posted by Claire on May 25
After hiking for a month in the high desert, I have finally arrived in the mountains. Not that I wasn’t in the mountains before, but these are the craggy peaks and stunning vistas that I’ve been yearning for. I see now why the Sierra Nevada is hailed as one of the most beautiful places in the US, especially along the John Muir Trail. Check out my pictures.
I have never been backpacking in the mountains this early in the spring, and there is a LOT of snow, at least from my perspective. Apparently, this was an average snow year. But, making my way through it, it sure felt like a ton. The snow is patchy at lower elevations, covering the trail frequently. Since there is no indication of the trail’s direction, I relied heavily on my map (and occasionally my GPS device). It might sound a bit frightening to be in the wilderness and not able to find your trail. However, I find it much more interesting and engaging to find my own path to the places I’m going. Unlike in a dense forest or on flatter land, you have a lot of visible landmarks to orient yourself. When the trail is visible, I find myself just trudging along and getting lost in my own thoughts. When you’re on a trail, you can tune-out so entirely that you don’t remember where you actually went or what the landscape looked like. The lack of trail makes me pay attention to the landscape through which I’m traveling. It challenges me to know where I am and where I am going. It also makes me feel like I am the first person ever to travel through this valley, or pass, or ridge. No footprints to follow, no signs of other people at all. It’s exhilarating.
But, it’s also exhausting. I found myself traveling much more slowly and eating much more food. The combination of the increased elevation changes and the snow travel required much more fuel for my body. I was always hungry! It hasn’t changed now that I’m in town either. Breakfast is usually a double helping of French toast with eggs and bacon, often followed by a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, all before 9am. My body was burning all those calories in exercise when I was in the backcountry. Now it’s burning them in rebuilding and recovery. My voracious appetite makes for an odd, but pleasant, change from my regular eating habits. It’s hard on the wallet though, especially as I often eat out, having no kitchen to in which to prepare my own food. I sleep a great deal too. If you thought I slept a lot before, you wouldn’t believe me now; I sleep all night, 10 pm to 8 am, have breakfast, and go back to sleep until 3pm. After 5 days of that, I’ve finally started to make it through the day without my nap.
This last section, from Kennedy Meadows to the Kearsarge Pass trail head, included the highest point on the PCT, Forrester Pass, at 13,200 ft. The trail also passes very close to Mt Whitney, the highest point in the continental US. Needless to say, I couldn’t help myself. I had to go climb it. Up at those elevations the snow was still quite deep in places. I ended up postholing (you can imagine the meaning of the word, your leg going all the way in the snow as if you just stepped in a posthole) a bit, but the snow was often stiff enough to walk on without too much trouble. The difficulty came when crossing snowfields on steep slopes. Thankfully, the snow was soft enough that the footing was good in most places. My ice ax did come in handy though, especially on the descent from Forrester Pass, where I glissaded down the steep ridges (it’s faster than walking). All in all, loads of fun. Also very challenging and tiring. Probably that’s why it was loads of fun. Does that make sense?
I came out of the backcountry realizing that I’d been pushing my body a little too hard. I decided to take a good week off. Luckily my break coincided with some nasty weather up on the Sierra Crest. So, here I am, chilling out and waiting for the snow to stop. I’ll probably get back out on Tuesday. Catch you then.