Category Archives: Uncategorized

July 12 day 74 stayed at the Red Moose again a zero mile day.
A day of organizing, eating, and lightening up. I got a lighter sleeping bag and much lighter pack sent to me by my brother. I am getting rid of my cooking gear at least for a while to experience true ultralight hiking. My pack now has a base weight of 7.5 pounds. Base weight is the weight of the pack without food, water, and fuel. I typically carry about 1.5 pounds of food per day. The water weight has varied tremendously over the last 1200 miles. In the Sierra I have carried one liter or less oftentimes I carried nothing except just before I made camp for the night when I carry two liters for cooking drinking and washing. I typically will dry camp to avoid mosquitoes and bears.

June 30 day 62 camped mile 961.2 hiked 18.7 miles today
Had a big breakfast at the grill. Got cooking alcohol. Tasted the “soda springs” in Tuolumne. Tasted of iron. Had a beautiful hike along the Tuolumne river. Lots of people for the first few miles. Had a well deserved bath in a creek with a nice flat rock for sunning.

July 1 day 63 camped mile 979.6 hiked 18.4 miles today.
I was really in the thick of it mosquito wise today. Camped on Kerrick creek low and swarming with the little buggers. Entering and exiting the tent resulted in a dozen or so mozzies entering. Ack!

July 2 day 64 camped mile 998 Dorothy Lake Pass hiked 18.4 miles today.
This was a hard day for me. I was driven a bit crazy by the mosquitoes. I camped at the “pass” but it was sandwiched between two lakes. Had a fantastic view but it was best observed thru the mosquito net of my tent.

July 3 day 65 stayed Kennedy Meadows Pack Station PCT mile 918.3 hiked 20.3 miles today.
Today was an adventure. I climbed the long high volcanic ridges south of Sonora Pass. I got caught in lightning storm. It was a mixture of rain and hail. I was moving fast. Arrived at Sonora drenched. Cooked dinner with my back against a tree. Hail covered the ground making it white. Got a ride to Kennedy Meadows Resort. Washed cleaned and dried everything. Met up with Aloha his wife and Tears for Beers and shared a room with them.

July 4 day 66 camped mile 1032.8 walked 14.5 miles today.
Had a huge breakfast at the Lodge sent out my bear canister along with a few other things. The pack is much lighter without that extra stuff. Picked up fuel, communicated via email etc. Eventually I walked up the side road up to the highway and hitched a ride to Sonora Pass. The sky was threatening and not wanting to have a repeat of the previous day I booked it up and over into some more really lovely country.

July 5 day 67 camped mile 1059.3 walked 27 miles today.

June 6 day 68 camped mile 1084.1 Showers Lake walked 24.8 miles today.

July 7 day 69 camped mile 1101.5 Aloha Lake hiked 17.5 miles today.
Made it to Echo lake today and resupplied at the little market. No alcohol for the stove but I had enough to squeak by. Made myself a huge sandwich with a loaf of bread and 1/2 pound of ham. Camped on the shore of Aloha lake. It was super windy so cowboy camping was mandatory as my tent would never take that much wind. Had a nice chilly dip in the lake around sunset.

July 8 day 70 camped mile 1128 hiked 26.5 miles today.
Finished walking thru Desolation Wilderness. It’s well named undulating granite with a thin cover of trees. The big event today was seeing a bear in the late afternoon. I came within about 20 feet of it on or near the trail. I thought that was a bit too close so I backed up down the trail while reaching for my camera. Got a couple of shots of the very fuzzy brown colored bear.

July 9 day 71 camped mile 1151.2 hiked 23.2 miles today.
Hiked thru a mixture of granitic and volcanic peaks. Walked thru Squaw Valley ski area. No apparent mountain bike activity like Mammoth. Saw a Pica today which seemed strange as it was in a forested area below what I would think was it’s normal range.

July 10 camped mile 1170.5 hiked 19.3 miles today.
Hiked to Highway 40 near Donner Pass and hitched a ride to Soda Springs. Not much selection of food as there was no fuel available. Saw lots of people hiking around the pass. Got off track and used the GPS on a side trail to get me back to the PCT. had a nice cowboy camping spot with a view. I’ll cowboy up until the mosquitos are moderate.

