Carowack: 6/30 The Sierras Part 2: Bishop to Mammoth Lakes

Bishop was a nice town. Even though I didn't stay very long, I felt really rested after staying the night there. The hostel was wonderful and I got to see a lot of hikers there who I hadn't seen since Kennedy Meadows.

Now, in Independence, I'd had a package mailed from home with maps for the next section in it and some cards from friends and family back in Virginia. It was supposed to be waiting at the post office there, but when I stopped in to ask for it the day before, it wasn't there. Crap. I needed those maps and I really wanted those letters. I decided to go back to the post office and check again before heading back up to the trail the next day. It meant I'd get a later start than I'd wanted, but whatever. I wanted to get to the post office right when it opened at 9, but the shuttle wasn't leaving until 11. I would have to hitch. The highway that runs right through Bishop is the same one that runs through Independence though, so I didn't think it'd be too hard. I stood on a street corner on the southern edge of downtown with my thumb out and a sign saying I was a PCT hiker needing a ride.

It wasn't easy. There was a lot of traffic and I got a lot of funny looks. After about 30 minutes, a car drove by with the windows down and a woman yelled out "Where ya going?"

I quickly shouted back as they passed me by, "Independence!"

Her response was a thumbs up out the window. They slowed down near the stoplight up ahead, and I thought I'd gotten a ride, but then they turned the corner and were gone. Oh well, back to the grind. I turned back to face traffic and put my thumb back out. Two minutes later I hear a whistle behind me. I turn around to see the woman and her husband parked in the lot behind me. The woman gets out, and the first thing she says to me is: "Does your mother know you're hitchhiking alone??"

She spends the 40 minute drive to Independence lecturing me, in a very motherly way, that I am very irresponsible and I shouldn't take risks like that, and what if some loony picked me up, you know, that's the only reason they pulled over for me in the first place, and I should call my mother the minute they drop me off and apologize to her for being so reckless and giving her a heart attack. It was one of my favorite hitches yet. Joelle, if you read this, I did call my mother, and I promise I only take rides from nice people like you and Jeff :)

I get to the post office and hug Jeff and Joelle goodbye and thank them. The post office finds my package and I have enough time to read my letters and enjoy a Subway sandwich before the shuttle appears, and I hop in and ride up to the trailhead.

The hike out over Kearsarge Pass back to the PCT junction is steep and long and not much fun at all. I take my time, I'm in no rush. It's pretty anyway, there's all these beautiful lakes along the way.

When I arrive at the junction, finally back on the actual PCT after 7.5 miles, it's already pretty far into the afternoon. But I still have energy, so I decide to tackle Glen Pass.

Awesome snowmelt lake below the southern side of the pass

Passes are common in the Sierras, and they usually mean pain. It's the lowest point at which the trail can cross over a ridgeline, but "low" in the Sierras is anywhere between 9,000 and 13,000 feet. It means a big climb. Typically, hikers do one pass a day. I was about to take down two in an afternoon.

Surprisingly though, I managed the feat with relative ease. I was tired of course, but I knew I would be able to camp at an awesome spot as my reward for a job well done. Rae Lakes was on the other side of Glen, some of the most scenic lakes on the trail. I descended down into the area as the sun was setting, reflecting the gorgeous pink and purple clouds against the golden and white cliffs of the pass in the lakes' glassy mirroring surface. I cowboy camped by the water and enjoyed an evening of stars and a gorgeous sunrise.

Rae Lakes at sunset

Rae Lakes at dusk from my campsite

Leaving Rae Lakes after the sunrise

After Rae Lakes came more passes, more people, and more mosquitoes. This part of the PCT is also technically the John Muir Trail, so there were a lot of south-bounders (SoBos) and weekenders out on the trail. It was a little crowded, but they usually over-pack on food, so they fed us desperate starving thru hikers pretty frequently with their excess granola bars and freeze-dried meals they didn't want to carry anymore. The passes didn't bother me much. I really like climbing up steep ascents so long as there's a view, and in the Sierras there's always a view. The mosquitoes, on the other hand, were intolerably ruthless. I had to abandon cowboy camping for a while, hiding in my tent to escape the incessant whine of the legions of bloodsuckers that would swarm and divebomb, kamikaze-style, the minute you stopped moving. For the record, mosquito-evasion walking speed = approximately 3.8 mph.

This section was a long one. I tried to pack a week's worth of food, but it proved to be far too little. I was down to one day of food left when I reached the junction to Muir Trail Ranch, still a few days out from my next resupply in Mammoth Lakes. I had heard the hiker box, a donation bin system for hikers to take and leave excess supplies that is commonplace on the trail, was typically well-stocked down at MTR, so I decided to hike the extra 2 miles down to check it out. And success! I found more than enough food to get me the rest of the way! Thank goodness for weekenders and JMTers. They fed me so much this week.

Regardless of the extra food though, by the time I got to Mammoth, I was running on fumes. Two weeks in the Sierras now, and it was really taking a lot out of me. I looked at myself in the mirror and was starting to be shocked at how thin I am. That "thigh gap" thing that's really "in" right now? Yeah, I have that. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I resolved to take a few days in Mammoth to rest up and try to regain some weight before getting back out there. Maybe I'd even stay for the Fourth of July!

Here's some other cool things I saw!