Daily Miles: 16
Total Miles: 97
It was a good night of sleep…one of the first mornings where we were actually woken up by the alarm. Other days we have already been awake by the time our alarm goes off at 5:00am.
We were packed up by 6:00am and heading down the trail. We walked along a river for several miles. The temps were nice and cool, and we wore our windshirts for awhile. The trail felt pretty quiet this morning…nobody walking, and just a few tents that we passed by.
Mace hasn’t been feeling very well the past few days, so we tried to find a balance of stopping for a few breaks, while also trying to make good time into the Onion Valley Trailhead.
As we were sitting for a morning break, Mace mentioned that we had a steep climb coming up…gaining 1,000 feet in just a mile. We thought that maybe Mace had read the navigation app incorrectly, but when we checked we saw that he was correct. We were surprised that is was going to be so steep.
When we started the climb that would take us over Kearsarge Pass, it really was quite steep. We took multiple short breaks to catch our breathe as we made our way up. At the top, we came to a junction which took us off of the PCT/JMT so we could get to a trailhead for our first resupply.
At the trail junction, there was a hand written note from the local ranger, describing the bear situation in the area. Seems that the bears have become very bold in getting backpackers’ food. The note said that if you see a bear, you should chase it like you meant to catch it and eat it. That made us laugh. Not sure we would feel very comfortable chasing a bear, but it is sad to see that the bear situation has gotten so bad in this area.
The side trail was really beautiful as we passed by Bullfrog Lake and Kearsarge Lakes. We took a very early lunch break at Bullfrog Lake in the hopes that we would fuel ourselves over Kearsarge Pass. Mace was able to get down a Pop-Tart, but he didn’t really have any appetite.
Our final push up to Kearsarge Pass felt like a bit of a slog, but we finally made it up to the pass. There were loads of other hikers at the pass…most of the folks seemed to be taking an extended rest, which makes sense as it is climb from either direction to get to the pass.
We didn’t hang out long at the pass…just took a photo and then started down the other side. Since we didn’t have anyone picking us up at the trailhead, and our hitching options were unknown, we figured it was best to get there as early in the afternoon as possible so we could increase our chance of getting down the mountain into Independence.
It was a long downhill from the pass. It was really beautiful as we passed several alpine lakes and a long waterfall. The trail at the top is nice with long switchbacks. As we got lower, we started to see more of the large stone steps…some were pretty high. those kinds of steps in the trail came be tough on the knees, so we took it a bit slower in those parts.
Ending Location: Independence, CA
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