Week 12: The Sierras
September 23 & 24 Zero Days: Lee Vining
After hitching out from Tuolumne Meadows we entered Lee Vining, where we found a motel to warm up in quickly. Vinny's friend Lucia sent the most amazing box of baked goods, which we shared with Signe, Sabine and Dan after Sabine brought us a liter of milk to dip the chocolate chip and pretzel cookies in.
We took care of the usual errands and Vinny, Dan and Sabine hitched into Mammoth to buy us warmer clothes and gear to re-enter the Sierras. We also ate - a lot.
Every day in the Sierras I fell asleep exhausted and freezing cold - temperatures dipped into the teens frequently at night. Therefore, I don't have detailed notes for the days so I'll tell the story through the different mountain passes - these challenging climbs defined our days.
Thankfully, my iPhone sorts through photos as to when they were taken, so I'll use those as a guide to summarize our quick and dirty Sierras excursion. We averaged low 20s on days we went over major passes, 25 or so when we did not have a major pass. It was tiring, and cold - but oh so beautiful.
Elevation and distance profile of the Sierras via the Pacific Crest Trail. Keep in mind this graph goes northbound, we did the passes in "reverse" order, steadily getting higher until the "Big 5" - and finally, Forester Pass, the highest point on the entire trail at 13,200 feet.
September 25: Tuolumne to Donahue Pass
We hitched back in the morning after mailing out some resupply boxes and rejoined the trail at Tuolumne. Here, the PCT joins up with the John Muir Trail, a popular backpacking trail that runs approximately 200 miles through the Sierras.
Our first mountain pass, Donahue Pass.
Dan crossing a river. Luckily, late in the season the streams are easy to cross without getting your feet wet.
Icy lakes near the top of Donahue.
September 26: Island Pass and Thousand Island Lake
The next day we did Island Pass, and passed by the beautiful lake.
According to my photo log, we also passed by Devils Postpile this day - a tourist attraction near Reds Meadow. You can see the strange rock formation nestled in the trees in the center of the photo.
September 27: Selden Pass
Today we needed to do 23 miles before 4:30 to catch the ferry into Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR) our only on-trail resupply through the entire Sierras. However, of course we still needed to pass a snow covered pass to get there.
The very top of the climb was covered in snow. As the weather warmed up and we moved south, the passes became less snowy.
Thankfully we made it just in time for the ferry and got to the ranch. We picked up our boxes, got dinner, and sat around the fire with the other guests at the ranch (mostly JMT hikers) and the workers.
Leaving the ranch the next day, our packs were by far the heaviest they have ever been. Weighed down by 7 and a half days of food, our longest carry and time between resupplies, our additional warmer clothes, and the required bear canister, my pack weighed in at 34 lbs with no water.
Sabine and Signe.
On the "ferry" back to the trail.
We got a late start back on trail as the main boat was broken, but that meant we were able to get another hot meal in for breakfast.
September 28
We climbed most of the way up Muir Pass today, saving the summit for the next morning and making a cold camp next to some beautiful lakes.
September 29
Fording Evolution Creek. This river can be dangerous to cross, but luckily we just needed to get our feet wet.
September 30: Muir Pass and Mather Pass
The shelter at the top of Muir Pass. It was totally cozy, but we were too tired the night before to make it up to the pass so we camped right before it.
All smiles once we get to the top of Mather Pass!
Feels good to be all the way up here, and loving the views of the alpine lakes.
One more with Dan!
October 1: Pinchat Pass
Entering October in the Sierras represents the start of Fall weather and an increased chance of getting snowed out. Thankfully, we only had three of the five major passes left to do.
Bundling up with your quilt is the fashion forward way to deal with temperatures dipping into the teens!
Staying hydrated at the top of yet another mountain pass.
We also crossed this suspension bridge - fun and terrifying at the same time!
October 2: Glen Pass and Forester Pass
Today we planned to finish the climb up Glenn Pass and then attempt Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT at 13,200 feet. I was a little nervous but we ended up climbing really well - with the help of a 5-Hour Energy!
Climbing up the top of Glen Pass - me and Vinny are the two dots against the snow.
At the top of Glen Pass!
Probably taking a Snickers break in between our two big climbs.
Climbing up Forester...
On top of Forester Pass!
I've honestly never been prouder. The PCT has been a huge accomplishment so far as every day brings a new set of challenges. Reaching Forester Pass was a big moment for me, as it represented the culmination of some of the highest and hardest climbs of the trail in quick succession.
Our descent down Forester to our camp site for the night passed over Big Horn Plateau, where the moon and sunset created an otherworldly landscape with views of Mt Whitney. Too bad I've cursed hundreds of times over that I am Never. Climbing. A. Mountain. Again!!!
October 3: Cottonwood Pass to Lone Pine
After crossing all major mountain passes of the Sierra, we only had two (big) and a half days to get to Kennedy Meadows South, where we were planning to do our resupply and pick up new water filters - ours have frozen and are no longer functional. However, it felt like everyone in our group had hit a wall after giving 110% the past week. Dan ended up hiking on, and me, Vinny and Sabine decided to take an early exit to Lone Pine before rejoining the trail. Lone Pine gives us better resupply options and allows us to have a warm bed and mail out our bear boxes with ease, instead of trying to take care of all of those errands at South Kennedy - where we will be able to pick up our box and hike on.
The next big adventure that awaits us the desert!