Day 157 - JMT Yosemite Tuolumne Meadows

Wildfire smoke would be the antagonist for our trip. I learned this on day 1 of our 200-mile hike while on the bus to Yosemite. A father and daughter had to leave their journey halfway through because dense smoke from the 55,000 acre Rough Fire in Kings Canyon was pouring east over the high mountains, making the air poisonous and ruining the views:(

But we knew the first few days would be clear. A half hour into the four-hour bus ride the smoke shrouded the mountains and the towns. It cleared eventually as we turn up a steep hill to the eastern pass of Yosemite. My first views of Yosemite were as lovely as they had been in my dreams.

We picked up our wilderness permit, lying about the extra food outside our bear cans (having too much food--heavy food- was another hike antagonist). Then we were off. A stroll through the woods, past streams and quiet bird calls led us to a long meadow- Tuolumne. I remembered hearing about Tuolumne Meadows while researching the Pacific Crest Trail and here we were. It felt awesome!!

We immediately felt the weight of our packs-- mine around 45 pounds and Bob's maybe 60 pounds. I had invested in ultralight hiking gear but the bear canister, 7+ days of food and extra water added heft. Bob had heavier gear but also an Alaskan toughness to carry him on. The mountain range containing Donahue Pass, tomorrow's exit from Yosemite, neared as we trotted onward.

And closer, the green gave way to grey. Alpine awaited.

We climbed halfway up, maybe 1000 feet in elevation and stopped at a wooded stream crossing. We found a secluded campsite by a waterfall, setup our camping gear (tarp plus bivy sacks) and jumped in the ice cold swimming hole near the falls. Hello Sierra! We cooked our first meal, Couscius with mixed veggies, nuts and raisins and learned our first lesson--too many veggies. Very full, supremely content and more excited than ever, we camped beneath the stars, awaiting the next wild day.

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Day 168 - JMT Pinchot Pass

The mountains appeared like sand dunes in the soft early light. We drank our coffee, packed up our gear and set off up the hill toward Pinchot Pass. Not a mile up the trail, we encountered another sensational High Sierra lake, Lake Marjorie, and the peaceful reflections off the lake's surface. Mountains of white and red and grey and black surrounded us-- all surfaces seemingly from another planet, but welcoming us this morning on Earth. Jeff and Steve and a lady named Tara joined us at the picturesque summit of Pinchot Pass. We remained there for a complete hour, enjoying stories of hiking triumph and Jeff's difficult but rewarding experiences as a search and rescue captain. Reluctant to leave the 12,000 foot pass, but begged forward by the slowly descending trail, we hiked on. The wonderful landscape in the background, with layers of blues, and browns and whites, appeared like an Ansel Adams masterpiece, and the trail a magical doorway to its frame. The sce

Day 171 - JMT Guitar Lake

Wow, was it cold this morning. After waking up and eating breakfast, we packed up quickly and found this scenic sunspot to warm our bones. We had a short eight mile hike to Guitar Lake today, the last viable campsite before the five mile hike to the 14,505 foot-high Mount Whitney summit. We stopped at this lovely meadow and looked for bears. We only saw deer but were able to enjoy the incredible peace of the far mountain range. Steady hiker traffic, the most of the entire trip, including one group of twelve elder hikers, passed us as we rested, and jumped! Views of Mount Whitney finally came into view at Timberline Lake, a quaint lake where camping was unfortunately forbidden. We passed a group of twenty Taiwanese hikers. The summit of Mount Whitney looked heavily defended when viewed from below. We were going to wake up tomorrow at 230am and hike up to the summit for sunrise-on-the-top-of-the-world*. The thought of this dark task was a bit foreboding. We made it to Guitar Lake by

Day 150 - Big Sur Hearst Castle

Big Sur coastline continues in its beauty. Elephant seals practice sparring. They make a snore-like belly belch sound while sparring and then after ten seconds later lie back down to snooze on the sand. The Hearst Castle is an incredibly luxurious complex on top of a high hill overlooking the ocean and coastal mountains. The feel was Mediterranean, royal and magical. The outdoor pool had a Roman feel-- on a hill, in California. Strangely awesome. But the indoor pool was the tops-- like a Turkish kings dream moment come to life. I found a beautiful campground close to the castle and stopped for the night.

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