At mile 772.7. Hiked 6.4 PCT miles today plus 15 miles to Mt Whitney summit and back plus 0.8 miles to return to the PCT. Total distance hiked today was 22.2 miles. I was cold in the sleeping bag when I awoke to see that the ground had frozen. I was up at 3:35 am and on the trail to Mt Whitney just after 4 am. There was a nearly full moon so I left my headlamp turned off most of the time. Without the headlamp beam, I could actually see...

At mile 766.3. Hiked 15.5 miles today plus 1.2 miles on Crabtree Meadows trail. August 27, 2018 I’m seeing a lot more people now. Most of the hikers are out to climb Mt Whitney. Some are hiking the John Muir Trail. I met one hiker who told me he was giving up. He had started at Cottonwood Pass with intent to hike the JMT northbound. After 20 miles he is hiking back to Cottonwood Pass. He told me that he had gotten dehydrated.  The heat is real. It is bothering...

At mile 750.8. Advanced 5.5 miles on PCT by completing alternate route began on Day 126. Total alternate route distance was 5.9 miles. Returned to PCT via the Cottonwood Pass Trail.  August 26th Today was a Near Zero day called by hikers a “NERO”. I spent most of the day in Lone Pine doing laundry, eating pizza buffet (8 slices plus large salad and 3 refills of root beer).  I also worked on reducing pack weight by getting rid of rope and underwear. I reduced fuel carried by leaving full can...

At mile 745.3. Hiked 14.4 PCT miles today plus 2.2 miles from Trail Pass to parking lot at Cottonwood Pass trailhead. Here is an opening to the broad desert thousands of feet below. It is also where I had cell service. The day started cold, but by mid-day I was sweating my way on a long climb in the blazing sun. Walking faster and not stopping was the only way to make  it end. Starting yesterday afternoon, I have been hiking around and above 10,000 feet elevation. It should...

At mile 730.9. Hiked 24.2 miles today.  Here is where I woke up this morning. That’s right, I camped on a footbridge over one of the Kern rivers. I had left KM at 6:30 pm the day before and hiked into the dark. Last mile was dark  and I used headlamp and played music out of my IPhone speakers to scare away those spooky animals that stalk around in the dark. Really, it just keeps my wild imagination of those beasts of the dark in check. Near the end of...

At mile 681.5. Hiked 22.1 miles today. Last night I laid under a sky full of stars and. gazed at Orion, Cygnus, the Milky Way, and even the small cluster Pleiades. In the early morning, I awoke for a few minutes and quickly counted 7 falling stars. The trail was good. Now I remember how much I like the desert. I just hate carrying so much water. Jack rabbits were huge and loved to hop high. A lot of climbing around a valley that went for miles when it looked like I...