Surviving the Sierra.

Wow, what a week... Snow, mountains & steep climbs... And the most isolated, amazing scenery. We have certainly had our most challenging but rewarding week yet.

Since we left Kennedy Meadows and began the ascent into the Sierra, we have been crossing decent sized streams and rivers, sometimes so many in a day, we have not bothered to removed our shoes. The water is chilly to say the least, but pretty refreshing! Also, as it is so plentiful, we haven't had to carry much at any given time though, so we have enjoyed that bonus.

Climbing Mount Whitney was a tough day, but incredibly rewarding. At 14,340 odd feet, it is the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. Mt McKinley is the highest in the USA, but that's up in Alaska.
We have had the most amazing weather. Clear blue skies, no wind, upper 20's (celcius)... Perfect!
Whitney was actually a side trip 8 miles off the trail, so although it was our highest climb, it wasn't until we crossed Forester Pass that we reached the highest point on the PCT.
Reaching the pass was quite a mission, as we went from around 9500 feet from our campsite, up to just over 13,000 feet in 12 miles. It involved sloshing through a lot of snow melt & then carefully, gingerly making our way over hundreds of yards of deep snow to the bottom of the switchbacks that took us up the near vertical rockface to the steep pass... Where Spencer took my pic, above.

Coming down to Kings Canyon on the northern side of the pass was even harder as the snowfields were much broader & more softer in places, having us often 'post-hole', sinking up to mid thigh, sometimes up to our waists in the cold, sharp icy snow.
Once we cleared the snow-line & the pine trees got thicker again, the trail got easier to navigate & we dropped back down to under 10,000 feet.
The mozzies at the campsite were swarming thick and fast, so dinner was a hurried affair before we all dived for cover in our tents.

Now, we are resupplying in Bishop, having had to make a steep 9 mile side hike out over Kearsage Pass. Our trail-friend Stacie was kind enough to meet us at the trailhead & run us the 40 more miles to town.
We have gorged ourselves on Taco Bell as usual, and soaked until prune-like in the (damn) hot spa... So we should be ready to get back on the trail tomorrow.
None of us are looking forward to the steep climb to get back to the trail, especially with full packs, but that's just how it's gonna have to be!
We should reach Mammoth Lakes in a week where we will collect our bounce box, and I will update my website. Keep watching for some great pix!!
Cheers...
RWK.
Out.