8/16/14 Saturday. To Get Great Views You Have To Work Hard. 8/17/14 Sunday. Benson Lake, the Riviera of the Sierras.

8/16/14. 13 miles

It was cold last night camping so near the meadow at 8,800 feet. My hands burned with cold, I wore my wool hat and down jacket as we started hiking.  I kept trying to put one hand then the other under my jacket to warm up my hands,  it didn't work too well.   We wound down beside the meadow & Fall Creek for 6 miles.

Then we stopped in the sun by Wilma Lake for a break and water.  Next we climbed almost to 9,000 feet to Bond Pass and beyond.  Peggy went before me so we hiked separately for awhile, it was a rugged 2.5 mile climb into another valley. 

Granite steps uphill often were oversized and hard for me to get up.  

One trunk hosted two Bristle Cone Pine trees that rose above me beside the trail. 

Climbing up and up, a very rocky trail.

This type of uphill stepping stones was exhausting.

Looking down from the trail was just a spill of boulders.

At the top I met 3 hikers going northbound, we said a breathless hello and passed by one another.  My trail began to descend for 2.5 miles and the views were spectacular!   The trail down was steep and very rocky, really a hard trail to have to walk on with lots of loose rock that easily slid and shifted under foot. There was a river at the bottom where I met Peggy.  We had a break together and decided to go to Rancheria Creek in Kerrick Canyon 2 miles away.   The uphill section was 1 mile straight up, really a hard climb that took me an hour.  When I stopped to catch my breath the views were astounding, I was up so high the peaks were all around me.  The last mile was downhill to the creek.  Peggy and I arrived  exhausted and strung out.  We found a camp site, set up and went our own way to do chores and try to relax a bit.  I found a pool downstream to soak my feet in and wash up a little, anything to try to rejuvenate myself.  Dinner was at 6:15 and we both felt better but by 7:30 we were zipped into our tents for the night.  We were curious about Critter and Candice, they shouldn't have been far behind us.

(unbeknown to us, Candice actually did hike into the camp area after us but didn't cross the creek where we camped, she stayed on the other side.  She thought she saw our tents but was too tired to come over the creek to investigate.)

8/17/14. 12.75 miles

It was another cold night, getting ready in the morning was hard and both of us were ready to hike to warm up.  We began with 4.5 uphill miles into a lake basin.   Peggy does best uphill so I didn't see her for awhile. 

I met her at this lake where the trail passed.   We prowled around a little wishing we had time to camp and enjoy it more. 

More lake jewels.

We would be seeing this crag as a backdrop to Benson Lake later. The trail went around it dropping another lake basin.

A small lake lower down the mountain as we neared the crag and Benson Lake. 

After the small lake we started descending, dropping below the crag on a trail that needed to be worked on, it was in pretty bad shape.  We slipped and slid down the trail and as I got to the bottom I lost the trail.  I saw Benson Lake through the trees so I knew what direction to take but I ended up following game trails then a horse trail and finally exiting the forest into a CCC/NFS camp doing trail work on both sides of Benson Pass.  Asking directions I walked down the beach (granite ground fine like sand) until I found the place where the PCT came out of the forest to the beach.  I hung up my orange wind shirt on a tree limb to flag Peggy my position.  Ten minutes later Peggy came walking up. 

This is the Riviera of the Sierras, Benson Lake.  We rested in the shade, read books and had lunch.  There was a constant breeze making waves that lapped the shore.  It felt like the beach and we were the only ones there for about an hour.  Ahhhh!

After 1.5 hours we knew we needed to get to work and put more miles on the day.  Our destination was Smedberg Lake 3 miles up at 9,500 feet elevation. 

We ended up hiking just below this peak and three quarters of the way around it.  What a slog, it took hours on rough trail.

Closer to the peak. 

Closer still until I grew sick of seeing it!

It was 6:30 pm when we dropped into the basin for Smedberg Lake, the sun was getting low in the sky and there was so much rock around the lake it was hard to find a place to camp, keeping in mind the rules of Yosemite Park, 100 ft from both lake and trail, we searched and searched for campsites.

First views of Smedberg Lake. 

Finally we each found our own sites.  This was actually one of my favorites, a really scenic spot on a rock shelf above lake and trail. Peggy was on a level spot near the trail.   By the time camp was set up, water filtered and boiled for dinner, I was eating it by my tent watching night fall at 8 pm.  Tomorrow looks to be much the same as today.  I feel like the trail is getting the best of me even though we have lowered our daily mileage.  BUT... I love being up high and getting to see this wonderful landscape.  So tomorrow I will put on my pack and get up to Benson Pass at 10,100 feet.

8/14/14 Thursday. 11,000 feet at Sonora Pass. 8/15/14 Friday. Yosemite Park

8/14/14. 11 miles

After having breakfast at the lodge Peggy, Critter, Candice ( who hitched into Kennedy Meadows North about an hour after we did Tuesday) and I met at the front so we could get a ride up to the trail head with Frank, an employee of the Pack Station.  He takes clients into the wilderness with his pack train of horses and mules.  

