Friends on the PCT

Maverick says: It's a dark picture but those are some of our fellow hikers around a bonfire at Vermilion Valley Resort 

 And there's the only dog that I know of this year that has made it thus far all the way from Mexico. Her trail name is Leftovers, and she is performing a trick where she turns into a statue when you put a treat on her nose! 

 

Some kind of giant really cool moth Lodge found at Reds Meadows.

Golden Trout Heaven

Maverick says: There seems to be golden trout everywhere up here. 

Waterfalls, lakes, and more fish. These are the biggest I have caught so far. The one on the far right is a 15 inch Rainbow Trout, the others are Golden Trout and the two big ones are around 13-14 inches. We ate good that night and the fish tasted amazing! 

It was a Rock Hut!

Maverick says: There's a shot of the Rock hut on top of Mure Pass. This pass was the snowiest by far, with no trail as there was miles and miles of snow covered ground. It was great

Dad and I have been above 10 thousand feet for a week now. There are snow covered mountains and lakes with fish and no one around. Just the handful of hikers that we started the Sierras with we run into and sometimes camp together, most of the time it's just me and pops and we are constantly stunned at the beauty and seclusion. We talk about how great it would be to try and get family and friends out here but then remember how hard it was to get here and that we are miles and days away from the nearest road. 

Getting Closer to Independence

Maverick says: Here is the ride we got into Independence, look at how chuck full of packs the back seat is.

 And when we got to Independence there just happened to be a trail legend rolling through town. That's Geared Up to the right our trail compadre, and Billy Goat in the middle. Billy Goat as put in more than 40000 miles on the PCT

 Since we summited Mt Whitney we have been on the John Mure Trail and it has had the most amazing vistas, mountains, and alpine lakes that we have seen thus far.

 

Coming Down the Mountain

Maverick says: A view from the top of Forester and another picture after we made it down. Can you even see how we made it down?

There's dad super tired after going over snow and basically rock climbing down the backside of a mountain!

 It seems the further into the Sierras we go the more amazing it gets

Ice Age 2013: The Pacific Crest Trail

Maverick says: Once we finally got up to the ice sheet on Forester we were surprised to see a small path cut in the ice. Apparently our fellow hiker named Slim spent 5 hour chipping away at the ice the day before. Slim you are the man. Unfortunately it had partly melted and was refrozen overnight but it didn't take me too long to chip new footholds to make it safe again. I felt partly responsible to make sure the pass was safe considering there were some hikers right behind us and I had already made the statement, "I don't care how thick the ice sheet is. I'll spend all day hacking away if that's what it takes" Not to mention the fact that a lot of people told us we might not make it through and that it was dangerous, even the rangers and some mountaineers that usually are the first ones over the Sierras had said it was to early and the passes were impassable, but us and the group decided to go anyway. :) 

Snowbound

Maverick says: After the Mt Whitney adventure we set off to go over Forester Pass, the first of many passes in the Sierras. 

You can just make out Forester Pass in between the V of the two mountains 

Mount Whitney

Maverick says: The top of Mt Whitney 14500 feet. Some day hiker we passed on the way up told us it was about 10 degrees at the top with the wind chill. Luckily there was a little hut where we could take refuge. 

Guitar Lake

Maverick says: We had a gorgeous sunrise at Guitar Lake just before we went on to climb Mt Whitney 

Lone Pine

Maverick Says:
Another rattlesnake just before we got to Lone Pine. It almost bit a dog that started walking with us but I was able to get her away.

Did I mention I picked up an ultra light fishing pole in Lone Pine?

These were caught at Guitar Lake elevation 11500 feet. They are Golden Trout and definitely the most colorful trout I have ever seen. The meat was dark red like a salmon and oh so good :)

Before we ate them I put them on ice so the other hikers behind us could see how pretty they are. Oh and that's the roe up to the left. Some of the hikers ate some raw and said it was good.

The Trees are ALIVE!!

Maverick Says:
Lodge and I are having an amazing time up in the mountains! About mile 760 on 5-23-13

Sunrise

Maverick Says:

There's a sunrise as we wake up on the road to hike into Lone Pine. We ended up hiking about 23 miles off the trail on a dead end road just to get into Lone Pine. It ended up being a great little town. I got an ice axe there due to the concerning reports we were hearing from some hikers ahead of us. Apparently some hikers had to hike back 40 miles into town after they encountered a 40 foot wide 75 degree ice shoot that they couldn't get past. But of course Lodge Pole and I had to see it for ourselves.

Dinner Time

Maverick Says:
Well I caught dinner at Toms secret spot and had so much fun doing so. Thanks again Tom and I hope you found the tree were I hung the fishing rod for ya.

Kennedy Meadows!!!

Maverick Says:
Finally made it to Kennedy Meadows and officially out of the desert. Got my new backpack and two giant cans of food, and got hooked up with a little trailer to stay in at Toms place. I feel right at home. Mile 702

After a day in Kennedy Meadows at Toms it was time to get back on the trail and into the Sierras! So with my new bigger pack and borrowed fishing pole we hit the road. Oh and my pack needed to be bigger to fit the giant mason jar like bear vault that is required throughout most of the Sierras. It also weighs about 3 extra pounds which sucks. I am starting to feel every extra pound now, but feel stronger at the same time.

Rocky Road

Maverick Says:

The hills and terrain started to get rockier as we approach the Sierras. Somewhere about mile 650.