May 22 and 23 - Sausalito to Berkeley

Breck returned home from Iran on Sunday  full of tales from the art world. Betsy and I had cleaned house so the only thing out of place was us and our cat Sissy Sue. My sister Sherri arrived early to prepare for Breck's return with pizza in hand. Later she decided caviar was in order for Breck's birthday. 

After presents and wine we headed for Berkeley. We'll be staying for several days with Sherri and sister Tonya who is arriving on Tuesday evening.  

Monday morning I walked the hills of Berkeley with my backpack. As Betsy says, I need to keep in shape. The streets are cut through with 'Indian Trails,' - walkways often with steps that allow uphill foot traffic to take shortcuts up hill rather than to follow the contours along the roads. They make for a good workout. Half an hour or so uphill followed by the same downhill gets the sweat started, even in mid-fifties temperatures. 

On my return I did a little yard work while Betsy and Sherri walked the dog. Then we met for a scrumptious Mexican lunch. 

Later we did a little much needed walking to work off lunch and to get a few geocaches. Maybe I'll stay in shape!

There is a Golden Gate out there somewhere !

It's hard to tell but the Indian Trails are very steep for the most part.

Hikingsolo

May 5 thru May 21

With the help of Justin all of the wood from the huge white pine that was felled last year in front of the cabin has been split into mostly manageable chunks. Mostly manageable because some were so dense and knotty that three wedges wouldn't split them. We burned about half of the pile trying to keep warm between snow storms. 

Out of real food (We are not counting freeze dried hiker food!) and trying to avoid the high prices and limited selection at the upper lake store we rode bikes into town to get groceries. The downhill slope was fast and fun but the ride back was definitely a workout. Justin actually walked the bike a few times while I rode in circles to stay close. I'm not sure if the burger from Rhino's Bar or the beer slowed him down, but I was welcoming the slower pace. 

 

Betsy arrived on Monday May 9th and hung out for the afternoon and evening. By that time the snow was gone and the temperatures had warmed up. In the morning we headed toward Sausalito via Reno and Sierra City. The drive up Donner Pass was snow free with just patches up around 8000 feet. As we headed north to Sierra City the signs of spring were prominent throughout the landscape with flowers starting to show. We stopped briefly at Yuba Pass, around 7200 feet where snow drifts still littered the slopes. 

In Sierra City there was no evidence of winter, except that the tourists had not yet returned. 

It looked like our return to the trail would happen there after a brief visit to the Bay Area. However, once settled in Sausalito things changed pretty rapidly. 

Justin and I had a nice walk across the Golden Gate Bridge on our first day in the area followed by several days of meeting our relatives and geocaching with Betsy in Sausalito, on Angel Island, on Mount Tamalpias, and elsewhere. Justin is uncommonly good at finding geocaches, so much so that Betsy really enjoyed beating him to one! 

We also had brunch, a walk through Berkeley's Botanical Gardens, and dinner with Betsy's brother Michael and sister-in-law Cindy. And we got together with my sister Sherri to help with her garden and to enjoy a nice dinner. 

Not surprisingly, all of the walking, biking, and hiking wore the boy out. It also gave him a chance to think about what he really wanted to do next, which turned out to be help his parents move and return to his life as a video game expert. On Wednesday, May 18 Justin flew out, headed for Houston. Good luck, buddy! It was great hiking with you. 

Snow reports from around the Sierra and via the Fullers also helped me to decide to return to Tucson briefly with Betsy until mid-June. Two reports from Deb sum it up: 

"Some hikers are beginning to flip north to avoid the snow in the Sierras.  Not particularly a good idea at this point.   Here's a post from PCT Section hikers describing the current UNSAFE conditions of Section M, Sierra City to Belden.

Catherine Barash
9 hrs · Fort Jones
California Section M report from today. PCT Trail Update - Section "M" (initial 7 mile) observations during training hike from Hwy 49 to the summit. **UNSAFE!!**

