The High Sierras: Part 2

Sorry for the delay in updating our travels. So much has happened in such a short period of time, it is hard to keep up!

I’ll give a brief re-cap of the second part of the sierras where Jordan/Topo left off and then I’ll tell you where we’re at now in a second post.

After resupplying at John Muir Ranch we slept in, did laundry, and hiked to Sallie Keys Lake. What was supposed to be a nice short day turned out to be a brutal 6 mile hike uphill to mosquito heaven. My body was sore and tired and I pleaded for a real rest day. Jordan was hesitant (“My body feels great, I’d rather not stop…”), but after another day we were on the same page and planned a stop at Red’s Meadow Resort.

However, Red’s was still a few days away. With tired bodies we hiked up Seldon Pass (the easiest pass so far, and one of the most beautiful in my opinion), followed by a long hike to Silver Pass (marmots!). We camped near Lake Virginia, a breathtaking lake with terrible mosquitos and swam in Purple Lake (not purple at all…) the next morning. We made it to Red’s in the evening and ate our first non-trail meal and drank our first beer in about 18 days. We had both lost about 20 lbs and had eyes much bigger than our stomaches: Double cheeseburgers, potato salad, ice cream, 3 beers…. needless to say, this lactose sensitive couple did not sleep very well that night, BUT we were able to secure a cabin for the following night! Red’s Meadow was the best. We ran into tons of folks we hadn’t seen since the beginning of our trip, did legitimate laundry, drank beer, and hung out in our sweet cabin. I talked with the Asst. Manager Dave for awhile and found out that we were both on our honeymoons. That night, he surprised us with a Honeymoon dinner-on the house- including pie a la mode! *Thank you Dave, you are the best!* That night, we relaxed around our cabin’s fire pit with wonderful trail friends-a perfect end to a true rest day. After a good night’s sleep in the first *real* bed since Tehachapi (about a month ago…) and some phone calls to family and friends, we hiked out.

Leaving Red’s Meadow, we passed Devil’s Postpile National Monument, a huge formation of columnar basalt, towering about 60 feet high surrounded by sandy, yet lush landscape. Over the next few days we transitioned through the end of the John Muir Wilderness into the Ansel Adams Wilderness, into Yosemite National Park, and then briefly into the Hoover and Emigrant Wilderness’ before stopping at Sonora Pass for a resupply. I could write a book about that week, but words will never convey the beauty and wonder that this area holds. We hit the area perfectly for the wildflowers. Ansel Adams Wilderness was my favorite, the PCT becomes the “high trail” and the views of the sierras to the west with the flowers and the waterfalls and the river…Ahhhh Amazing. And then you hit Yosemite: Meadows and wildflowers, the Tuolumne river, Tuolumne Falls (!!!), birds, bear stories (thankfully, no close bear encounters for us), and domes of huge bald rocks surrounded by dense conifer forests. We had a break at Tuolumne Meadows store and sent home our unused ice axes and crampons, relieving us of about 5 lb., before continuing on.

When we reached Sonora Pass we were able to get a ride with a weekend hiker to Northern Kennedy Meadows Resort (*MUCH different than Kennedy Meadows south of the Sierras). We had dinner, breakfast, and more social time at the small resort diner and store before making our way north. Leaving in the morning we waited almost 2 hours before getting a hitch back to the pass. However, things always seem to work out for the best and we met 3 great guys who educated us on the local fish and beer, and our trail angel Gator! (Thanks Gator, Hope to see you again!). Getting back on the trail was hard, but we managed. The section of the PCT between Sonora Pass and Carson Pass (The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and Mokelumne Wilderness) has some of the most incredible geological features we’ve seen on the entire trail. Wish our friend “Geologist Bryce” was here to tell us about all the sights! We said goodbye to the High Sierras as we made our way from Carson Pass. Thank you Carson Pass trail angels! Volunteers at Carson Pass offered us a huge variety of snacks and water before we continued on our way.

After another day, we eventually made it to Echo Lake, our stopping point. The last morning on the trail was bitter-sweet. We slept near Showers Lake and woke to a beautiful sunrise over Lake Tahoe. We followed the PCT/ Tahoe Rim Trail to Echo Lake where we met another Trail Angel, my friend Carmen. We were shocked into another reality about 2 miles south of Echo Lake as we came upon numerous parking lots and loud traffic noise. We had to run across highway 50 (not fun.) and hike behind homes and businesses before the PCT took us to our patiently waiting friend.

There was really only one thing I craved: Beer in a glass. So we went to South Lake Tahoe for some cold beer and a good burger before Carmen drove us south to Desert Hot Springs. That is correct: Carmen picked us up from Echo Lake and then drove us South. ALL THE WAY to Desert Hot Springs. That is a friend for Life. We got in about 2 am. (Earlier than expected thanks to Carmen’s fancy new wheels and excellent driving skills!)

We needed to get to the Desert to pick up our car so that we could drive North to make a wedding in Seattle that weekend. Some life events are too important to miss and I’m very glad we were able to make a break in our trip work.