Day 40
The gang looks for a hitch
Despite the wind and our messed up door zipper, Anna and I slept well in our spot at Bird Spring Pass, thanks mostly to an excellent pitch and a hand-built windbreak. Eager to get up the climb before the heat set in, we started hiking just before 6am and made it up the 1700ft climb just a bit after 8am. We passed the group of girls we had been seeing the past few days, stopped for a break, and then leap frogged with them the next few hours. 10 miles in or so, the Aussies caught us and passed us on their way to trail magic at Walker Pass. We continued on up and down the various ridges, enjoying the wildflowers around us and the fighter jets practicing overhead. The day was quite a bit warmer than expected, so around noon we were noticably dragging. Thankfully, that was also around the time that we hit our big downhill into Walker Pass, so we coasted in.
When we arrived, the advertised trail magic was not present, so we waited around for a bit before grabbing a hitch into Lake Isabella. Originally we were going to take the bus, but something happened with the bus and it was not running as scheduled. Thankfully, a local city employee named Matt gave us a ride in and told us about the area. Along the drive in, I unfortunately became horrendously car sick which side tracked our plans a bit. I had to spend a bit of time in the Vons bathroom recovering before I was able to slowly shop for my resupply. Once we were done in Vons, we headed over to Nelda’s Diner to have dinner with the Aussies. After dinner and a long wait, we finally scored a hitch back to trail from a local raft guide named Nick. Once back at Walker Pass Campground (mile 652.5), we quickly pitched our tents and called it a night.
Day 41
The author climbing up the side of Owen’s Peak
After our late hitch back to Walker Pass and my gut issues yesterday, we slept in a bit today and hit the trail around 7:30am. Imi was feeling terrible, so she hitched in to Ridgecrest while the rest of us hiked on. We pretty quickly lost sight of Bush as he trucked on ahead, but Anna and I took the 2300ft climb up slow and steady. Once the grade increased a bit, I could really feel my dehydration and lack of calories from getting sick yesterday. Regardless, we trucked on and made it to the top without too much trouble. Once we rounded the Mt. Jenkins summit and made it to the saddle we noticed some large thunderheads brewing off to the West.
After a short break and a few carefully consumed crackers (so as to not upset my stomach), we continued on down the steep northern flank of the mountain to avoid being on an exposed ridge line if the storm hit. Once safely down, we took a quick break before heading up and over a smaller mountain saddle to finally get to a more protected area near the Spanish Needle Creek at mile 670. We had done 17.5mi and it was only 3pm, but I still felt pretty weak from being sick and we had already done roughly 4000ft up and 4000ft down. Here’s to hoping these storms blow over without soaking us through!
Day 42
Trail magic from Kim’s Dad!
Anna and I packed up bright and early and hit the trail around 5:30am in order to give ourselves plenty of time to tackle the two big climbs and downhills. The first climb was about 1800ft over 4mi, so the grade was a bit steep at times. It already felt a bit warm, so I was glad to be on the shaded side of the mountain as the sun rose. A little bit after 7, we crested the top and ran into Bush who had camped up there for the night. We then hiked the remaining 8ish miles down to Canebrake Road together while talking about life in Australia. Once we arrived at Canebrake Road we were surprised to find “Kim’s Dad” who was hosting trail magic! He had made pancakes for the hikers that had camped there, so we were treated to leftovers and ice cold sodas! We took a break to chat with him a bit and learned that this was his 10th year hosting trail magic! His other retirement gig was rowing people’s boats down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, so a super cool dude.
Not wanting to delay the inevitable, we said goodbye and hit the climb. We pretty quickly lost Bush (who was way ahead of us), but because of the more friendly grade of 2400ft over 6ish miles I was able to maintain a decent pace for once. On the climb up, a nice cloud blew over and gave us some shade and it caused me to notice that some clouds appeared to be building in the distance with exploding tops. We stopped briefly for lunch before powering over the last 400ft where we found Bush wrapping up his lunch. The three of us then hiked the remaining 6 miles down to Manter Creek at mile 694.7 where we set up for the night around 4pm. We had done 5400ft up and 4600ft down over about 25mi. After we got the tents pitched, we all soaked our feet in the Creek while Bush soaked his PBRs to cool them down. Bush then made his signature evening campfire and then we all sat down for dinner. Not long after we sat down, we heard a good rumble in the distance and noticed the sky darkening. We enjoyed our dinner, the fire, and clouds until the rain started to come down more heavily, at which point we all dashed to our tents. Now we’re just sort of hunkered down in our cozy dry tent listening to the rain and the thunder. Needless to say, I’m glad we made it across the 8000ft mountain ridge as early as we did! Also, we’re excited for Kennedy Meadows tomorrow!