The initial switchback section is great, including across the middle to the post piles. However, beyond that gets dicey. Initially, you will find overgrowth within the rocks past the post pile, making a couple areas tricky as it is difficult to see where the outer edge is trail, a bush, or air. That is the minor issue.
The greater problem is the handful of rock slides (shale) that have blown out the trail on the upper switchbacks (Southwest facing). The first one I encountered was just a few feet of damage, and clearing was relatively easy to find foot holds. The others were worse, where the trail was effectively replaced (blown out) by the slide. One I cleared a bit, the other I had to create a few foot holds, wedge the trekking pole and jump! Any slip and it is 1,000 to 1,500 feet before you hit anything as you slide down to probably your final hiking memory!!
My plan was to hike up beyond Deer Lake and back. Unfortunately, when I reached the summit, I also met up with the 3-5' of snow that the Sierras supposedly did not get. About 200 yards up the trail past the summit and the trail disappears under deep snow --- GPS-only travel. At about 250 yards in I stabbed the aluminum trekking pole in about 2', hitting solid, taking a step forward my leg disappeared, wedging against what appeared to be a fallen tree. The pole slipped off, sending it deeper, and to save what felt like a possible broken leg I put all my strength against the pole, bending it dramatically, but saving my leg. Here I decided to turn around.
I camped at the summit last..."

And the second one.... Report from Enduro who tried to make it through Lassen National Park: 

"Tried to hike n from drakes[bad]. Too much snow after kings crk. Heading back to drakes. Will try to jump to OS or Burney. ..... I'm heading back to drakes now. Brutal hiking. .....Lots of postholing and snow bridges. Everywhere. ARGHHHHHH! PCT wins the day!! Enduro"

The Fullers return June 25 to Kennedy Meadows. I may be a few days earlier, but I plan to meet up on the trail. In the meantime I'm trying to keep in shape walking the hills of Sausalito. After we leave our housesitting gig I'll walk the hills of Berkeley and then Tucson. 

Today is May 21st. Yesterday we enjoyed a drive up Highway 1 to the Point Reyes area where we had lunch at Nick's Cove and then revisited some geocaches in hopes of finding Betsy's lost glasses. While lunch was awesome we had no luck finding the glasses. 

This morning it's cold. 54 in Sausalito. 37 in Sierra City. Glad I'm not there. Tomorrow we head for my sister Sherri's place for a few days while we await sister Tonya's arrival. Then we'll head back to Tucson for dental appointments and such. 

I'll plan to keep up the blog more regularly now that plans are pretty well settled. 

One of our housesitting companions: Queen Latifa. 

Hikingsolo

May 3 - Haircut and Chores

Cabin neighbor Holly was headed to town today so I caught a ride with her to look for Justin at the bus stop and to get my hair cut. 

A fellow with long hair and a baseball cap got off the bus just before we arrived so I went around town checking to see if it was Justin. Holly helped by driving around the back roads while I walked the area. After covering most of the postage stamp sized downtown we had no luck finding the person with the ball cap, when I realized I should have asked people if they had seen someone with a big backpack get off the bus. Duh! I came to the conclusion that it wasn't Justin so I went on to my haircut appointment. 

With short hair and nothing much to do I spent the rest of the day chopping wood. I made it through about a third of the logs left behind last year from the dead tree out front before my hands quit working. 

Holly again invited me for dinner so I had a relaxing night talking with Doug and Holly as we shared stories again. Good times!

Betsy will be up on Monday with the Fullers. Hopefully Justin will make it here on Thursday. 

May 2 - Bus to Bridgeport

Starting just 20 miles from Kennedy Meadows the High Sierra is covered in snow. None of the regular roads into the backcountry are open at this time making resupply difficult or impossible. Horseshoe Meadow, Reds Meadow, Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass, Sonora Pass, and Monitor Pass are all closed. The Fullers and I have decided to skip forward north to at least Sierra City where the trail is lower and hopefully snow free. Later we'll come back to Kennedy Meadows to complete the John Muir Trail section of the PCT and north to Sierra City. 

So, on Monday I caught the 6:15 Eastern Sierra Regional bus to Bridgeport where I'll stay at the family cabin for a couple of weeks until Justin and the Fullers can meet me. I arrived in Bridgeport promptly at 9:20 and walked to the post office where I picked up a package with some additional clothing and paper maps for the rest of the trip. Next it was out to the Twin Lakes Road to try to get a ride to the Lakes. 

After about twenty minutes Eddie stopped his vintage International Harvester jeep to give me a ride. Thanks Eddie! The IH struggled up the incline and overheated a couple of times so we stopped at Doc and Al's turnoff to let it cool off and again along the lake front road. I enjoyed the ride and the chance to look around. 

