Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Mammoth to South Lake Tahoe
Hello from the stunningly beautiful South Lake Tahoe!
Another week has come and gone on the PCT and I find myself in South Lake Tahoe. My hiking bros were nowhere to be seen this week. Answer Man has been a day or two behind, Indie, a day or two ahead, I in the middle. Several days, I didn't see another hiker on the trail until after lunch. As a result, it was a very quiet and introspective week. Almost trance like. But not uneventful.
The first three days of hiking north of Yosemite can be described in a way John Muir never was able to: MOSQUITO HELL! Words cannot describe how utterly horrible it was. There simply was no escape from the little bastards. Swarms of mosquitoes were present from the lowest valleys to the highest passes and everything in between. It was frustrating, exhausting, maddening to be under attack every moment of the day and night. Mosquitoes would find areas in my head net that were closest to my skin and bite. They would land by the dozens on my shoulders and chest while hiking and bite through my shirt. They would dive bomb my face, fly into my eyes, nose, and ears into my beard and nestle their way for a bite into my cheek or chin. At night, they would chew on my face like a piece of beef jerky, despite my head net, just as I was falling asleep. They would crawl under my baseball cap to take a bite out of my temple. They would stealthily find a spot under the rim of my glasses to sting the side of my eye. There simply was nowhere to take a break. The only solution was to keep on walking. One man I met on the trail said they were the worst he'd ever experienced in 47 years of camping in the Sierra back country. Just as I was reaching the breaking point, something amazing happened. Unfortunately, that story will have to wait because I'm out of time.
Just a few quick highlights: I spent an amazing couple of hours in Yosemite eating lunch by the Merced and watching Yosemite Falls spill into the canyon. Also got to hike through the valley floor and hiked to the base of El Capitan. I was amazed how the huge granite cliff simply stuck straight out of the ground. Also, the Sierra wildflower gardens are beginning to explode.
Michael, thanks again for posting the pictures. Thanks for reading!
Another week has come and gone on the PCT and I find myself in South Lake Tahoe. My hiking bros were nowhere to be seen this week. Answer Man has been a day or two behind, Indie, a day or two ahead, I in the middle. Several days, I didn't see another hiker on the trail until after lunch. As a result, it was a very quiet and introspective week. Almost trance like. But not uneventful.
The first three days of hiking north of Yosemite can be described in a way John Muir never was able to: MOSQUITO HELL! Words cannot describe how utterly horrible it was. There simply was no escape from the little bastards. Swarms of mosquitoes were present from the lowest valleys to the highest passes and everything in between. It was frustrating, exhausting, maddening to be under attack every moment of the day and night. Mosquitoes would find areas in my head net that were closest to my skin and bite. They would land by the dozens on my shoulders and chest while hiking and bite through my shirt. They would dive bomb my face, fly into my eyes, nose, and ears into my beard and nestle their way for a bite into my cheek or chin. At night, they would chew on my face like a piece of beef jerky, despite my head net, just as I was falling asleep. They would crawl under my baseball cap to take a bite out of my temple. They would stealthily find a spot under the rim of my glasses to sting the side of my eye. There simply was nowhere to take a break. The only solution was to keep on walking. One man I met on the trail said they were the worst he'd ever experienced in 47 years of camping in the Sierra back country. Just as I was reaching the breaking point, something amazing happened. Unfortunately, that story will have to wait because I'm out of time.
Just a few quick highlights: I spent an amazing couple of hours in Yosemite eating lunch by the Merced and watching Yosemite Falls spill into the canyon. Also got to hike through the valley floor and hiked to the base of El Capitan. I was amazed how the huge granite cliff simply stuck straight out of the ground. Also, the Sierra wildflower gardens are beginning to explode.
Michael, thanks again for posting the pictures. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I Couldn't Resist
This is getting way ahead of ourselves, but I'm too jealous to suffer alone. Enjoy.
I Need A New Strategy
I just received two more disks full of photos from Mark, totaling well over 1000 new pictures. And these are of the good stuff high in the Sierras. My strategy of posting four photos a day of somewhat related parts of the trail will never catch us up. I think I might just pull every fifth photo or so and post them five at a time. That way, I can get through about 25 photos a day (on those days when I actually get something posted). The latest disk from some snowy locations high above the trees are unreal. The photo "story" might start to get a bit disjointed, but you'll still get a flavor. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
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