Day 43
Anna sitting on the Sequoia National Forest sign, signifying that we made it to Kennedy Meadows!
Anna and I woke up nice and well rested after the storms last night. We packed up the wet tent and hit the trail, eager to get to Kennedy Meadows South to determine our course of action. The weather was perfect and the scenery incredible as we cruised along beside the South Fork of the Kern River. We passed multiple great potential campsites and a few abandoned shacks before arriving at the road. I took Anna’s picture with the Sequoia National Forest sign and then we popped into the General Store for some breakfast and to celebrate finishing the desert section! As we were checking out with our coffee, chocolate milk, and mini-donuts, I saw Bush coming up the road and grabbed him a celebratory 9am Fat Tire beer. Once he arrived we had our treats and chatted up Dirty Diaper, a hiker whose comments we had been reading all month, and we chatted with Outside Jay, a trail angel who was handing out free bear cans and ice axes! Outside Jay gave us some great info on conditions and requirements in the Sierras before Anna, Bush, and I took a ride in to Grumpy Bear’s Retreat.
At the retreat, we stopped into the outfitter briefly to see what all they had. From there, we popped into Grumpy’s for lunch, and I reserved us a Yurt for 2 nights at a discounted rate. While we were wrapping up lunch, Imi arrived by way of trail angel Sergio and we started to plan. So far the little info we had for the Sierras were that no one had been successful summiting Mt. Whitney, it was continuous snow from an early point, and that many of the resupply options and roads out were still closed for winter. Anna and I have winter hiking and winter mountaineering experience, so we very quickly determined that we had zero interest doing that while thru hiking. Since Bush and Imi had little to no snow experience they were also keen. So we started to research other options a bit before hanging it up for the day to have drinks with friends at the bar. Funny enough, once 8pm rolled around, most of us were already falling asleep so we went and turned in to our yurt for the night at mile 703.4.
Day 44
Despite not having an alarm set, we all woke up around 6am and headed to the bar for wifi and breakfast. From what we could tell, most of Northern California looked snow free or easily traversable according to recent reports and satellite imagery. Over breakfast, which was Grumpy Bear’s famous bottomless giant pancakes, we chatted with Twig, and I called a few local friends who thought our plan was sound. We are for sure going to skip up for a bit to give the Sierras time to melt so that we can better enjoy them. That sorted, we planned out a mini road trip to Yosemite and Redwoods National Parks, and Bush secured us a rental car. With all of that solved, Imi set to finding us a ride and learned that Sergio, the trail angel that gave her a ride up (and who maintains a ton of the local water caches) would be at Grumpy’s soon. We scrambled to pack everything up, and gave our last night in the yurt to Cherry and Spice Girl, two women we had been hiking around for a while. While we waited for Sergio to arrive, I blew through yet more gear repair tape fixing holes in our sad tent and decided to wait on the zipper and corner stakeouts until later.
Sergio then loaded us up, and whisked us away to Ridgecrest, all the while chatting us up. Unfortunately, I once again became horribly car sick, and had to sit for a while once we arrived. I still felt really out of it, so it was a chore to redo the corner stays on the tent. With that fixed and daylight fading, Bush, Imi, and I headed to Taco Bell where I had a very light dinner in hopes of easing my stomach. When we got back to Sergio’s, we heard a clash of thunder followed by an almost immediate downpour. We had pitched the tent well, so no worries there, but as we were getting tucked in, Sergio came out in the rain to check on us and to offer us late night snacks! We said our goodnights and I fell asleep to the patter of rain.
Day 45
Sergio stopped to show us one of his favorite fishing spots on the way to Bakersfield
I woke up to steady rain beating down on the tent, but thankfully everything had stayed nice and dry inside and our new corner tent lines held perfectly. I took advantage of my early wake up to knock out a few chores before the house woke up, and then returned to the tent to find Anna more awake. I then slowly moved most of our possessions into Sergio’s garage before running into Sergio himself, who had just returned from grabbing donuts for everyone! He then whipped up some scrambled eggs with ham and fresh tortillas along with a pot of coffee for the house. By this point, everyone was awake so we traded stories with everyone. Once breakfast was mostly done the Aussies left to go grab our rental car and I took advantage of everyone leaving to grab a quick shower. When I came out, I got the bad news: no car. Apparently the local Enterprise in Ridgecrest was just confirming people’s reservations without actually having any cars available.
Anna and I then sprung into action and walked to all 3 local car rental spots. No cars. Imi checked the nearest spots with same day availability and the closest location was in Bakersfield, 100 miles away. We scrambled to find any public transit option but when Sergio returned from dropping off the other hikers and from picking up New Finland (the Kiwi from a bit back) he offered to drive us himself and wouldn’t take no for an answer. So we loaded up and hit the road. On the way out, I offered to cover his gas as it was the least we could do. Along the way, he stopped off at one particular spot along the Kern River to show us one of his favorite fishing spots which was incredibly special. We chatted the whole drive since I was in the front, and before long we made it to Bakersfield. I was feeling a bit carsick again but not horribly so. Imi successfully secured the rental car and we again hit the road, this time towards Yosemite!