The cabin was closed for the winter but after just a little work I was able to get the water on, the windows open, and the electricity working. Next I walked to the store at the upper lake for provisions. They were surprised to see that my grocery bag was a backpack! A quick walk back and I was all set to start a fire and enjoy the rest of the day. 

Later that afternoon I heard some noise next door and went over to find Holly and Doug at home. We swapped stories and they fed me a scrumptious dinner! It was great to see I wasn't alone on the hill. 

May 1 - Lone Pine Alabama Hills

Mount Whitney was sometimes visible from the Windows of the Whitney Portal Hostel as the clouds formed and then dissipated. My thoughts were with Patrick and Crockman as they will be in the shadows of the mountain in a day or so. Snow was falling at higher elevations and may continue for several days making trail finding and foot travel difficult.  I am happy not to be there. 

Justin met me for a big breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe where we formed a plan for the upcoming days. He'll be coming north to the cabin in Bridgeport while we wait for the Fullers to return to the trail. 

Today we planned on walking through the Alabama Hills just outside of town.  It was years ago that my sister Sherri and partner Bill introduced us to Lone Pine, Whitney Portal, and the Alabama Hills after a chance encounter on the streets of the town. Betsy and I fondly remember that meeting and our surprise at seeing them pass by our window as we ate lunch. 

Justin and I road walked out to the hills and then wandered in and out of the rocks. Justin was into climbing to the higher reaches and I was into saying, "I don't want to pick up your bloody body after you fall." Fortunately he didn't fall. Of course I didn't fall either as I just don't take such risks these days. It hurts too much! 

Later I needed a nap. Rock climbing is hard work!

After a quick dinner at Subway we met for a couple of beers at Jake's Saloon, a local hangout. Betsy called after a few texts and got an earful of the raucous goings on in the bar. LOL. I learned that she might have a little company in Sausalito if the Fullers are willing. Then she'll drive them to the cabin. I'm glad to hear they'll hook up!

April 30 - Kennedy Meadows: Decisions, Decisions

Got up late with the Fullers; didn't want to get into the Kennedy Meadows Store too early after three days of hard walking.  The Fullers were looking for a ride to Ridgecrest to arrange for a rental car to deal with family business. I was still undecided about whether to continue on to Sage Flat where I was likely to exit the trail instead of going up Forrester Pass in the snow or to get a ride down the hill and hitchhike to Bridgeport and wait for the Fullers to come back on trail. 

At the KM Store I met up again with Patrick and Crocman as they were gearing up for an assault on Forrester and Kearsarge passes. Equipped with bigger packs, ice axes, snow spikes, thermal insulating sleeping pads, snow pants, heavy jackets, a real GPS, eight days of food, and perhaps most importantly, knowledge of ice climbing, they were ready to go. They left behind snow shoes and crampons. 

Lacking the knowledge and experience in snow, I opted to consider the Sage Flat route. After talking with the store guru, Scott, and looking at maps I decided the 20 mile hike followed by a 25 mile road walk wasn't worth the effort, especially since I would have to return to KM later to complete the Sierra section. 

The Fullers had already left so I told a few people that I was looking for a ride down 395 towards Bridgeport. Ten minutes later Hank and Cindy offered me a ride! They then bought beers and hamburgers for us all and we talked a bit about the trail. Hank was scoping out the area in preparation for a hike along the John Muir Trail. While I was finalizing sending some packages on to Bridgeport James came in. He was just behind us on the trail and was also looking for a ride to town. Hank and Cindy, wonderful Trail Angels, also took James into Ridgecrest where he could stay the night and pick up a resupply box on Monday. We rode in the backseat of their truck with Roxy, their cute 6 year old boxer. 

Along the way north toward Independence, where Hank and Cindy were staying, we discussed options for dinner and places to stay. I had decided a campground near a bus stop would be best but it was starting to rain. As we pulled into Lone Pine to stop for a slice and some beer at the Pizza Factory Hank noticed the Whitney Portal Hostel across the street. I checked it out and immediately booked two nights for a total of $56! What a deal! Also across the street was a laundry! Even better. 

Thanks Hank and Cindy. You're wonderful! I hope to see you again.  

Later, while doing laundry, I had a text from Justin who was staying just down the street. We got together to have a burger and some beer and discussed plans. Justin will be visiting me in Bridgeport as we wait for the Fullers. Then we'll probably head for Sierra City to get back on the trail and head north. In August we'll head back to KM to complete the Sierra. 

Hikingsolo