PTC Hi Sierra

(Hiking South To North)

Section G. PCT-Walker Pass at Hiway 178 to Trail Pass Trail, August 1999 - 91.2 miles

This was my first time ever, in the Hi Sierra of California, we were starting in mid-August and the weather was very hot. In the beginning of this Section the water was far apart. My actual hiking ability was not that good, I had a pack that pulled on my neck muscles and really hurt. This ended up with me having to take it off every half hour for a brief respite. I had not learned about light-weight backpacking at this time.

With all that in mind, I was really excited to start the hike with my hiking companion "the Monk" who has PCT 85 and 95 behind his name. We started off just as dawn was breaking and snapped a couple "beginning-the-trail" pictures and were off north on the PCT. Before long it became hot and enthusiasm leveled off but never did wilt. Water, which is essential, was a bit scarce so we had to plan very carefully about places to camp and the amounts of water to carry. On the dry stretches the two of us together carried as much as ten or twelve pounds of water. The Monk carried the heavier share of the water.

There was one time on the trail, I was about ten minutes ahead of the Monk and he had told me to stop at the water and we would tank up again. Being from the Idaho Mountains, where normally water is not a problem, it did not occur to me that the mud I was carefully stepping over was indeed our water supply. The Monk then ditched his pack and hiked very fast to catch me and brought me back to the water where we did find enough flow to tank up.

The trail was good and the weather was great. We averaged from eleven to twelve miles a day. There were a number of 2,000-foot climbs and descents. That is what makes this part of the PCT a most difficult section. It got very hot in the afternoons and frequently froze at night so we had to be prepared for and endure the extremes. During the first week of our hike we met only one couple.

A backpacking trip is hardly complete without a bear story and this trip was no exception. We decided to stop for a rest and have our lunch. Before lunch the "Monk" decides to have a nap so he is sprawled out and goes right to sleep. I had not taken off my pack at this point because I was concerned with some sounds I heard coming from the thicket covering a creek. All of a sudden I saw a bear come out on the trail. I am behind a tree now, ready to take off up the trail which goes around to my left. I get the Monks attention and he lifts his head and does not see any thing wrong (he did not have his glasses on). The bear and I are constantly looking at each other; we are about 100 feet apart. Then I realized why she just stayed there, her cub and a yearling bear came out of the thicket and she promptly herded them out and up the side hill and over the ridge. After the fact, I wished I had been able to take a picture, but I was not brave or nonchalant or calm, I just wanted out of there.

By the time we reached Kennedy Meadows I knew that it would be wiser for me to drop off the trail. I was not hiking fast enough to complete the planned trip, up Mt. Whitney and over Forester Pass and hike back out at Bubbs Creek Trail to Cedar Grove. From Kennedy Meadows I continued to hike to the South Fork Kern River and the Olancha Pass Trail then to the saddle west of Olancha Peak over Death Canyon creek to Trail Pass Trail. Here is where the Monk and I went different directions. I dropped down to the big campground and then hitched a ride to Lonepine. From Lonepine I took a bus to Fresno and picked up my car which had been driven there for us.

I stayed with some friends for two nights and then I drove up to Cedar Grove and hiked up to Vidette meadows to intercept the Monk. This was a two day very hot hike for me. I was concerned the Monk would pass right by me while I was sleeping; I always got in my sleeping bag very early. On the third day, I decided to hike back down and take my time in the heat. When I got to the bottom and got a cold drink the Monk appeared in a short time, he was not that far behind me.

The Monk ended his trip report with the following:

"People sometimes wonder why a backpacker will go out for a couple of weeks into the wilderness or even take extended (months-long) backpacking trips. There are a number of reasons: a desire to live in the natural world; to escape or recuperate from some part of their lives back home; for the physical challenge; to live entirely in the present tense, that is, to slow down and experience very simple parts of life very intensely; to embark on a heroic quest. One author concludes that "for me there is a rightness and a balance to long-distance walking; its pace, its intensity, its simplicity." For me it is a joy to set out on a long trail with a light heart and a free spirit. It is a spiritual experience that offers an atmosphere for integrating into one's whole being and life a balance between prayer, work and creative leisure."

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Note: The rest of this page is under construction. California is a long State and I need to get out there and hike the rest.

Cheers, Marge (the old gal)