On the drive up, Anna and I treated the Aussies to some Costco in Fresno, which they thought was a magical place and which we were stoked to return to. We then spent the rest of the drive trading songs and stories, talking about our home towns, and laughing at the terrible billboards plastered all over the side of the highway. By the time we arrived at Yosemite, the sun had long ago set, so with the military precision acquired on our thru-hike, we pitched our tents and quickly called it a night. I’m absolutely stoked to see the famed views of Yosemite tomorrow!
Day 46
Yosemite Valley!
We all woke up around sunrise to damp tents from the humid air and the unmistakable sound of nearby turkeys. Eager to start our day, we shook the tents off and threw them in the car after landing on the Mirror Lake trail as our hike. We then took the car up the twisting park road and through the tunnel to the main viewing area of Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and Half Dome in the distance. The view was filled with mist and looked spectacular in the early morning light. From there we wound down into the valley and stopped off to check out the first waterfall. We ended up doing a short hike to go up to see it and I spent some time teaching Bush a bit more about photography. From there we moved the car further into the valley and parked near the Happy Isles trailhead which just happened to be the terminus of the John Muir Trail (JMT). From there, we walked through one of the tent cities of the park before locating our trailhead. The Mirror Lakes Trail lived up to its name with mirror smooth water which perfectly reflected the towering granite walls. We continued on until about the apex of the loop where we encountered a flooded trail. The surefooted Aussies tried to loghop ahead but came back only to report that the whole end was underwater. We then headed back the way we came, stopping to go down to the water and explore a few side trails. Back at the car, and aware of our impending long drive, we decided to cruise the rest of the loop around the park before hitting the road to Eureka.
We drove for hours and watched the mountains quickly turn into dry hills, which in turn transformed into a dry arid plain. A ways past Copperoppolus, we noticed miles and miles of cherry trees along with huge meandering rivers. We stopped in at Lodi (which I only knew the name of because of that one Creedance Clearwater Revival song) and Anna, Imi, and Bush all got to experience their first In-N-Out burger. From there, we crossed the edge of Napa Valley before plunging into the dense forest of Northwest California. In the failing light we could make out the occasional colossal redwood, stoking our excitement for Redwood National and State Parks tomorrow. Around 10pm, we cruised into Eureka, grabbed some drive-through Wendy’s, and checked into our Super 8 room for the night. Since we were all wired from the drive, I hooked up the Chromecast and introduced the Aussies to Danger 5, the only Australian produced TV show I was aware of, which we watched while enjoying our dinner. Satiated, everyone passed our shortly thereafter.
Day 47
Imi and Anna walk amongst the giant redwoods
We slept in a bit for once and all started moving around 8am after our late night getting in to Eureka. Despite advertising a full breakfast, the Super 8’s breakfast was nonexistent (only apples, coffee, and oatmeal) so after we packed up we hit the nearby donut shop. Loaded up on sugar from some of the best donuts I’ve ever had, we hit the road and headed north to Redwood National and State Parks. We had kind of thrown the whole trip together last minute, so we started driving towards the grove of the giants and we were surprised to find the road down gated. Luckily, right as we pulled up, another car had pulled up just in front of us and a kind woman gave us the gate code. Code secured, we locked the gate behind us and wound down to the trailhead. As we drove down, we could spot the odd large tree in the distance but otherwise we were surrounded by dense forest. Once we parked, we hit the trail and very quickly saw some incredible massive trees! Not only that but the forest was teaming with life and smelled wonderful after the month and a half of desert. As we made it down to the bottom of the hill the trees only became larger to the point where it was difficult to even find their tops amongst the canopy.