Thank you for the ride, Frank !  That narrow, winding road would have been an impossible walk!

Peggy, Critter & Candice

The 4 of us took off hiking within minutes of each other to chug up the next 1,000 feet in 2.5 miles.  I was awestruck at the barren beauty. 

See the trail that runs across the rocky mountainside?

Low growing ground plants hug the soil.

The wind was whipping around us, nothing in sight to stop it, we occasionally found a bush or rock to rest beside. A sign said we'd entered the Emigrant Wilderness Area in the Stanislaus National Forest.

The wind was whipping across the surface of this lake, we saw a doe and fawn ahead of us on the PCT silhouetted against the sky.

The trail rounded this bowl and went over the pass into another basin. We hiked for 6 miles at 10 and 11,000 feet. 

Peggy & I took a break here in the rocks, the trail continued over the edge of the mountain and we wondered where on earth it was going next.

This was my view when I looked to my right.  A river down below and more barren mountains with granite peeking through.

The trail actually goes over the flat saddle to the right and dropped down into a forested valley with a stream.  We saw the granite range of the High Sierras stretched out to the horizon in front of us. Very daunting to me, but Peggy felt like she'd arrived home.  The Sierras are her favorite hiking place. 

There are the High Sierras. 

We switchbacked down the bare hills into the forest and found our campsite.  Shortly after we set up Critter and then Candice came in and set up camp.  We were fixing dinner when Stefan, from Germany, came in.  He'd not seen anyone for 3 days and was anxious to chat.  As we ate dinner together he began dipping into his food with a V shaped tent stake.  Seems he'd lost his spoon and this was working for him!  Critter had a plastic spoon she'd been carrying as an extra so she gave it to him!

Our campsite.  

Peggy and Stefan talked until after dark,  thinking the 3 days without people had been hard on him,  she encouraged him to take a zero day at Kennedy Meadows Pack Station to rest up.

 

8/15/14  13 miles.

One of the changes Peggy and I have made on this section is to take it slower, we've added 1 more day to the schedule and lowered the mileage from 15-18 to 11-13 miles per day.  The granite made it harder to do the planned mileage and we were feeling exhausted.  This morning we began by descending then going over a pass which opened into granite landscape.  

We came to Lake Harriett and took a break at the shore.  

We passed through granite basins and pretty lakes tucked into them.

Then we saw the Yosemite National Park Boundary marker.  

We planned on a nice lunch break at Dorothy Lake.  It was a big lake with beautiful granite backdrops but pretty windy. We waded in the water and read by the shore.  At 3:30 we left to hike 4 more miles to camp near water by a meadow.  Walking through a long meadow we met a Ranger with a dozen pack animals.  He checked our permits, bear canisters, asked us questions about the " leave no trace" policy and left with a comment about his animals bring set loose in the meadow that night and we may hear bells that he'll have on his horses.  We didn't think anything about it. 

The sun went down behind the ridge and our camp became dark and chilled.

Critter and Candice decided to camp near us.  Critter in her tent and Candice "cowboy camping" with no tent.

Later the ranger came by and made Candice move further from the trail and reminded us of the Wilderness Act which states you must be 100 ft from water and the trail to camp. Candice moved up into the tree line.   About midnight we were all awakened by bells clanging and hooves  tromping through our camp.  Those dozen mules and horses, let loose in the meadow, chose to come visit.  The mules actually bedded down all around Candice and wandered past Critter's tent.  I heard them both talking to the animals,  "get out of here!",  "Go away!"  Then I head Candice say things like "Lie down".  From the sound of the bells the horses went away for awhile then came back and led the mules away down the trail. We later found out the mules lay down all around Candice, munching grass by her head and happy to be near people!  They stayed by her about an hour when the horses came clanging back, gathered the mules and took off.  The Ranger never came looking for them and we have wondered if he ever got them back! Candice & Critter had quite the night, the animals never entered our camp which was separated from theirs by a large rock.

8/11/14 Monday. Peggy Celebrates 4 months on the Trail 8/12/14 Tuesday. From Granite To Red Volcanic Rock and Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

8/11/14.  16 miles

With the exception of 1 week rest in Medford Peggy has been walking for 4 months having begun her hike April 11th!

Neither of us wanted to get up at 5:30 this morning but we were up and on our way over the pass by 6:30am

To our right was a bowl from what we guess was an old volcano plus other cone shaped mountains nearby.  The Highland Lakes are tucked into these mountains but they are on the other side of the valley, not on the PCT.

 We didn't need water in the meadow that we passed so we hiked on to Wolf Creek where we took a break, filtered water and did some rinsing of socks in a spare plastic bag.  We've entered the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.  

