Fannypack's 2001-06 journal

Fannypack's PCT2001 June journal w/pics

Day 71- Sat, June 30 - 17/1030 miles -start-1115 end-1935 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-85 -tent at Golden Canyon Creek (alone) -elevation-9090'' Up at 0630. Cynthia's friend showed up last nite, actually early this morning about 0100. He came down to bring her supplies & take her to the home of a friend of his for a day off. At 0715, Cynthia gave Rufus a ride back to the trail & I walked up the the restaurant for breakfast. After sending a few days of journal entries, I had breakfast (eggs, pancakes, bacon, coffee, & OJ). It is now 0920 & I will be walking back to Hwy 108 to hitch up to Sonora Pass & then try to do 15 to 20 miles today. Cynthia & Laben (her friend) came to the restaurant for breakfast as was about to leave. I decided to sit & talk with them & Laben (Lay-ben, a Hebrew name) told about his 1997 PCT thru-hike. He mentioned a hot springs near Mt Lassen, does anyone know exactly where this (hot springs) is? After they ate Cynthia offered me a ride back to the trail & I accepted, of course. I arrived at trailhead about 1100 & sitting on a picnic table was Jim from Seattle. I met Jim at Tuolumne. Jim was being picked up by family & was going to Sonoma for a few days. Jim did a 17, a 31 &a 30 mile days to get to Hwy 108 from Tuolumne. Well I started on the trail at 1115 & it is hot. I talked with a few day hikers in the 1st 3 miles. One couple is from Spain. Let me jump back to Tuolumne on Tuesday, Hagit hiked in about 1000 w/o George. George was sick again & had went to Mammoth Lakes Motel 6 from Reds Meadow. Hagit told me that George had giardia when we were in Independence & they stayed 4 more days after Griz & I left. When I hiked out of Tuolemne, Hagit was going to visit Yosemite Valley & George was hitching to Tuolemne, I haven't heard about them since Tuesday. Well back to today's hike. The trail gains elevation north of Sonora Pass by gradually working its way up the mtn, not many switchbacks. After the 1st 4 miles there is a 5 mile downhill stretch where I am going down the left side of a canyon. Eventually I climb the canyon wall so I can get out of this canyon. There are many blow downs in this section. After a pretty steep climb I walk along the top of this mtn till I go down to a saddle. I then go up to get over a mtn so I can be in position to reach a ravine that leads me up & then over another mtn. Most of today;s hike in under tree cover. I finally reach a campsite next to creek at 1935. I setup my tent & boil water for freeze dried lasagna. I started to make a campfire but it is too windy. I am tented alone for about the 3rd or 4th time on this hike. Hope to get going early tomorrow so maybe I can do 25. It is now 2200, good nite. Pics from 2001-06-30

Day 70- Fri, June 29 - 16/1013 miles -start-0635 end-1430 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-80 -camp at Kennedy Meadows campground -elevation-9600' Up at 0530 and on the trail at 0634, hope to make it to Hwy 108 by 1500. We hike downhill for 3 miles & cross a wooden bridge across a creek. The landscape is changing, we are now in an area with volcanic sediment. As we start a 2200 ft climb in the next 8 miles, we climb up Kennedy Canyon under the pine trees. We come to a bunch of downed trees which was probably caused by an avalanche. These downed trees obscure the trail & I start going straight up the hill towards the trail high above me. I end up not finding the trail leading to the this upper section of the trail but I do get on the trail after a long hard climb. I see Rufus far below me negotiating the downed trees. I find out later that only Rufus finds the trail near those downed trees everyone (Puff, Earthsurfer & I) else bushwhack up the hill, really not bushwhacking, just walking up a steep hill with allot of little volcanic rocks. When we reached the 10500 ft level, Rufus & I took a break & Puff & Earthsurfer joined us soon. We are able to look to the south & see the snowed covered mtns in Yosemite NP. Up to this point we have not encountered any snow. I take off along a 2 mile traverse of these volcanic rock mtns where the trail is relatively level. In the next mile or so we encounter several snow patches & one of them is steep & icy. These volcanic mtns kinda resemble the mtns in some of the old Western movies. These mtns are different shades of browns & reds and definitely seems to be out of place. All 4 of us take a break about 4.4 miles from Hwy 108 where Sonora Pass is located. Rufus needs to go to KM campground for a maildrop & to call his honey & wish her a happy birthday. Puff & Rufus are the 1st to reach the road & Earthsurfer & I arrived about 20 minutes later. Puff was talking to a woman named Cynthia from Truckee. Cynthia is doing a section from Tahoe to Kennedy Meadow (there are 2 Kennedy Meadow, this one is the one south of the Sierras). I begin hitchhiking to KM campground which is east about 8 miles on Hwy 108. I got a ride within 15 minutes from a fella living in Arizona who is originally from Idaho. He was telling about the wolves being re-introduced in Idaho and how they had killed a bunch of hunting dogs that belonged to a friend. He said these wolves were thriving unlike the failed effort to re-introduce wolves to the GSMNP (Great Smoky Mtn NP). I plan to look into this situation with these wolves in Idaho. It seems to me that wolves have no natural predator except man and the reason wolves had disappeared was because man had killed them to make it safe for man to live in areas where wolves lived. I guess there may not be enough wilderness for the wolves & man to co-exist????? The fella dropped me off at the entrance to KM campground & I found that it was a mile walk to the store & restaurant. I arrived at the restaurant at 1515 & found it closed till 1700. I am determined to catch up on my journal entries for the last 3 days. About 20 minutes later Rufus & Cynthia arrive. Rufus & I both had hot showers ($5) and washed & dried our clothes. A lady working here at the store/restaurant/resort gave us some soap for laundry. Cynthia, Rufus & I ate supper & sat around talking with some of the locals till about 2030. One of the locals is an 85 yr old man who says he wants to be the oldest person to climb Mt Whitney. He says currently the oldest person to climb it is 83 yrs old. A lady told us about a free campsite near the KM trailhead parking lot so we went down & setup, Rufus & I did not setup our tents. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-29