July 11 stayed mile 1197.5 Sierra City at the Red Moose hiked 27 miles today.
It was a long day through a mixture of forest types. Saw a lot of selective logging where individual trees are taken out but the overall forest remains relatively intact and healthy. New tree species are beginning to appear. Incense cedar are replacing Juniper as the shaggy old tree. Saw some Alder and Big Leaved Maple also.
Got into town pretty late but not too late for Larry’s Gut Buster burger at the general store. It was a full pound patty with cheese and bacon and all the trimmings. I could barely get my mouth around it. Managed to also get my laundry done.

I’m in Soda Springs. Heading out soon. 42 miles to Sierra City.

28 miles to I 80. I’ll get there or very close today.

I have been eating like crazy. I start walking again in a few minutes.

On my way to Echo Lake Lodge for resupply. Should be there tomorrow.

I should make it to Sonora Pass today.

June 24 day 56 off PCT at mile 877.3 stayed at VVR hiked 23 miles today
Looked like rain today so I packed accordingly. As I climbed toward Selden pass the rain increased working it’s way thru sleet to snow. I was trying to make a 4:30 “ferry” from the near end of Lake Edison to the far end where the Vermillion Valley Resort is. I made it after running the last portion of the hike and out to the landing. Met Pickles, The Lucky Irishman, and Milkman on the incoming boat. I was alone on the aluminum skiff with the driver in the rain going across the severely low lake. Had to take a van about a mile from the boat tie up to the Resort. I began fattening up when I weighed myself and found I was 122 1/2 pounds. The majority of the people at VVR were thru hikers or JMT hikers. Met some cool new people. Had a fantastic time as I ate, showered, did laundry, and “shopped” in the hiker barrels for free food.

June 25 day 57 stayed at VVR zero PCT miles today.
Today was a full day of eating. I had 3 huge meals and 1/2 a pie that I shared with Soup Nazi. Was barely able to send texts and made one phone call to Hillary.

June 26 day 58 camped mile 889.2 hiked about 11 miles today
Last big breakfast for a while. Said goodbye to the great group of people that I had hung out with at VVR. I put on 4.5 pounds while I stayed here. Hiked up to Goodall pass and then to the junction with the PCT. I have entered the land of mosquitos. As I hate putting on DEET I either had to cover up completely or keep moving and swatting. Getting in or out if the tent results in about a dozen getting inside.

June 27 day 59 camped mile 909.8 hiked 20.6 miles today
It was a beautiful buggy descent down to Devils Postpile. The most interesting thing that happened today was as I was cooking mac and cheese for lunch a Coyote approached me and sat 20 feet away begging for food. It was scruffy looking as it was transitioning between winter and summer coat and was very skinny. I’m sure this animal has been fed before. What struck me most was it’s familiar doglike behavior. As I get towards Yosemite I see more and more habituated animals including marmots and chipmunks. I camp just N of Devils Postpile after picking up some water at a soda spring.

June 28 day 60 camped mile 927 hiked 17.2 miles today
Slow progress today due to mosquitoes and heat. The ascent from Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake is pretty tough in the heat. It was however extremely beautiful with all the wildflowers and the great view of the Minarets. I kept climbing above Thousand Islands Lake hoping to get out of mosquito territory but no luck. Had a gorgeous camping spot for the eve.

June 29 day 61 camped mile 942.5 Tuolumne Meadows hikers campground. Hiked 15.5 miles today
Made it to Donohue pass (11073 ft) pretty early. It’s strangely still and warm. Get some great views of the semi tame marmots at the pass. It’s a long mostly easy descent down thru the Tuolumne meadows. The river is crystal clear inviting me to take a quick dip. I end up running into Aloha a trail angel who’s wife and her best friend are doing the PCT. I arrive at the store/PO/grill at around 3:00 in time for a giant hamburger. Pick up about half my food from the hiker box and buy the rest from the store. Have a nice eve with a couple of women who are an a short backpacking trip in the park. One is spending the summer being a backpacking guide.