Eleven day High Sierra adventure

Before we started hiking the PCT we had been discussing the idea of hiking a 204 mile section of the High Sierra without a resupply. Add in a day trip to summit Mt. Whitney and we just created an 11 day excursion where we have to carry all of our food and have no contact with the outside world. Now this is no Everest climb or South Pole expedition but to date it was our longest time out without a resupply.  Our previous longest outing was 6 days and we wanted to do this just see what it would be like. The High Sierra route of the PCT (which just so happens to be part of the John Muir Trail) does not even come within 7 miles of a road making it a great place to immerse ourselves in nature. We also get to see some of the grandest scenery on trail, climb the highest peak in the lower 48 states, and climb and desende 7 passes over 11000 feet. When planning. Most people hike 15 miles round trip off trail to hitch an additional 30 miles to resupply and get a taste of town. Going uninterrupted through this section comes with a different price. The weight of the food and bear canister that is required is ridiculous!

A good average is 2 pounds of food per person, per day.  We were able to squeak under that number and each had about 20 lbs of food plus the weight canister. The picture above is only about half the food carried from the beginning. The other half wouldn't fit in the bear canisters. :-) Starting off, this made our packs weigh around 32 pounds. This was QUITE different from what we were used to.

     The  terrain is also super intense in comparison to the ridge walking and skirting we did in the desert.  Here, we go through range after range of huge peaks. Hiking up the range to a low spot in the range called a pass just to descend thousands of feet to cross to the next range and repeat the process. Due to snow pack and the grueling nature of the hiking doing more than 20ish miles a day and more than 1 pass is unusual. This happened to be a VERY low snow year so we could stretch those numbers.

The low v in the middle is Forester Pass. Forester Pass is the highest pass we climb on the PCT at over 13000 feet.

Snow travel is another change for us in the High Sierra. We are having a record breaking low snow year, but that does not mean that there is no snow to contend with at all. Each pass has a climb and descent with snow features. Timing the snow firmness correctly is important for safe and speedy snow travel. Because there is so much less snow we opted out of carrying any special snow gear like ice axes and micro-spikes.

Here, Possum is descending Glen Pass, which had a fare bit of snow on the north face in the afternoon so that it was soft enough for us to safely sink our steps.  It was still quite nerve rattling!

   There is lots of water, which is a nice  change from the desert, but it adds the element of icy fords.  This experiment of an extended nature immersion has had its ups and downs but we are so glad to have done it. We are exhausted and looking forward to the food, showers, and rest that the trail town of Mammoth has to offer! 

      A lot more Sierra pictures on the next post!