Mammoth Lakes to Kennedy Meadows

Day 86 Mile 1746.4 - 1761.9

Well, we didnt get out early but not particularly late. We shared a cab with some other hikers heading back out. The cab was turned around at the entrance to Devil's Postpile National Monument because the the road had too much ice. Instead, we were dropped off at Horseshoe Lake for 3.5 miles back to the trail.

There was still snow on the ground and the air was crisp. The plan was to do an easy 15.

We camped at Lake Virginia and little did I know that I was in for the coldest night on trail yet. Everything froze. The condensation from my breath permeated my sleeping bag and iced the outside.

Day 87 Mile 1761.9 - 1783.7

Froze my tits off last night. Dipped into the single digits and I was wearing all of my clothes. Getting up was hard and packing up harder as my fingers didnt work.

Eventually, I did get things packed up and was moving. The first climb of the day was up and over Silver Pass. I was impressed by Chief Lake on the way up. I love when there are massive cliffs rising around water.

After the pass the day was leisurely, making it to Bear Creek to hunker down for another cold night. On the way the day warmed up a bit but I never did take my fleece off.

Day 88 Mile 1784 - 1807.1

Friggin cold in the morning. Solar and Lunar have a little thermometer that pegged the morning air at 15f. My gloves are not up to the task.

There was a rock hop just after leaving camp and if my foot had touched that icy water, I would have been very upset.

Selden was the pass for today. Easy peasy considering we camped part way up the climb. Marie Lake was another stunner.

It looked like it would be easy after that and the day mostly was. There was just one mile where the trail shot up 800ft. I realize that I can't keep up with Sour Patch and Willy Wonka during the day. The elevation is limiting how I push.

At Evolution Creek, I took my shoes off for the first time in ages to cross a stream. I cursed at the water for being so cold. The trail made up for it with Colby Meadow, a top 5 view in the Sierra for me.

At camp, we enjoyed a campfire that kept us out of our sleeping bags until 8 instead of 7!

Day 89 Mile 1807.1 - 1829.6

One of my great regrets of this hike will be not camping at Muir Hut at the top of the pass. The views going up have been the best so far and being there for sunrise/set would have been special. Everyone that I have met that stayed hasn't regretted it.

On the way up Wonka and I went super slow because we stopped for so many photos. I didnt make it to the top until 11 and stayed for lunch.

The way down was hard on the knees with a lot of large rocks and steps but eventually became easier. It stayed easy all the way into camp just before the "Golden Staircase".

Day 90 Mile 1829.6 - 1853.4

The Golden Staircase really needs direct sunlight to get the most out of it. Still, it was beautiful going up.

Going up Mather Pass

The top of Mather Pass

I came upon Wonka as the trail went around the first of the Palisade Lakes. He was excited about something. While chatting up some JMT hikers, they said they had way too much food and asked if he wanted some. He was hesitant but when the food turned out to be 6 Mountain House meals he just couldn't pass the opportunity.

The rest of the way up Mather Pass was pretty easy. Rocky steadily graded trail and a consistent pace of movement. I felt pretty fast when I flew past a few groups of section hikers.

The top was cold, windy, and held incredible views. Kept moving shorty after arriving. Still have another pass to climb over.

The way down was a dizzying number of switchbacks. I imagine that glissading down would be fun and a lot faster if the mountainside were covered with feet of snow instead of these hard rocks.

Going up Pinchot Pass was really really easy. The north side was amazing and I kept stopping to look back and take in the view. The south side was beautiful as well but the trail was a bit harder on the knees. The decent to camp was long and rocky with many large stone steps.

At camp, a fire and the mountain house Wonka shared lifted my mood.

Day 91 Mile 1853.4 - 1864.1

The moment I felt I was in the “real” Sierra

Yet another cold morning in the Sierra. On the menu today is Glen and Kearsarge. Glen was 3500 ft of gain to the top and went quickly. The scenery made me stop and appreciate that these are the views you expect from the Sierra.

At the top, we finally got some pictures of the three of us before heading back down.

I thought Kearsarge would be easier but it got significantly steep towards the end. We planned on having lunch at the top because there was supposed to be signal. Only Wonka had signal but we still had lunch before deciding we could try to make it to Bishop for the night.

Day 92 Zero

Day 93 Zero

Day 94 Zero

Day 95 Mile 1864.1 - 1886.1

A big day today, the last big pass of the trail. I tried to get up at 3 to be at the top for sunrise but at 3 I decided sleeping in my bag was more pressing.