We wandered around the area for a while in wonder, just completely transfixed by the impossibly large trees and the verdant life growing out of and around them. Eager to explore more and to find some lunch, we eventually climbed back up out of the valley and headed to the coast to hit the famous Fern Valley Trail used in Jurassic Park. The road down was a bit rough and we ended up having to park a little ways back to avoid taking the rental car across a river. The Aussies had sandals and Anna had old shoes so to avoid soaking my brand new shoes, I took my shoes and socks off to wade across the river. Successfully across, we made it down to the trailhead and we were rewarded with an amazing view of a narrow canyon with a river running through it, and the walls completely covered in ferns and ivy. I hadn’t realized that the hike was all wading upstream, so I paused for a moment to consider heading back to the car to keep my shoes dry. At this point in time, I only have one pair of brand new shoes and one pair of socks, and I knew that nothing would dry in the humid northwest California air. Not wanting to miss out on the cool hike I made the call to take my socks off and waded in my shoes. The hike ended up being incredible, but going sockless caused my feet to wrinkle and rub in a few areas. I hope they heal quickly. After the hike, we explored the beach with its massive waves before calling it a day and heading back to Eureka. It was dinner time and being near the ocean had us craving seafood so we headed to Lost Coast Brewery so that Bush and I could have fish and chips. While there, Anna discovered that it was trivia night so we joined in. All in all we came out about middle of the pack which we were proud of, and then we hit the road again to get a bit closer towards Reno for tomorrow. We ended up stopping in Willow Creek which is apparently sasquatch central. Our original campsite choice was gated closed but thankfully Anna and Imi located Camp Kimtu where we were able to grab a site for cheap. We then pitched camp in the late darkness and we all realized that our tents were still soaked from Yosemite. All in all an awesome day, but I am a bit sad to be going to bed soggy. Hopefully tomorrow goes smoothly so that I can get a few chores done!
Day 48
After an excellent nights sleep at our campsite in Willow Springs, we all packed up and rolled out so that Anna, Imi, and I could make it to the trail with enough time to hike and so that Bush would have enough time to get to the car to Reno. The first part of the drive to Weaverville was gorgeous with large raging rivers, dense forests, and jagged ridges. Once we arrived, we found breakfast at the Mamma Llama Cafe in the cute old western downtown and I finally got a proper chai. After breakfast, we cruised into Redding where we stopped in to get Imi new shoes at a local mountaineering outfitter, Redding Sports, and I was able to exchange my worn out pair of Darn Tough socks.
Outfitted and ready to roll, we swung through a self-serve car wash to wash the dirt and smattered bugs off of the rental car, and then Bush drove us to the trailhead at mile 1332.8. On the drive in we had a few glimpses of Lassen Peak along with some savanna ranch land mixed with alpine forest. When we pulled up to the trailhead though, we were surprised to find that the whole forest had been burnt heavily with no surviving trees and an underbrush of exclusively cat’s claw. The weather was wonderful though and the trail was snow-free, so we packed up, said our goodbyes to Bush (who was going on a road trip with a friend) and we hit the trail. Outside of the occasional downed tree, it was very easy going and completely snow free until we hit the top of the climb on the north facing slope where we hit a few intermittent patches of snow. Around the same time we hit the top, the burn also transformed into a gorgeous lush alpine forest! We then cruised on until we crossed the bridge over the raging North Fork Feather River and decided to pitch camp at mile 1342.3. The campsite was shaded by large pines and filled with the sound of the nearby river. The only downside is that the mosquito pressure in the evening is significantly worse than what we planned for. We may be stopping off to grab some bug spray in the near future. All in all though, I’m so far very happy with our plan (especially in light of the conditions in the Sierra) and excited to hike through Lassen National Park tomorrow!
Day 49
Boiling Springs Lake
We slept incredibly well in our spot and managed to hit the trail right on the dot at 6am with Imi. The first 5 or so miles to the border of Lassen absolutely flew by in less than 2 hours, but right around the border we ran into heavy thickets of catsclaw. We bushwhacked through those and patches of snow for about an hour before we made it to Terminal Geyser, which was a steaming volcanic pool right past the entrance. We stopped there for a quick snack and to check the area out before trudging on. From there on we trudged through blow downs, mud, and increasingly heavier snow on our way to Boiling Springs Lake. The lake itself was incredible with a deep aquamarine tint to the water and steaming sulfur vents everywhere. We stopped for a break and we could clearly hear and feel the thump of activity in the gurgling mud pots below us. We trudged on through the snow until it turned to mud around when we passed Drakesbad Guest Ranch which was still closed for the season. While there, we enjoyed maybe 100ft of boardwalk until we again hit mud before our largely snow-free climb of the day.
Since I was already tired from the slog, I took my time getting to the top. Once I made it up, I was disappointed to find that the trail was completely gone, replaced with a dense snowfield in a large burn area. The next 7ish miles ended up becoming a blur as we waded across freezing rivers, postholed through softening snow, and occasionally ate it when we fell through the snow. We had aimed to make it through Lassen today, but at 5pm after 11 hours of hiking we knew we weren’t going to make it. So we stopped off at the first good campsite we could find at mile 1359.5 and called it a day. Our campsite was absolutely gorgeous, overlooking a partially frozen lake and the snow alpine forest beyond. Over dinner, Imi told us more about her family and her career while we all tried to thaw out our frozen shoes. This was definitely more snow than we bargained for, but it should dissipate again once we get below 6000ft which will be maybe 7 more miles of slogging.
