Saturday, August 27, 2016

Home For A Break

Saturday: (8/27) Granola for breakfast. Washing clothes today. Sausage and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Lou made BBQ ribs, baked potatoes and broccoli slaw for dinner. I was busy with mail, and catching up.
Sunday: (08/28) Breakfast at A Good Morning Restaurant. I managed to spill tea on my laptop power supply and kill it. Fortunately not the laptop itself. I enjoyed probably the last of our berries from the bush this morning. Dinner at Super Taqueria. After dinner we visited Cecelia and Courtney at their place.
Monday: (08/29) Lou made a nice smoked corned beef with fried potatoes and eggs. Lou and Dawn were busy most of the day with appointments. I called the Jeep dealer about having the Jeep looked at because of the Service Engine light being on. They didn’t call back so I drove down. I left it and took a walk to the shopping center. I had lunch at Oakridge Mall. I looked at several places for a new base for our portable XM receiver. Couldn’t find one. I also visited the Bass pro Shop, evidently the only place around that has live worms which Dawn needs for her tadpole. I returned to the dealer and the car “had just gone into the shop”. I waited for about an hour in their waiting room working on this blog and ordering things from Amazon including the XM receiver base. I got the car back after diagnostics, reseating the loose connector and a road test. I then headed off to the San Jose house to turn off all the fans I’d left on before we left town. It smells good now. Steak, asparagus and pasta for dinner.
Tuesday: (08/30) I made a sausage egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I had a doctors appointment this morning to get a spot on my hand looked at and talk with the doctor about my sore knee. She burnt three spots off my hand and gave me some exercises for my knee. On the way home I stopped for dim sum for lunch. At home I tinkered at the computer much of the rest of the day. Macaroni and cheese with sausage for dinner. Lou and Dawn were off to a author talk at a bookstore.
Wednesday: (08/31) Final pack loading and hike prep to leave tomorrow.

Friday, August 26, 2016

PCT Hike MM1004 To MM1017 Sonora Pass

PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826160925a PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826160931b
Friday: (08/26) Up early, and headed the two miles up trail to the last water possible for the next 10 miles.
PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826161009 PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826161040
Mostly uphill today. After yesterday’s beautiful day, today’s trail is through bare mountains. Mostly on gravel and chert.
PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826161139 PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826161228
However the major climb up was on an abandoned road bed so it has a nice even grade.
PCT MM1004 to MM1017 Emigrant Wilderness  0826161323_Pano
At 1515 I stopped at Sonora Pass, MM1017. Lou and Dawn picked me up at 1700. I made much better time than I had estimated last night in my email to Lou.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

PCT Hike MM985 To MM1004 Beautiful Valley

PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825160648 PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825160744
Thursday: (08/25) Above left is where I camped at the top of the mountain of steps last night.
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825160753_HDR PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161533
Several lakes along the way earlier in the day.
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161222 PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161657
A nice mushroom. I also passed the 1000 mile point on the PCT trail. The marker is not exactly carved in stone but at least stacked in stone.
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161426_Pano
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825160759_Pano
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161058_Pano
PCT MM985 to MM1004 Yosemite 0825161154_Pano
Beautiful valley today. A six mile long green meadow with a nice river meandering through it. The hike was slightly uphill with not too much hill climbing, just short sections. For his reason, I made 19 miles today. I camped at MM1004. Now only 13 miles more to get to Hwy 108.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

PCT Hike MM972 To MM985 Sore Knee

PCT MM972 to MM985 0824160744_HDR PCT MM972 to MM985 0824161027
Wednesday: (08/24) Nice morning views.
PCT MM972 to MM985 0824161138 PCT MM972 to MM985 0824161354a
A fellow hiker and I traded taking photos of each other. I also saw these interesting mushrooms.
PCT MM972 to MM985 0824161049_Pano
The big picture.
PCT MM972 to MM985 0824161726
A nice multi log river crossing.
Lots of steps on steep grades today. I felt good but didn’t make many miles. I stopped at 1930 just at the top of my second long climb which was mostly high steps on rock steps. Several nice lakes at the top of my first climb. My right knee didn’t like the climb and about 1/4 of the way up began hurting  so the left worked extra hard going the rest of the way up. I camped at MM985, 13 miles today.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

PCT Hike MM956 To MM972 Lots Of Lakes

Tuesday: (08/23)
PCT MM956 to MM972 0823160710 PCT MM956 to MM972 0823160801
Above is the nice long waterfall and the river by last nights campsite.
PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161108a_HDR PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161110_HDR
More great scenery.
PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161257_HDR PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161619
All sorts of it.
PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161620 PCT MM956 to MM972 0823161729
Met section Hikers Cindy and Whit from Delta from Delta, Alaska doing Tuolumne to Echo Lake. I never had any energy today. I’m amazed I did 16 miles. I camped at MM972 for 16 miles today.

Monday, August 22, 2016

PCT Hike MM942 To MM956 Tuolumne River

Monday: (08/22) Breakfast at Lake View Restaurant. Not my kind of breakfasts but nice grounds. Scrambled eggs and toast for me, yogurt and fruit for Lou and a blueberry coffee cake for Dawn. We headed up to Tuolumne Meadows. I checked at the Wilderness Office then prepared to leave. I then noticed I didn’t have any of my collapsible water bottles. I’ll have to make do with 3 liters for this section. On trail at 1000 from MM942.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161015 PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161054
Leaving from Toulumne Meadows starts on a section of dirt road.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161115 PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161123
Toulumne Meadows and river.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161158a PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161159
A couple of views of the Toulumne River.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161209a PCT MM942 to MM956 0822160953a
The Toulumne River runs down the almost solid rock heading down toward Glen Aulin. On the right I’m already to start from Toulumne meadows.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161233b PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161241a
Lots of rock steps, or in this case they are almost ramps. In fact there is a whole lot of rock in the area, some really big.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161254a PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161520
Lunch at Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp looking at the waterfall.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161521_HDR PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161843
Fairly nice trail after Glen Aulin. On the right above is my campsite.
PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161843b PCT MM942 to MM956 0822161844
Above left is my first placement of my bear can. it looks lonely way over there. A nice river confluence was right next to the campsite.
I stopped for the night at MM956 beside a river. Made 14 miles today. pretty good for a late start.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

PCT MM1247 To MM1233, On Top Of A Ridge

Feather River South Of Bucks Lake 0721160716e_HDR 2000 KM Point Of PCT 0721161039_HDR
Thursday: (07/21) A view of the river from the bridge as I depart. I passed the 2000 kilometer marker.
Don Relaxing 0721161309_HDR 12345 mile point of PCT By A Spring 0721161614_HDR
See why I take few selfies.  i’m enjoying a little rest stop above left. i also passed another interestng marker where the miles are 1234.5. I camped at MM1233 hiking 14 miles today. The climb out of the valley wasn’t bad. I’m camped on top of a ridge and the wind is blowing. Good views.
GPS: 39.782267, -120.901601