Tyandale Creek - Vidette Meadows 6/24/10 12 miles

What a day! Woke up planning to complete 23 miles and then hitch into Independence, CA. We did 12 miles, the hardest of our miles, no joke. We started at 6:15 am and hiked up into the snow field before Forester Pass, while it was still frozen. The snow got thick and we lost the trail, no biggie, we couldn't find it for the rest of the day. I used my mapping skills to get us about halfway there, then we saw Alex pop up over the hill. We followed him to the pass, but never caught him. We watched him go straight up, like nothing I've ever seen. He had no crampons, no ice axe. Both were needed, but it didn't slow him down. We followed and got to the top of the sketchiest climb of our lives and celebrated life. We then hurled ourselves over the other side, glissading. I went first and got down to the lake. After the slide, we had to walk around the frozen lake. The snow started to melt and made travel grueling. POSTHOLING. We walked for five ours before we got out of the snow. No trail. Pooped, we ate the last bit of food - two packs of ramen and Poptarts. We then mozied to the campsite and totally threw Independence out the window until tomorrow. We sat up, talked to Alex, built a fire, bummed some food. A mixture of grape nuts, chocolate pudding, powdered milk and almonds. It was awesome, but we were hungry. Sky and Marianne let us have the rest of their peanut butter. Much appreciated. Twelve miles, nine hours, tired and ready for town and a zero day. Cant wait!! CM

Crabtree Meadows - Tyandale Creek 6/23/10 9 miles

headed out around 6am with a big day planned. About two minutes into our walk, we realized that the only way across the river, to the other side of the trail, was to put our balance to the test by walking across a narrow log in between. That was a good indicator of what the remainder of the day had in store for us. After just a few miles, we had to cross another creek. This time no log to walk across. We put on our crocks, trekking poles in hand and wade across. The current was strong from the rapid snowmelt and the water was COLD! On the other side we chatted with our friend Pacer, the first PCT hiker we met as soon as we came onto the trail, on our first day. We discussed with him our plans for the day and debated our planned journey to Forester Pass (highest point on the PCT.) We discussed ETA and rumors of snowfall and snowmelt. We were undecided if we could attempt this due to fear or 1) finishing to late 2) arriving there too late in the day 3) post holing atop of 4 miles of snow. We continued our walk, still debating our long day, discussing weather we should wait and complete Forester the following day. we came across another hiker, Alex from London, and again debated Forester today or in the morning. We walked and crossed water throughout the day. We arrived at tree line and the mountain was covered. The trail was difficult to navigate due to the snowfall. We found our way with the help of a rock carion in the distance. We hopped back onto the trail after slowly making our way through the snow. We talked with Pacer and a new face, Square Peg, over lunch. We decided to complete 9 miles to camp today and start an early morning on Forester pass, using our crampons to get us by instead of post-holing in slush. We were almost at camp and couldn't have ended this day without yet another river crossing. At least our feet got clean today : ) We camped with Pacer, Square Peg and Alex. Pacer and Alex were a really big help and provided some good tips for the days to come. KB

Chicken Spring Lake - Crabtree Meadows 6/22/10 15 miles

We woke up early with ice on the tent. It was cold, so I fixed Kristi breakfast in bed. Took us a while to get started. Got some great pics of the alpine lake, and started our walk. We had a pretty nice snow bank we had to climb. Pretty walk all day. Had lunch and our first creek crossing at Rock Creek. I wish I had gotten a picture. After the creek there was a killer climb, 1700 feet, straight up. Walked down into Crabtree Meadows and saw some of the most breath-taking mountains yet. Can't stop thinking about food. Highest point on the PCT tomorrow and then town the next day. CM

Death Canyon - Chicken Spring Lake 6/21/10 19 miles

With all intentions of getting up earlier than usual, our sleeping bags were just too warm. We got up, ate breakfast and headed out around 8am. We began the morning with a steep climb. In three miles we gained 1600 ft. The higher we hiked, the chillier it became. The wind howled throughout most of the day. We had some amazing views today. The snow capped mountains we had once yearned for the previous days, were now under our feet. Snow covered the trail in many spots along today's adventures. Sometimes we went around, and sometimes we had to go over. I bundled up in pants, long sleeves, toboggan and at times my gloves as the temperatures dropped. Chris, on the other hand, continued to cruise along in swimming trunks and short sleeved shirt. My boyfriend is nutso! We passed some of our friends from Kennedy Meadows along the way and met some new faces. A Belgian fella by the name of Chris discussed his destination and we debated with him on climbing Mt. Whitney. He asked, "Are ye from Australia?" He then proceeded to say that he had never quite heard accents like ours. We laughed about this on up the trail. We met a section hiker named Brent who was a Southern CA native. He warned us about the clouds that were beginning to hover, stating that it would be thunderstorms or snow. We took his word for it, assuming rain was on the way. A few miles up the trail, we began to see white dustings. I thought that the elevation was just getting to my head (it could have also been denial), but yep, it was snowing, IN JUNE. We finally made it to camp and rushed to put up the tent, the sleet began. We got into the tent and put on warmer clothes and pretty much stayed there until bedtime. We cooked under the vestibule. We guessed that the temp was around 30 degrees. Mac and cheese and some hot green tea for dinner. It's going to be a very difficult task to get me out of my sleeping bag in the morning. KB

