Tag: Nature
Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Sonora Pass to Castella Photos
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Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: The High Sierra – Part 2
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Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: The High Sierra – Part 1
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Chicken Spring Lake. The first alpine lake on the PCT.
Hanging at the lake with a bunch of Pacific Crest Trail Hikers.
Hiker Trash do hiker trash things under the granite peaks of the Sierra.
A walk in the woods.
Old Growth trees of the Sierra. Nearby, some of the oldest trees in the world, the Bristle Cone Pine, can be found.
Legs and I decided to keep hiking past Chicken Spring Lake, walking into the sunset and eventually making camp next to a creek in the dark.
Timberline Lake, on the approach to Mt. Whitney.
Hiker Trash at Guitar Lake after jumping in. At 11,500+ feet, it was freezing but refreshing after a hard 18 miles in the Sierra.
Guitar Lake under the moon.
As the sun sets, the light in the valley moves away and plays games on the surface of Guitar lake.
Under Mt. Whitney, we camped among granite boulders and marmot holes, planning our sunrise summit of Whitney.
A group of dedicated hikers sit still on the summit of the tallest mountain in the continental United States waiting for the sun to rise.
Sunrise on Mt. Whitney
From the high point, the cirques and ridges look amazing and otherworldly.
Tons of opportunities to take pictures.
Granite moutains soaking up the early morning sun rays.
The high elevation made for some harder breathing, but after 750 miles, it felt better to just keep going rather than stopping for breaks.
While my guitar gently streams.
Darwin and Legs near Mt. Whitney.
Dr. Chip Feinstein, Fun Size, and Darwin on Mt. Whitney
Darwin, Handstand, Legs, and HandMeDown
On the highest point with my love. Kissing as the sun rises.
Hitch hiking is never a science. You must do wait you can to get a ride. We managed to score an 18 wheeler to get us into Bishop.
Kearsarge Pass has a special place in my heart. Besides sporting some incredible mid Sierra views, I also want to name a dog after it.
Kearsarge Pass View of a glacial tarn.
Power Couple on top of Kearsarge pass.
Looking north on the Pacific Crest Trail/ John Muir Trail
Bullfrog Lake of the High Sierra as seen from Kearsarge Pass.
South of Glen Pass
Ahead Unknown
Descending Glen Pass
Goofy Goober
After the steep and snowy Glen Pass, the reward is Rae Lakes, an eden of a place protected by some serious climbs, making it a secluded gem.
Epic Rae Lakes under Glen Pass. We had it all to ourselves for some time.
A Suspension Bridge makes its way over a river gorge. The sign says, “One at a time only.”
Atop Pinchot Pass looking backwards at the trail.
Glittering Lakes become common sights in the Sierra, but you never really get tired of them.
Atop Mather Pass, where my love and I connected deeply.
Legs conquers Mather Pass.
Alpine Lakes
Lush Valleys
Blue Waters.
After messing up and climbing the pass in the back of this picture, we made it to the top of Muir Pass and enjoyed the hut up there for a time.
Evolution Basin and it’s glorious lakes.
Legs walks along Wanda Lake in the Evolution Basin.
Evolution Lake was our camp spot for the night. We stripped down and jumped into the icey water for a swim before cooking dinner under the stars.
Marie Lake from Selden Pass. We would camp next to this lake and suffer the world mosquito conditions I have ever seen in my life.
Continue reading “Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: The High Sierra – Part 1”
Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Discovering Evolution with John Muir
Separated into different levels, Muir Pass is a sustained 12 mile ascent, and plays like a video game. Each level with its own boss- either snow, or fords, or steep grade, or photo opportunity (the hardest one!). Muir Pass is the last crucible in the High Sierra, the last rocky behemoth standing between you and the tamer passes of the north.
The climb starts easily enough, running next to the Kings River, slowly ascending, then flattening out, ascending, flattening out. Helen Lake, a large chunk of dark, blue water tucked away in a granite cirque, marks the halfway point of elevation gain, and the threshold of the more difficult levels. Continue reading “Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Discovering Evolution with John Muir”
Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Kennedy Meadows to Lone Pine
Seven hundred miles has a nice ring to it. Even spelling it out suggests a lovely sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Gongratulations, you have walked a far way good sir and madam. More at least than a paltry 500 or 600. But at mile 702 festers the stinking ‘zero vortex,’ and wallet sucking monopoly that is the Kennedy Meadows General Store.
Kennedy Meadows is the JFK Airport of the PCT. It’s a hub, and you will see many hikers there. I’m not quite sure if it’s actually a special place or if everyone has just read it’s name a thousand times and thinks it this magical portal out of the desert, but there was certainly a buzz in the air that hadn’t been felt since Campo. We’ve made some noticeable prog ress and us hikers love to give credit where credit is due, so upon arriving, I was greeted with a lovely smattering of applause. Then a very ‘nice’ lady behind the counter helpfully took all my money, most likely to keep it safe while I ate and drank my body weight in overpriced beer and ice cream.
Needless to say, KM is a zoo. No. Actually, it’s more like a bankrupt zoo met an electronic music festival and had a love child- then left that child in a trailer park to be raised by Coyotes. So it’s also needless to say that you will have a good time there, unless you need to use one of the porta-potties, which is akin to walking into a leaky nuclear reactor with only a Tyvek jumpsuit to protect you. Continue reading “Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike: Kennedy Meadows to Lone Pine”
Exploring Patagonia Chilena
travelandtrail.com 