Saturday Thumbin'

Town days again - more than we had hoped for this time, but C'est La Vie. Mark and I have spent the last week trekking from Kennedy Meadows to Independence, CA which was personally my absolute favorite part of the trail so far. Massive granite peaks cut vertically to beautiful grass covered meadows. Crystal clear alpine lakes were around every corner and I climbed to some of the highest elevations I've ever been at!

As a side trip, we decided to summit Mt. Whitney, towering at over 14,000 feet it is known to be the highest peak in the continuous United States. And we did it in about 4.5 hours! Such great views, but when all the tourists roll in you know its time to head back down the mountain. The next day we hiked to the highest point on the physical PCT, Forester pass at 13,200 feet. The hike up was worth every second - it started with a nice gradual grade for several miles and then switchbacked up the pass for the last mile. Oh, and snow! There was still snow despite this ultra hot and dry year! Way to go nature.

First patch of snow on our way up Mt. Whitney!

The infamous Sweet Jesus

Guitar Lake with Elizabeth and Sweet Jesus

Click to enlarge - 360 view of our campsite on a ridge!

The last few days we took easy and only hiked about 14 miles a day. Initially we had planned to hike out of Kersarge Pass (down to Independence,  not on the physical PCT) and camp by the lakes for our last night, but the weather had a different idea. Right as we reached the top, the fluffy white clouds turned evil and began dumping snow (yes, snow in June) on us! We booked it down the 6 miles and luckily caught the last hitch down before the storm got bad, staying the night at Mt. Williamson Motel with Doug and Strider - two great fellow hikers who gave us rides and provide unmatched hospitality. They offered us a job as "runners" (people who hike over the pass to deliver packages to thru-hikers) next summer, so don't miss us too much Independence!

Beautiful sunset off of Forester Pass.

I got sick with who-knows-what when we hiked out, so we ended up staying an extra few days in town, taking two zero days. Feeling better, but won't know until we are on the mountain again! Off to hitch!

-Stink Bug

P.S. Hello and thank you to Sue, a lovely lady we met at the farmers market yesterday who graciously donated some delicious vegetables and provided great conversation.

One of our top 5 camp sites so far! Mark enjoying the afternoon sunshine.