Monache Meadows - Death Canyon 6/20/10 14 miles

Got up, got packed, had a little breakfast fire left over from the Aussies, which was nice since there was frost on the ground this morning. Got some pics of the meadow before we headed out. Good start with some beautiful, giant woods. Ran into some hikers we met in Kennedy Meadows, nice having people around. We had lunch on a nice ridge and took a snooze under a Sequoia. Walked past, through and through little bits of snow. It was a chill afternoon. Had some good conversations. Passed through some more meadows, not near as nice as Beck or Monache. Again, we got lost while still on the trail and had further to go than we thought. Our time/distance ratio is working out yet. Got to camp, set up, no sign of the Aussies or Canadians. We were sad. The hikers from Kennedy Meadows invited us over to join their fire. Nice pit that they had just built, which helped put the mosquitos as bay (they were terrible all day and only got worse in the evening.) It was nice to meet and talk to some new folks. Nineteen miles tomorrow, gotta get started early. CM

Kennedy Meadows - Monache Meadows 6/19/10 14 miles

Kennedy Meadows was a good refresher for both of us. we started the day by making some phone calls to the family and then headed out about 8am. We walked in more dessert for quite sometime. We entered Seqouia National Forest , still some dessert and then began to see more of our style -more trees, Kern River flowing hard, shade and even got to eat lunch on a nice bridge over some rapids. Kinda reminded me of the Creeper Trail. We walked farther up and yet again , hit another sandy, dry burned area. I told Chris that after walking in beautiful forest was comparable to showing you steak and giving you hot dogs(funny how food is alway on the mind). We found a nice shade tree after walking a while and had lunch, sweet and spicy tuna wraps, mashed potatoes, peach tea and choc(thanks to our resupply from KM ). We had a tough climb after lunch , entering into more burned area, but this time the burned area was actually beautiful. Although the tall trees were black from the fire(30 years ago) they were all standing in a meadow of bright pink and purple flowers surrounding them. We continued on and ran into Nick, a new face on the trail. He complained of his heavy pack weight compared to ours. We reached Beck Meadows, gorgeous green fields on a mountain top with streams flowing through, with a view of snow capped mountains to come. This got us both excited! After a little map confusion and thinking we had already passed the camp spot, some day hikers set us on the right path. Across one more ridge and back down, we reached Monache Meadows, our favorite yet. Another wide open green meadow (my how we missed grass), but this time with another cool bridge and the Kern River flowing through. We set up camp next to our Aussie friends, Nick and Josh, and our Canadian friends, Paul and Laura. After going down to the river and relaxing, washing off and resupplying with water, we all sat around the fire and discussed a variety of random topics such as our different cultures, food, travel stories, trail talk and lots of good laughs. Laura's husband Paul is hilarious and kept us rolling! Chris and I both agreed that today was the best yet! KB

South Fork Kern River - Kennedy Meadows General Store 6/18/10 5 miles

Great Day! Woke up, took it easy getting out of camp. Had to walk only 4 miles to get to "town." The trail was nuts! Pretty flat, but it was hardly marked and really frustrating to follow. Supposedly there was a road we were supposed to walk on for a mile, but we never found it. We came to another one, though it was not the right one. Luckily, it was the shortcut to heaven, on a desert mountain. Got to the store and it had everything a hiker could ever ask for..shower, laundry, mail drop, sweet letter, air plane bottles, groceries, beer, snack bar, resupply, snack bar again and happy hour and free dinner of burritos, veggies, shrimp, peanuts, chips, guacamole and the list goes on!!! Free!!! Not to mention all of the people we met...Chocolate Bandito, Christina and Talent Man, Crutchy, Pony, Sky, Douie and still more. They were all in the wilderness around us, but we didn't run into any of them until now. We also met the coolest people that started in Walker's Pass like us, Laura and Paul. They started their hike as sailing down from Canada, oh yeah, their 6 year sail and hike around the world. And we thought we were crazy! They are older of course, but look to be good friends. All of this happened on a porch at a general store at 6,000 feet in CA. Emailed, waited on the phone, didn't happen, pitched a tent out back. Shew! Goodnight! CM

Canebreak Road - South Fork Kern River 6/17/10 17 miles

Slept a little better tonight, with lessened fear of a bear attack. We got up around 7am and headed out around 8am. We met some nice Aussie guys, JR and Josh, as we resupplied with water. They also had just began walking in Walker's Pass as we had. They joked about everyone that had been hiking since the beginning that breezed by them. We could relate with our "pacer experience" from the first day. We began the morning with a steady climb. We agreed that we were both sore, but continued with a good attitude. We passed JR and Josh, as they adjusted their very large packs and didn't see them again today. As we approached the ridge top, shade was far and few between and the scorching temp was intense. We found a semi-shaded spot and ate lunch, two packets of mashed potatoes, and rested our very tired feet. Chris treated his first blister and I checked up on my three, re-taping them as needed. We continued on. It was a long, tedious, hot sweaty, tiring day. Our guidebook marked a "burned area," but failed to mention that it lasted for 13 miles! talk about no shade and depressing. Guess you can't have the beautiful mountain tops forever. We took a long dinner break under a huge, but sad leafless trees, which provided the most shade we'd had all day. We continued, walking through more burned area and desert. We spotted one snake and continued to stay on guard as we walked. The four miles to camp, seemed like ten to both of us, but a spot on the river made it worth it. Tomorrow's a big day! We get to go into Kennedy Meadows, pick up our resupply box, shower and do laundry!! Bedtime. KB

