I'm currently 7 days and 103 miles from my last shower. Two more days until Mammoth (when this will post!) where I want to have the following: kale salad, Internet, shower, mango salsa, and new shoes. I think Mammoth is going to make my dreams come true.
This has been a very tough section! We are getting through the Sierra Nevada mountain range and almost every day includes a high mountain pass of some sort. Since the Bishop resupply, we've gone through Kearsarge, Glen, Mather, Muir, Selden, and Silver passes, each standing tall at 11,000+ feet. This means that a typical day includes a climb of 3,000-4,000 feet, the glory of standing on top of a pass and seeing into a beautiful valley on each side, then a bone crushing descent down the same distance onto the valley floor, which is likely a temporary mosquito hell (I'm talking 100% deet, long sleeves and pants, and headnet kind of hell). It's absolutely terrible, except that it's also gorgeous, exhilarating, and a ton of fun. Also, California's extreme drought is perversely our good fortune - there's virtually no snow on any of the passes. I can't imagine doing this while also worrying about finding the trail in the snow and avoiding post-holing (on the flip side though, I don't get to glissade....).
This section started with Matthew, me, Justin, and Justin's friend Pat. Pat is a major trooper. Going from sea level and normal amounts of exercise to 15 mile days with a 12,000 foot pass embedded in each is not for the faint of heart. Even though his knee was really bothering him, he got a wicked sunburn, and this trip generally seemed to be a bit more than he'd anticipated, Pat did an amazing job of doing what Teach For America calls "focus on your locus," e.g. spending your energy on the things that you can control and change. In Pat's case, this meant wearing bandanas on his hands to stop the sunburn, trying a variety of different walking styles to handle the knee, and best of all, maintaining an incredibly positive and upbeat attitude. I was muy impressed. Pat and Justin had to leave about 4 days into this section so Pat could get back to NY: they turned off at Bishop Pass. And then it was just Matthew and me.
Matthew is many things: fantastic older brother, great travel companion, excellent Settlers of Catan strategist. But thru-hiker he is not. As he describes it, he's more of a "thru-hanger." Thru hikers generally get up early, get in as many miles as possible, then find a place to throw down their sleeping bag and quickly consume some ramen before getting up and doing it again. Matthew, on the other hand, has the following daily priorities: two steaming cups of morning coffee, a great lunch spot preferably with a lake he can swim in, and the perfect campsite in the evening, complete with sunset views and a fire ring. And if we can squeeze in some miles between those important events, well that's an unexpected surprise. Ok ok, that's an exaggeration. Matthew's been awesome to have in the Sierra - the days are really tough and he's helped me to slow down, enjoy the amazingness, and has indeed found some gems of campsites along the way (google image search "Evolution Lake"). I'm so glad you're here, Matthew.
In this section, we've celebrated the glory of America not only by taking a million pictures of soaring mountains and profound valleys. We've also celebrated her in music, cuisine, and conversation! July 4th was a few days ago and, spending it in the High Sierra, we felt pretty darn lucky to live in such a beautiful country (though Katy, it wasn't nearly as good as the 60% July 4th of last year!). Matthew found some Aaron Copeland on his iPod, and we rocked out to that while admiring a crystal blue lake near Mather Pass. We also made "thanksgiving dinner," in honor of America: instant mashed potatoes and instant stuffing. America: heck yes!
Speaking of food, we haven't had any of my dehydrated fruits or veggies on this section, since we did the full resupply at a grocery store (no mailed boxes). And dang are they missed. I bought one super expensive pouch of dehydrated veggies at a wilderness outfitter in Bishop just to try them, and yuck! So I have a business idea if McKinsey doesn't work out: Jen's Dehydrated Vegetables. I'll market first to thru hikers and then grow from there. Before you know it, I'll be bigger than Mountain House. My specialty will be Latin blend: corn, tomatoes, scallions, and jalapeños. OMG, I can add mango too and it will be like the mango salsa I'm craving right now!! This idea is too good to fail!!
Also speaking of food (I spend a lot of time thinking about food), I've become a forager! Wild onions grow near some creeks and taste amazeballs with just about anything (instant humus, ramen, Mac and cheese ... You name it, it's awesome). My free spirit credibility is growing by the minute.
**huge update** we got to Mammoth early and I had a quesadilla with mango salsa for dinner!!! I'm now writing from the comfort of my own full size bed. I'm so happy.
Here are some other interesting things in no particular order:
-did you know there is an opera about john muir and teddy Roosevelt? Us neither, but we met another hiker who told us.
-Blue raspberry jolly ranchers are the best
-My amazing men's camouflage pattern crocs that I found in a hiker box sadly got taken by the San Joaquin River, in an ill-fated attempt to find a hot springs. RIP camp shoes. Matthew says they are going to end up on a farm in Modesto.
-When enough Mosquitos swarm you, you actually have an adrenaline/stress response that I would say is a similar level to a car dangerously cutting you off, or perhaps that recurring nightmare where you find out you have an exam you haven't studied for. Someone should study this.
-It actually rained for about 20 minutes!! First precipitation of the trip!
Heading to bed in Mammoth. Tomorrow: post office, new shoes, resupply food, and hopefully some hot tub if there's time. I am a happy camper.
Captions:
1. America, heck yeah! (On July 4th!)
2. Thanks PCTA for the awesome trail maintenance.
3. Justin gave me flowers!!
4. Trail livin'
5. So water access isn't really a problem in this section...
6. Deer took our campsite!
7. Dr. Lance-a-lot stitches up Pat's blisters. Also, in the bottom right corner, a final shot of my camp shoes.
8. Again, amazing trail maintenance!
9. Thanksgiving dinner!
10. Wild onions! I'm such a free spirit.
11. Mosquito nightmare.
12. Thru hiker still life: ramen, lightweight tent, fire to clear Mosquitos, bear canister (thanks, Barrel Roll!!)
13. Heeeeey Marmot.
14. Awesome Wildflowers.
15. In Mammoth and I want to order everything on the menu, thank you.
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