We left Kennedy Meadows as a group of 10, excited for the next section of the PCT. The first few days were fun and snow free, with the only challenge being the increased elevation change.

4 days in the group split. Half wanted to do Mt Whitney (highest mountain in the lower 48 states, a side quest that takes a day to do), half weren’t comfortable with doing it. I was part of the group that wanted to do it. The group that decided to do it was me, Hummingbird (NZ), Turkey & Sweets (Germany) and Everything (Germany).

We said goodbye to the other half of the group, with plans to meet again in Bishop. With ice axes and microspikes, we left for the hill at midnight for a sunrise summit. Because we were attempting the summit in the early season, the only chance we had to do it was when the snow was still cold and solid.

It was cold, windy, dark, and awesome. We got to the summit right before sunrise at 6am. After quickly taking a picture, we raced down and made it back to camp by 10:30am. After a quick nap, we had to do another 8 miles if we wanted to eventually catch up with the rest of the group. Because it was afternoon when we left, every step we took, we sunk waist deep in the snow. It was the slowest, most painful 8 miles ever. As we got to camp at 7pm, we also had to do a stream crossing that soaked our feet with ice cold water right before bed. It was the hardest day yet, physically and mentally.

From then on, it’s been leaving by 4am to finish by 1pm to avoid postholing. The day after Whitney, we did forester pass (Highest point on the PCT). It was a cakewalk compared to Whitney. Every day, we do a pass, some more challenging than others.

Finally, 3 days after completing Mt. Whitney we made it to Bishop, absolutely burnt out. We met up with the next group, stayed at a Hostel, had a goodbye dinner for Everything (He went back to Germany to do a postdoc) and headed back to the trail.

The most physically taxing week, but having friends to do it with has made it infinitely easier. We’re planning on doing the Sierra’s together as a group, then splitting off after.

I’m writing this post the night before arriving in Mammoth, since it was too busy to write the last two weeks, and have had significantly less signal. The next post should be out before Monday, and will cover Bishop to Mammoth.

Thanks for being a fan, Noah