Sonora Pass
We marched happily up the mist trail headed for an unknown campsite as we said farewell to Deb and Ron who graciously drove out of their way to send us off in Yosemite Valley. The hours we spent with family
were filled with story telling and delicious treats. Walking amongst the crowded trails was foreign to us as we have hiked alone for quite some time but we made great time hiking up the spectacular Vernal and Nevada Falls which are so powerful right now. We spent the afternoon lollygagging around Little Yosemite Valley camp since we didn’t have a recently enforced permit to climb Half Dome on Sunday (permits are required Friday-Sunday). When we went to fetch some water on the trail, we met with two inquisitive couples, the Ritters and the Andersons, and before we knew it they offered us their permits since they were not going to be cli
mbing Half Dome until the following day, as was our original plan. We hustled to gather our belongings and, within moments, we were scurrying up the trail, departing Little Yosemite Camp at 5:00pm for Half Dome. We quickly ascended as the trail was free of snow and we were carrying just a few snacks. We climbed and climbed, only passing a half-dozen hikers on their descent and as we approached the rock face, there was only the cables that stood between us and a grand view of Yosemite Valley. While climbing the cables, we passed only one couple coming down, which was hard enough, and Melissa stated that she was not sure how people do it when the cables are crowded on weekends. Standing atop Half Dome, we admired the surrounding valleys, including the most famous of all, Yosemite Valley. 
Cathedral Peak dominated the skyline and snow covered peaks lay in the distance. We could see where we had come from and where we had yet to go. The best part of all, was that we had the whole rock to ourselves, not a single soul atop, and as the sun got closer to the horizon we began descending. After a heart thumping descent on the cables, we quickly paced back to camp arriving at 8:40 pm. Not a bad round trip for seven serious miles of trekking.
So Long Yosemite
After Half Dome, we were happy to hike up to Tuolumne Meadows where we were greeted by fellow thru-hikers who had just made their way through the still snowy Sierra. We ate three reasonably priced It’s Its ice cream sandwiches before walking the snow free trail to the High Sierra Camp Glen Aulen. These six miles were along hand placed rock paths that paralleled the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. The evening was beautiful and the light couldn’t have been more perfect as we passed some of the most incredible falls on the trip to date. The afternoon snow melt combined with hot weather made for the most spectacular show. We stopped beside one fall, just before we made it to camp, that was pushing so much water through such a small gap that it was heaving an amazing distance before dropping into the pool below. The mist created rainbows and we smiled from ear to ear. In camp we were greeted by Yeti, who we had recently met at Tuolumne Meadows. Yeti is an enthusiastic Israelli who completed the New Zealand thru-hike trail before beginning the PCT this year. He was celebrating over 3,000 miles of hiking so far this year at Glen Aulen.
The following day we awoke and, before leaving the campsite, we were back to the familiar feeling of hiking with wet shoes. The high rivers on either side of the trail had flooded the path to the bridge and there really wasn’t any other option but to endure the chilly waters. This would prove to be the just the beginning in tricky fords and crossings we would encounter in the days to come.
~Swift
Water. Water. Ice. Mud. Water. Snow. Mud. Snow.
That about sums up Monday through Friday of this week.
We figured we were done with the extreme tough snow and ice trekking once we exited off the John Muir Trail, but boy was that far from the truth. As we began hiking farther North, deeper into the backpacking country of Yosemite, we found ourselves back to snow navigation. Everyday, we would climb and descend 1,000 feet multiple times, making it quite difficult to average our 18 miles per day as we planned. In addition, when we reached canyons, there was always a deep river to ford, usually around hip to chest high.
During our first two days back on the PCT, we ran into three hikers who decided to turn around because the snow was too much for them. Many had already skipped the JMT hoping to come back to it later when the snow receded. We also met a thruhiker by the name of Handyman who was hiking back to Tuolumne Meadows to call for a rescue helicopter to pick up a sick hiker up the trail. We watched the next morning as the helicopter soared over the passes we had yet to climb. Even though the hiking is tiring, we push on with determination.
Wednesday, we descended into Stubblefield Canyon where our deepest “creek” crossing thus far flowed along ever so quickly. We hiked up stream from where the trail crossed
and found three smaller branches of water. We crossed them easy enough, as they were only about knee length high. We skipped along until we realized we were on an island and had one more DEEP crossing to endure. Swift crossed first and fell over as he lunged the last five feet to shore and grabbed shoreline branches to pull himself up. Watching him did not give me much hope for a dry crossing as the water was chest high for him which meant neck high for myself. He dropped his pack and then came back to the waterline to help me with my crossing. As I made it to the deepest part of the swiftly moving water, all of a sudden my feet did not touch the ground! I was floating in the water, but oddly not flying downstream! I started to panic until I realized Swift had grabbed my pack, so that it did not completely submerge, and was moving me across the river by my pack! I felt like Peter Pan flying to NeverLand. We had a good laugh about this on the other side as we ate a Mountain House Lasagna meal with 4 servings and let all our clothes dry in the evening sun.
Just Follow the Deer Tracks
As we travel along each day, we encounter multiple mile stretches where snow completely covers any sign of the trail. Sometimes we follow footprints from other hikers in the snow, but we have discovered a secret. When you arrive at a point where footprints wander off in multiple directions hinting how nobody has a clue where the trail is (or maybe one with a GPS does, but which one?) you must always follow the deer tracks. The PCT in Yosemite must be a major deer interstate as the most tracks we see on the trail are hooved and they always know the way in the snow. Our deer friends are very special to us now. Surprisingly, we find their tracks even above 10,000ft!!
Our feet are soggy, our skin chapped, and our stomachs feel empty even when we eat 1,200 calories for dinner. Transient, a hiker we caught up with yesterday, commented on how we have all become machines. We no longer have reservoirs of energy to tap into. When are body needs fuel, we shut down and must stuff ourselves with calories before pushing on once again. But every single step is worth it. The views are breathtaking. Literally. I am huffing and puffing every single day. Swift drives me crazy because he runs up a mountain and doesn’t even lose his breath. Jeesh… triathletes.
This morning we had quite a quick pace to Sonora Pass over multiple 10,000ft passes. Sites of what is up ahead were
promising with very little snow! We have made it to the little town of Bridgeport where 4th of July celebrations are in full swing with a fair serving yummy food and even a rodeo. Cowboys wander the streets and a group of friends play bluegrass in front of the old town cafe. We are happy to enjoy a night in the Ruby Inn where we can do some bathtub laundry, shower, and even enjoy their continental breakfast! Tomorrow, we will visit with Justin’s cousin Mika who works at a camp near Sonora before hitting the trail to get to South Lake Tahoe on next Friday to hike with Whitney and Janna. Even though we are a little behind our planned schedule, we will be making up huge time in Oregon and Washington as the terrain is nowhere as extreme highs and low elevation as the Sierra.
Thank You to Our Donors
We have noticed our paypal account was not sending us notices of new donations lately and checked to see that we have had many donations. See our Donors page to see all our recent donations. To date, we have raised enough money to send 38 kids to Outdoor School which is so exciting I have goosebumps right now! Thank you everyone for your continued support and help spread the word of InspireOut to raise more Scholarship funds.