it . . .



and here is a video of the top of forester - 13,200 feet and the highest point on the pct . . .

here is me behind the sign at forester as well as hacksaw and i standing on the snow pass at the top of forester . . .






finally here is a pic of hacksaw so you can see the snow fields we had to traverse . . .



truly epic day. i can safely say i have never experienced something like this in one day and i am truly grateful.

16 miles of whitney side trip plus 18 pct mile from upper crabtree meadow to cs785. 785 pct miles total. 34 miles for the day.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 31 - 06/05/13

sunrise from 10663 feet . . .


chicken spring lake where i ate lunch . . .


the view from 11400 feet . . .


crabtree meadow at the base of mt. whitney with deer and marmots running around everywhere . . .


my camp spot with whitney in the background . . .


and tomorrow i will summit the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states. look for a 360 degree view on tomorrow's post! i am loving the sierras . . . simply amazing.

31 pct miles to crabtree meadow plus 1 on the whitney trail. 766 total pct miles.

- tribhu (tree-boo)