We had a little drop to 9600ft before we started our climb to 13,200. Nice and gradual. The trail never got very steep. I didn’t want it to end as once it did there were no more. Eventually, I did make it to the pass around 11 and it was fairly crowded. 15 hikers were counted at the top. Looking south, I could see the trail stretching for miles. I would not want to be doing this in the snow. I would definitely have loose bowels.

On the way down I talked about camera gear with Sprinkles.

Got the first view of Whitney 7ish miles out from camp. We made camp across the creek from the ranger station, the farthest we could legally camp. We will get up in the morning and slack pack to the top.

Day 96 Mile 1886.1 - 1948.5

To make it to the top for sunrise, we started hiking at 3am. In retrospect, I would have liked another 30 minutes so I didn’t feel so rushed on the way up.

The trail up Whitney wasn’t so bad. It never got very steep. It was about 4000 feet up over 7 miles with a lot of switchbacks. From the comments on Guthooks I expected it to be far rockier.

The trouble started just before the switchbacks. Wind pummeled us from there till after leaving the summit. It wasn’t a little wind either. A constant forty gusting higher to the point I was having to catch myself falling over. Did I mention it was cold? It was definitely in the teens or twenties as I was wearing everything but couldn't feel my face, my hands hurt from cold, and my feet were going numb. I could see how far we had come in the darkness based off of the headlamps moving far far below. Willy Wonka nearly turned around a mile from the top. We persevered and made it to the emergency shelter on the summit where we all huddled trying to get warm.

I tried venturing out a few times for pictures but it was hard with the howling wind and numb hands. I couldn't stand up straight and could hold the camera steady. I did see sunrise and had my picture taken. The only one that isn't blurry is a half smile with snot covering my entire top lip.

Inside the hut I got my sleeping bag out to warm up. It was then that I realized that I was feeling worse the longer I was at the top, an increasing headache and nausea. Wonka and Sour were freezing and we all made a break out of the shelter and down the mountain. I felt better the further down I got and the more the sun warmed the air but I didn’t feel good until I got below 12000. The headache persisted throughout the day.

Back at base camp, Wonka and Sour Patch enjoyed a celebratory joint while I put myself down for a nap. The cold and altitude took a lot out of me.

When I got up i got to hear the story of the grey plastic bag. Apparently, on the way up the climb Wonka spotted a grey heavy duty sealed bag. Thinking he had found a Mountain House or trail magic someone had left, he investigated. Upon opening it, he learned that it was a human waste bag someone didn’t pack out. Wonka was a little more than disappointed.

From nap time, we went 6 miles to Rock Creek where we could enjoy a fire.

Day 97 Mile 1892.5 - 1948.5

The day was easy but not much else to note. The terrain is quickly changing. The ground was a fine gravel for most of the day with juniper trees emerging from what reminded me of a zen garden. The garden maintained and groomed by the flow of snow melt.

I picked the campsite here because it was supposed to have a good view according to Guthooks. The view didn’t disappoint. As the day grew long, I watched the shadow of the mountain range I was on crawl towards the other side of the valley and eventually engulf it. Wonka and Sour Patch camped a bit further on because my site was too windy. Inside the tent, the wind wasn’t a bother.

Day 98 Mile 1917.7 - 1948.5

As I had wanted, I got to enjoy a nice sunrise over Owens Valley. The salt farms at the bottom reflected light from the sky and looked really interesting before the sun light hit them.

Today was so easy. From camp, the trail descended for miles on nice terrain. I put my poles away early on and just walked. The only noteworthy climb of the day was 1600ft to 10500, the highest the trail will go until the border. On the way up it felt so easy and I reflected on just how hard gains used to be at the start of Washington even though they were much lower.

After that little hill, it was a gradual decent to 6000ft. There is so much oxygen that I can feel the pep in my step again.

We are clearly out of the Sierra now. The craggy peaks and walls of granite have been replaced with rolling hills. There were even cactus towards the end of the day.

Day 99 Mile 1948.5 - 1955.3

Even though we were down low last night the temp kept itself cold. Really cold.

We three walked into Kennedy Meadows, hiking mecca, early in the morning. The general store wasnt open yet and we planned on going to Triple Crown Outfitters so we caught a hitch with a friendly local to Grumpy Bear's Retreat. While the breakfast was alright and cheap, my overall impression of the town was a great disappointment. Grumpy Bear's was a filthy mess, the shower was disgusting, and the employees were jaded. There is nothing here that I felt raised it to the level of most other towns on trail.

A bright spot was the outfitter. Yogis and Worldwide were informative and helpful. I ended up caving to the cold nights and bought a 10° Western Mountaineering bag.

We got out a bit later in the day and made it a few miles before hunkering down.