Last night I checked my maps, electronic ones since I somehow left my paper maps got the area past Whitney at home in my next resupply box, only to discover that my itinerary did not match up with reality. My itinerary said I had 12 miles to go to the turnoff to Onion Valley and my next resupply. The reality was 12 miles to the first and highest pass on the PCT, Forrester, at 13,200 feet and then another 16 miles to Onion Valley also over a high pass. So today I woke up feeling a little like a dufuss with two or more long days ahead.
I also woke up a little sick to my stomach, I think from over exertion the day before. I stayed in bed a little longer to allow my body to recover and then thought about eating. Breakfast stayed down and seemed to give me some energy.
Along the way to Forrester Pass I met a few other hikers: Dr. Nuggs, who was a pharmacy on foot, and his cousin Professor Kind, a frequent user of the pharmacy; Feldspar, a young woman on the trail alone; Wildfire, with red hair and wild pants, and her (boy)friend Catnap; Rainbow from New Zealand; and Fish Nugget.
Fish Nugget, aka Sydney, is a nice young lady from Truckee who has worked on organic farms and seems to love the farming way of life. She's on a mission to redefine her life view while on the PCT. Fortunately for me, she likes to take it slow and likes to talk. We hit it off great and walked the last five miles or so to the base of daunting Forrester Pass. This was very fortunate as I really needed to recover from the climb up Mt. Whitney. As we approached Forrester the time was late so we made camp at the last possible spot. We shared some dinner and a packet of awesome hot apple cider before the sun went down and it starred to get cold. Well sleep in tomorrow to allow it to warm up before we attack the pass.
Sorry if some of the pictures are a little small. I'll edit when I get to a computer. :-)
Hikingsolo
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