Pacific Crest Trail south-bound 2006: Kennedy Meadows, Sept 21

I saw my first cactus and jackrabbit today. Kennedy Meadows is where the High Sierra ends and Southern California desert begins, kind of. The fun begins for nobos and ends for sobos. We are leaving behind the most scenic parts of the trail and entering the not so scenic California desert. There will still be very high mountains all the way down to the Mexican border, but nothing like the High Sierra. Sierra Nevada was gorgeous and magical - an absolute heaven on earth.

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On the way out of Tuolumne Meadows, on September 11th, we met three "cowboys" - Richard and his son Jack who were cattle ranchers, and James (Jack's father in law) - the CEO and President of Bank of the Sierra. I had never seen real cowboys before and I was very excited to meet them. Well, these guys were rich cowboys and traveling in style, so they weren't EXACTLY like the ones you see in Hollywood movies.

The first thing they said when they saw us was:"Would you like a glass of wine?!" They were just finishing up their steaks as we passed by. "Ummm, is this real or are we dreaming???" we were wondering to ourselves. We definitely weren't expecting that on the PCT. Now I was really excited and we decided to spend the night at their luxurious, abundantly equipped campsite. Not only did they offer us wine, but they also fed us well and gave some food for the road. Us and them, we were like the representatives of the worlds of two extremes. Francis and I were the ascetic ultra-light thru-hikers and they were the total opposites of us - they had eight horses and were carrying close to 500 pounds of gear. They had everything you could possibly need in the kitchen - tables, chairs, a whole set of silverware and kitchen tools, pots and pans, cleaning detergent, a whole gallon of propane, stove, etc... They had sleeping bags that looked more like real beds, a toilet seat and a shovel, and a satellite phone...of course. I am not sure if they had an oven, but the next morning we were having a hot freshly baked quiche for breakfast. Maybe they ordered it via their satellite phone and had a helicopter deliver it to our campsite - I think that's more likely. ;) Richard, Jack and James were generous and warm people and I enjoyed their company. What I enjoyed most was the unforgettably romantic goodnight sleep next to a camp fire and the sense of safety that the four men and eight horses provided. It was one of the best night on the PCT.

From the left: Richard, James, Jack

This is some of the gear they were carrying. Hilarious :)))

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ON THE JOHN MUIR TRAIL

On Sept. 18th we successfully made it over Forester Pass in High Sierras, which is the highest pass on the entire PCT, 13 200 feet.

Devouring a twix bar. What a life!

Standing on top of Forester Pass was a big moment. There I was, absolutely speechless, standing in awe. It was a minor miracle for me because I wasn't sure if I would get this far. Somehow my tired but stubborn little feet never ceased walking. I had tears in my eyes as I was just 10 m below the pass working my way up and feeling the altitude as the air got thinner and my breathing heavier. Getting over Forester Pass safely is a BIG DEAL for PCT thru-hikers. That's probably one of the first things they think about when planning their journey. It's the highest point on the entire trail and getting over it can be tricky for both north-bounders and south-bounders. Getting over Forester Pass means you are safe and can successfully complete your journey, unless you get seriously injured or just tired of hiking. The weather in High Sierra can get nasty and dangerous and I would not want to be up there caught in a snow storm. We were very lucky. Overall, we have been very lucky with the weather. We have had maybe three hours of rain during the whole journey. An hour in Washington, an hour in Oregon, and an hour in California.