This is a barbed wire fence and gate that keeps cattle from roaming where they don't belong.  There were many such gates we had to open and close in the area.  Cattle and the clang of bells around their necks became common  and not a welcome experience on this section of trail.  Cow droppings on the trail, fouling water and their hooves churning up the PCT make for unpleasant hiking. 

All of them looking at us with suspicion. 

Tall craggy mountains

and rocky crevasses where soil  gave way and washed down the mountains leaving the trail destroyed were all common sights in this section.

Approaching this pass there was a pile of bright white rock 

that contrasted with the red soil, really pretty colors.

Both of us are feeling tired, the miles are hard to crank out.  As we rested by a stream a solo woman hiker named Candice approached.  We chatted, she's just out of medical school and hiking a 300 mile section to renew herself.  She told us of another solo woman hiker a short way behind her named Critter. We'd met Critter in N California the day we got to Oregon!  Now she was hiking SOBO like we were!  We may see her tomorrow when we all should arrive at Kennedy Meadows North for a zero day.

Peggy & I decided to hike another 3.5 miles to position ourselves to get to Hwy 108 at a reasonable time tomorrow to hitch a ride.

The last miles were difficult for me, I was having trouble with energy and breath (we are at 8-9,000 ft elevation and that could be a factor).  Just making miles on the granite trail are considerably harder.

Thunder began rumbling and we were trying to get to the campsite before rain started so we were hurrying.

Rain is coming.

Finally drops started coming down as I scooted into the site Peggy had chosen, she was just starting to put up her tent when I joined her.  We got tents up and our stuff inside when Candice came by.  She decided to go 1 mile more and camp by herself.  Peggy & I got water boiling and food ready when thunder and lightening began.  Rain and hail came pouring down, thunder upon thunder rolled far away interrupted by loud claps nearby. Quite the display.  We were zipped up snug as the storm blasted overhead.

8/12/14.  11 miles

The rain got between my ground cloth and tent last night because the ground was slightly sloped, but inside I stayed pretty dry.  By 5:30 when we got up there hadn't been much rain for awhile so the tent fly wasn't too wet.  It's cold and windy this morning,  rain clouds filling the sky so we are wearing jackets and pack covers.

We continued to descend into the deep valley between two steep granite mountains.

This granite face is directly across from us this morning.  Grey in the cloudy morning light it's nevertheless awesome in it's height and make up.  Ledges dot the face, full grown trees grow on those ledges, some cracks have water cascading down them from the top peak flowing down into the E Fork of the Carson River at the bottom that we can hear but not yet see.

Near the bottom these alder trees were a nice contrast to pine and fir that we normally saw.  The trail began to climb out of the canyon.

Every little freshet was running with water from last nights' storm.

The wet rock strewn trail ascends the steep valley.

We began climbing up to the rim through granite boulders.

As we climbed up we could look back and see our progress from this morning.  We were way down in the valley just hours ago. It still looked like it could rain any minute but we were fortunate it didn't!   For all the effort it takes,  I love being up so high and seeing the views.  

Clouds were moving so fast Peggy and I stopped, sat down and watched them for some time as windows of blue sky appeared and disappeared too fast to get photos.  The wind had a voice as it blasted down from the peaks above.  I felt like a tiny creature inching my way up and out of the valley.

Slowly, steadily we made our way up granite steps laid in the mountainside, a thing of beauty that someone took great pride in laying down.

Each time I thought we'd reached the top -it was not the top. 

Out of the deep valley at last, we'd yet to get over the pass.

Wolf Creek Lake at the top. (Well, almost the top)

This was the pass we needed to get over, then we needed to work our way down the other side.

The granite was gone, replaced by red volcanic rock (like cinder).  Peggy's on the trail in the lower right corner. The wind was beginning to blow hard. 

Standing in the blasting wind I took this photo of the other side where the trail was taking us out of white granite into a new valley of bare red rock looking down onto spires hanging below us as well as towering above.  

To get out of the wind and take a break Peggy found this place and tucked in, I joined her for a snack.  We'd hiked along this mountain side once we got over the the pass but still had a few miles to go.  We kept our hoods up and jackets on as the wind ripped at us from the peaks. Working our way down the mountain by switchbacks we entered lowlands made up of greyish purple mudflows dotted with wildflowers. 

We also ran into Critter coming off the pass and reunited with her.  She remembered meeting us in N California. 

Arriving at the trailhead at Hwy 108 we walked through the parking lot to see if anyone was there who could take us 9 miles down to Kennedy Meadows.  No one was there, only empty cars.  We walked out to the Highway when we heard a car, stuck out our thumbs and the car pulled over.  We asked if she had room for Critter too and we all three got a ride.  

Erin was very interested in particular information about our hikes.  She would love to hike the PCT herself and took notes so she could research it. I'll bet one day she'll be hiking this trail! 

Thanks for the ride to Kennedy Meadows North, Erin!

We got rooms above  the store in their hiker hostel, took showers, did laundry and ate lunch.  A zero day was planned for tomorrow. There was no cell service here so no phone calls home or updates on the blog were possible.