Kearsage pass 788+ 7.5miles back to pct) - Mammoth Lakes 906

To get back to the PCT we had to ascend to Kearsage Pass. Full of energy we passed all the day-hikers and John Muir Trail hikers on the way uphill (Suus and Kristy passed some young athletic hikers- which made them proud and left the hikers amazed and frustrated).

We hiked about 20miles per day, with one to two passes per day and up tp 6000 feet of ascending ...sorry, we are just proud of ourselves and we need to show off a little bit.

The Sierras are just beautiful: mountain passes, small streams, trees, mosquitos, mosquitos, mosquitos...yeah, there are Mosquitos, it is not thaaaat bad, but it seems like every section has it's poison. If you keep on walking, you're fine. But if you have a brake to filter water, you get bitten. I tried to ignore them. Now my legs look like the Sierras. Kristy said that my Kryptonite is mosquitos, since I did not have any physical problems so far.

But it is wonderful here. We slept in the stone hut on the Muir pass and swam in lakes and streams.

After I bought new sunglasses in Bishop, Khaki, an experienced hiker we walked with for a while, found them in a stream we were swimming in. I was surprised that I lost them and when I got out of the water I found my glasses still being on their place. So now Suus and I have the same glasses...couple-style...isn't that a coincidence?

Khaki (the color of his clothes) makes his gear himself. He walks the PCT because he just retired at 56. He has a lot of stories to tell about hiking the Sierras and ultralight-gear. He also was bitten by a spider in the desert while he was sleeping and still has an ugly wound on his arm from that... We also talked about cultural differences and it was interesting for me to hear his opinion about the right to own guns in the U.S., which is written down in their constitution.

After six long days of hiking we reached Red's Meadows in the morning,  where Khaki waited for us (he is fast) to have breakfast together. We took the bus to Mammoth lakes,  which is hiker-friendly but a touristy place. Here we resupplied and met Methinks and his girlfriend (Robertos has delicious Mexican food!)

We are now going on to Toulomne,  Markleeville and South lake Tahoe... so we will reach the 1000 mile mark within the next week (Yippie!)

F.

MILE 788 - in the shuttle bus to Kiersage pass

We made it. We left the desert and are in the Sierra Nevada now. At this point we are in a shuttle bus, getting back to the trailhead. We stayed in Bischop for a day, it was hard to leave here...:

But the Sierra is breathtaking. We summited Mount Whitney (4300m /14505feet)) and Forester Pass ( highest point of the PCT 14300feet). We got hailed on, walked through snow, rain and sun. It was exiting, exhausting and stunning. Just look at the pictures and imagine that in real its 10x as beautiful.

The storm has done is job, the sun is shining. Yosemite here we come.

S.