Joshua Tree Springs - Canebrake Campsite 6/16/10 17 miles

We didn't get eaten by a bear, we didn't get much sleep, but still rested. Started about 8, got a mile, Kristi decided she didn't like her shorts and said she wanted to hike naked so i said she should cut the bottom out and make a skirt,it worked. ahaha! we took a break and were already having a rough day and still had to start our climb. it was a good climb, not, started out mellow but Kristi's back started hurting so i lightened her load a bit to get us to the top of course it got steeper then. we got to the top for lunch and were relieved to get to relax. Still had 8 miles to go but it went fast, flat and downhill. Saw a hummingbird, some crazy rock formations, and our first snake, (red, black and yellow). Continued on til camp. Rundown campground, no water? no host? Whatever. Had a good fire and are headed to bed right at dark another slightly bigger climb tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes. CM

Walker's Pass - Joshua Tree Springs 6/15/10 14 miles

After a pretty good night's sleep in Lake Isabella, we started the busy day. We packed up our packs, had a good breakfast and headed out. Since walker's Pass was about 30 miles form Lake Isabella, on the main road, we began our hitch-hike (a first for me.) We held up our "To Trail" sign and many cars passed, Then, we had a buyer. I was definitely skeptical at first, but it ended up being a fun, educational ride. Greg Jones was the nice fella's name. He was a local carpenter with loads of knowledge about the history of the land, local economy and some wildlife advice. As soon as we got onto the trail, trail magic appeared. Okie Girl sat under a tent with many goodies to share. We had a chance to meet a gal who actually knew some Bristol folk, wow!! That doesn't happen often here. Her name was the Chocolate Bandito. We also met a nice guy by the name of Pacer, an older man, very sweet. We soon figured out the significance of his name when he smokes us about a mile into our walk! The day was long. First day, trying to get our "walking legs" as Chris said. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I learned differently with a 45 lb. pack on. Chris and I spat about pack weight. He suggested I do away with my super small bottle of Dr. Bonner's soap. I refused and suggested that he ditch his heavy Nalgene bottle. W came to no resolution. I'm sure this will be an ongoing battle. We sweat, huffed and puffed along the trail and finally made it ot camp. Sore back, feet and hip bones, but it was worth it. Some beautiful land, but very desertous and hot. Looking forward to becoming accustomed to my pack and losing soreness as we continue. Time for bed. Oh yeah, we just happened to read in our guidebook that this camping spot may be bad for bears. Food is hung and in bear canisters. Bear spray and ice axes in tent. KB

travel day

Well, after a stressful day yesterday of running last minute errands and emotional goodbyes to the families, here we are. We have made it to the west coast. We sit on a curb at LAX patiently awaiting our bus to Bakersfield. We plan on eating a good dinner tonight and relaxing, which neither of us have done in quite sometime! Needless to say, we're both extremely stoked! We'll stay the night in Bakersfield, in an actual room instead of a tent ( : ) ) and then we will catch another bus to Lake Isabella tomorrow. There we will get our gear ready, again eat some more good, hot food, clean our tent, have another good night's rest at the campground. Finally on Tuesday, we will begin the hike. It's sinking in and we can't wait to get started! Woohoo

Here we go!

We will be leaving in 5 days! Can't believe it is that close! Where has the time gone?? The last 4 months have consisted of work, work, work and getting ready for this wild adventure. We have saved and saved, bought gear, made mail drop lists, researched the trail, applied for all necessary permits, Chris sold his beloved jeep (I'm in the process of figuring out what to do with mine), applied for short-term insurance, gave resignations to our jobs and the hardest part...trying to convince all of our friends and family (esp. my family) that we have not completely lost our minds. The truth of the matter is - If we are going to do this, this is the right time. It feels right. This is what we want. Chris has hiked the entire AT. Me, I have only endured one night of backpacking in the dead-cold of winter on a very snowy, 10 degree night in Groseclose, VA, with the disappointment of a torn down shelter when we made it to our destination (not to mention coke spilled on our tent and 1 million coyotes woke us up, very close by). Long story. But after that night, Chris laughingly said, "It doesn't get much worse than this." I'm confident that there will be times similar to this. Maybe worse. Who the heck knows? We can't control Mother Nature. We do know that we have changed our entire lives around for this adventure. No matter what happens, we have already learned a lot from this experience before we even depart. We have the most amazing families and the best friends anyone can ever ask for. Open-mind is ready. Body in shape. The love is strong. We are ready and can't wait to get out there!