Thank God we waited till morning to do this gnarly climb. It was a beast. But when we crested the saddle, we got our first glimpse of the snowy Sierra and Mt. Whitney. I guess I didn't realize I would be getting glimpses of Mt. Whitney on this hike so it was a nice surprise once I realized what I was looking at.
The terrain was changing a little bit. There were more trees but still desert. You could definitely tell a transition was being made in the topography. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. The thought I focused on was being able to curl into my sleeping bag and lay down when the walking was done. I think about all my hard hikes and can easily rank this one in the top 3 most difficult. There weren't any streams, rivers, or lakes to break up the monotony or offer a reprieve. My wishful thinking about the Kern River was way off base and I wouldn't actually see it until 5 miles from the end. But over it all, I remain grateful that I am physically capable to do this type of activity. You never know when that ability can be snatched away. Enjoy it and live in the moment.
Where was I? Oh yeah, walking, walking, walking..... the PCT popped us out onto this dirt road that we had to follow for 2 miles before connecting us back to the trail. It was deeply rutted and not easy walking. It pretty much fried my hips and feet further than I thought possible. And it got hot. We ran across some puddles and I seriously considered straining the water through my hanky and then filtering it. I was intent on having my beef stew for dinner because that's a nice hearty meal and it was a higher mileage day. The beef stew takes 2 cups of water though and I only had so much water left to get me to the next water source. Anyway, I didn't filter the puddle water and I did have enough to eat my beef stew. So it was a win win all around.
We found a sweet spot to pitch tents. I was so tired at the end of each day that I literally set my sleep system up, cooked my dinner, scarfed it down, and went to bed. Every. Freaking. Day. One night I was sleeping by 6:30pm! I usually read or do some writing when I backpack but I did none of that on this hike. I think I read my kindle one time.
Photos can be found on my Instagram @tinahikes
Author of Lola Hikes the Icy Mountain
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lola-Hikes-Mountain-Tina-Fernando/dp/1524656089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491443809&sr=8-1&keywords=lola+hikes+the+icy+mountain
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