pct day 30 - 06/04/13

wow has everything changed! it is like a whole different country. this is a mountain creek in the morning . . .



the last time i saw a stream with this much water was whitewater back at mile 220! imagine that - not seeing a large amount of water in 480 miles.

this is the meadow i hiked into by 09:30 this morning . . .



here is another stream (down to the right) for my snack break at 10:30 . . .



you get the picture. the whole landscape has changed. here is a view from a rock about 2/3 of the way to 10,500ft . . .



and here is the view from where i camped at 10,663 feet . . .



amazing! so happy to be in the sierras. my lesson for today is the old adage "this too shall pass." the desert was an experience. one, in fact, that i wouldn't give up or trade for anything. but up here, up on the peaks and the alpine meadows is where my heart just opens and rejoices. wish you were all here to see it!

33 miles from kennedy meadows to cs735. 735 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 29 - 06/03/13

kennedy meadows! to a tourist just driving thru, this little mountain ranch town seems sparce, only offering junk food and not even a gas station. but to a pct hiker this is a huge milestone and the gateway to the sierras. i cruised along my easy 8 miles and had a blast hanging out with all the other excited hikers all day. i ate so much food i was probably sickening to watch. i did this because my goal is to make it to vermillion valley resort at mile 877 in 7 days. the reason for this is that the resupply in this section of the sierras is very inconvenient. i am already skinny and probably already at the weight i was upon finishing the appalachian trail, which is probably close to my balance weight, or the weight at which a hiker needs to eat enough calories to not start burning muscle and/or feeling sick. the problem with this seven day plan is that i can't possibly bring enough food! it won't fit in my bear canister and i can't carry the weight without injuring myself. so, i ate, and ate, and ate some more. lasagna dinner, salad, veggie burger, 1st pint of ben and jerry's ice cream, ice cream and cake for dessert after dinner, chips, candy bar, 3 sodas, skittles, starbursts, 2nd pint of ben and jerry's ice cream . . . oh and the stuff i ate on the trail on the hike in . . . gross! hopefully it is enough. we shall see. heading out tomorrow to do some of the best hiking in the world.

8 miles from mather creek to kennedy meadows. 702 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 28 - 06/02/13

i made my way from camp and saw the most amazing sunrise. the sky is very hazy and therefore the you look directly at the sun and it was this deep, deep red colour. i am not including a picture only because it so severely does not do justice to the colour of the sun this morning. other than the sunrise, today was just one of those uneventful days - the last remnants of the desert with a hike thru a large burn area on my way to kennedy meadows. at the very end of the day i was rewarded with a beautiful meadow, a thick grove of pine trees coming up for the next day, and a cold, yummy creek right next to my campsite. i can already feel the terrain starting to change. yay!

38 miles from cs656 to mather creek. 694 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 27 - 06/01/13

i decided to get up and on the trail by 04:00 to beat the heat in the desert. here is a pic of pre-dawn in the high desert . . .


i made it about seven miles and then decided to listen to my body again as it wanted a nap. i made it to the water cache at mile 631 by 08:00 and after a little rest, i made a big climb wondering if i would next get water in 33 miles. i nice test in observing my ego as lots of fear came up regarding this. there was talk of possible trail magic at walker pass, 20 miles in, but just like a classic telephone game, you can't always trust trail rumors.

the rumor proved to be true! here is a pic of the setup at walker pass . . .


i swear an ice cold soda has never tasted so good in my whole life. then i made a fresh sandwich and then they served dinner! ya, i hung around for 4 hours. so many great people. i even saw yogi there, the author of the handbook for the pct and someone i hiked with a bit last year on the appalachian trail.

i hit the trail again at 19:00 and made it to cs656. here is sunset on the hike up from walker pass . . .



35 miles from cs621 to cs656. 656 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 26 - 05/31/13

i woke up this morning and started with some great trail. this is a pic of my morning . . .



it looks rather divine, no? i continued on thru beautiful pine forests thinking that the desert may be behind me. here is a pic of the 600 mile marker . . .



there were these two springs along my way during the morning and early afternoon that were just flowing with cold, clean, yummy water. i even laid down at the second spring and took an hour long nap, something i don't usually do. when i left the spring i continued on thru these beautiful pine forests, but then i noticed things starting the rapidly change. the vegetation was getting smaller, the path sandier, things just all together drier. i knew there was a water cache coming up, but little did i know just how crucial it would become. i quickly found myself in the most dry and deserty (i know it is not a word, bear with me . . .) section of the whole trail. it was also quite warm. when i got to the water cache at 16:00' there was a large group of about 20 hikers all crowded under some joshua trees all sharing what little shade could be found. i overheard talk of the water report and when i checked i discovered that the next "for sure" water, meaning hoping the caches were not empty, was in 15 miles and another 33 miles. whoa!

i decided to trek on and left at around 16:30. at 19:00, having only gone 7 miles, i found my body to be very, very tired. i quickly set up camp and was fast asleep by 19:30. i am glad i decided to listen to my body, as this is my lesson for the day . . .

28 miles from cs593 to cs621. 621 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct day 25 - 05/30/13

after a relaxing day in tehachapi i called a trail angel on a list provided by the chamber of commerce of people willing to give rides to thru hikers. on the first call lauren answered and gave me a ride back to the trail. she told me a couple interesting facts on the way to the trail. first, that there were gusts of wind up to 90 mph when i hiked into tehachapi two days ago. this explains why i was stopped dead in my tracks several times. apparently it was so bad that the company that runs the wind farm i hiked thru pulled all the workers away from the wind turbines and they even had one of the turbines break apart from the wind. second, that this wind farm that i hiked thru is the largest in the world. i believe it because i coulnd't possible count all of the turbines i saw.

after dropping me off, lauren wouldn't even take some gas money. people are just so generous! i ended up seeing a fellow hiker, hacksaw, that i have been hiking with off an on since idyllwild because he tends to do big miles as i do. we hiked together the entire day and it was great to hike fast and long with someone of a similar pace. the pic below is of the mojave desert and the little town of mojave as we hiked up from route 58.



35 miles from willows springs road to a camp site at 593. 593 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)

pct days 25 to ??? - special update

hey everyone,

thanx for all the support and for following my blog.

unfortunately, because of slow to non-existent internet connection here in kennedy meadows, i will not be able to update since i left tehachapi.  all is going very well and i am currently in kennedy meadows at mile 702.  i will leave tomorrow for the high sierra where i will be in the wilderness for the next 7 days and therefore be unreachable.  i will update when i get to vermillion valley resort in about 7 days.  lots of great pictures to share!!!  apparently by hiking fast i made it past the powerhouse fire that just burned 40 square miles of area i just hiked thru, even starting in the area i left on the same day!  crazy!  you can read about it here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/02/wildfires-california-mexico-evacuation/2381805/

know that all is awesomely well with me and i will update approx on the 10th.  mum, happy birthday and i love you very much!

tribhu