Getting Started On The Finish!

July 20, 2015 Monday

I'm headed south to join Peggy on our last section of the Pacific Crest Trail!!

My friend, Colleen, has offered to take me down to the Sierra Mts to start the last section. She & I left Medford this morning for the 9 1/2 hour drive, we wanted to enjoy the trip so decided to meet Peggy in Big Pine first.  We all brought a dinner with us to the Grandview Campground, a small,  no fee, 23 site camp tucked into the top 2/3rds of the White Mts. We met up,  chose a campsite, put up tents, ate dinner and watched the night fall, clouds gathering and catching in the peaks of the Sierra across the valley from us.  The plan is to walk through the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the morning before shuttling Peggy's car to Horseshoe Meadows where we left the PCT last year.  We flipped around the snowy Sierra Mts, starting north at Sierra City and hiking to the Oregon border last year.  Upon reaching Oregon we flipped again back to Sierra City & hiked south to Red's Meadow, saving the rest of the Sierras for this year. 

7/21/15. Tuesday

After breakfast we packed up our tents and took one car up to the Visitor's Center in the Ancient Bristlecone Forest.  We chose a couple of hiking trails and ended up walking 6 miles of trail seeing many beautiful old trees. 

The color and texture of the wood is beautiful.

Peggy & Colleen at a view point looking across at the Sierra Range where Peggy & I will begin the last leg of our PCT journey tomorrow. 

This was a fun way to begin getting acclimated to elevation, it is about 10,000' elevation here in the Bristlecone Pine Forest.

After hiking the morning hours we drove cars south, first to Independence to drop off 2 resupply boxes for our only zero of the trip.  We made a reservation at Mt Williamson Motel for 8/2/15, one day before we'd planned to be there.  That was the only opening they had & we took it!  Then, we drove to Lone Pine and up the winding road to Horseshoe Meadow to drop off Peggy's car, it would sit there until the day we finish the trail.   After lunch in Lone Pine, we all piled into Colleen's car & she drove us to Mammoth Lakes for dinner & a motel room. The next day we would part company, say goodbye to Colleen, bus into Red's Meadow and begin the last part of our PCT journey.