Day 69- Thu, June 28 - 22/997 miles -start-0800 end-2100 -sunny w/ no clouds hi-85 -tent about 1.5 miles south of West Fork West Walker River Trail -elevation-8880' Up at 0700 & start hiking at 0800. It has been difficult for me to get up early & get going, it just feels good to sleep in. After a short distance I come up the campsite of Earthsurfer & Rufus. The mosquitoes are bad so I move on. Today is the last day for climbs in& out of deep canyons. I forgot to mention that yesterday we saw Hawk & Zaz. At 1300, we came upon a great spot next to Wilma Lake, so we took a 2hr break. After cooking a dinner, i feel asleep. Earthsurfer & Rufus read a book. Puff feel asleep also. At 1500 we headed out trying to make 13 more miles so we would have 20 miles for the day. For the next 10 miles we walk up a canyon, thru its meadows & finally up to Charlotte Lake Pass. It is now 1925 & I need to get going to find their campsite. At about 2015 i stop for water & i am attacked by mosquitoes. I hike on as it is getting dark & at 2100 i reach their campsite. They saw Bruce he is camped a little south of us. We sit around the campfire till 2300. We figure that we are at mp997 so tomorrow we will go over 1000 miles. A long 22 mile day with a 2+ hr break, i feel good to be here. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-28

Day 68- Wed, June 27 - 24/975 miles -start-0810 end-2025 -overcast threatening to rain hi-70 -tent 2/10 mile south of Bear Valley Trail junction -elevation-8000' Up at 0700 and on the trail at 0810. As we started up the trail, it briefly rained (sprinkled) and hailed. The 1st 2 miles we uphill with 20+ switchbacks. It is very common in Yosemite NP to have 20+ switchbacks going up out of these deep canyons or going down into them. While hiking down the other side of this mtn, I passed a SOBOer woman who was moving real fast. Later I was told that this woman was Betsy, Anne's cousin. Puff & Earthsurfer passed me after I had gone by a lake then turned up a ravine that led me thru a gap. We are trying to do at least 20 miles today so we will have a chance to make Hwy 108 in the early afternoon on Friday. Again today the trail goes down into deep canyons & then up over a pass so we can then we can negotiate the next canyon. Per normal, Puff, Rufus & Earthsurfer are ahead of me & I catch them sometime during the day when they are taking a break. The mosquitoes have been bad today & I am using Repel 100 which is 95% Deet, it works. At 1630, we go by Benson Lake which has a wide sandy beach with good flat campsites but we need to make miles today so we don't stop. There are many nice spots along the trail, some have nice views, others have nice swimming holes (water is cold though) & others have nice campsites (flat, near a water source & with plenty of firewood). After negotiating Seavey Pass I have 3+ miles downhill so I continue until 2020 when I find Puff camped with a campfire going. I stop for the day, 24 miles, long day. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-27

Day 67- Tue, June 26 - 14/950.8 miles -start-1245 end-1845 -sunny w/ many clouds hi-70 -tent at Return Creek in Virginia Canyon -elevation-8540' Up at 0630 & back to tent to finish journal entry for yesterday. Hey, we had a few drops of rain last nite, rain is predicted for today. BTW, I have only 2 days with rain, awesome. Also just wanted to let u know how my weight loss program is going:

Mar 01- 235 lbs

Apr 20- 220 lbs - 000 miles hiked

xxx xx- 210 lbs - 454 miles hiked

xxx xx- 200 lbs - 871 miles hiked

I plan to hike out this morning & hope to be around Echo Lake / Lake Tahoe around the 4th of July. Well gotta go get some breakfast at the grill now. Yesterday, I forgot to mention that i briefly saw Eric Wiese in Yosemite. Also Anne left yesterday. She is hiking a few days with her cousin, Betsy. At 1245, Rufus, Puff & I left Tuolumne. Smokeless & Earthsurfer are getting showers at the lodge & will be on the trail later. The 1st 6 miles of trail are downhill. Most of the hiking is under the pine tree canopy. After about 2 miles Puff & Rufus decide they want to bushwhack, so they go up this mtn & then go "cross country" to meet the PCT a couple miles north of Glen Aulin Camp. I continued on the rocky PCT & encountered several horsepersons leading 4 or 5 pack mules. Allot of the last 8 miles for today on the PCT were uphill but the grade was gradual. I arrived at Return Creek at 1845 & decided I would wait for Puff & Rufus there. They came in about 20 minutes later & then Earthsurfer came in about 1930. We had a campfire & ate dinner. It was overcast all day threatening to rain. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-26

Day 66- Mon, June 25 - 0/935 miles -start- end- -sunny w/ few clouds hi-75 -tent at Tuolumne Meadow campground -elevation-8790' Up at 0630 doing my journal for yesterday. Went to store for cinnamon roll, orange & drink. Sent e-mail & got an e-mail from Sly suggesting I stop at Kennedy Meadow (Hwy 108) for food, etc. Here is his description: "If you go left at Sonora Pass about 8 miles there's another Kennedy Meadows with a FS (forrest service) campground and a resort, with store, showers and restaurant and cowboy bar, that's real cool. A good place to break up the long stretch to Echo Lake. It's a very busy trailhead so you should be able to get a ride quickly." Just talked to Sly & he said that we have a waist deep ford before we leave Yosemite. At 0930 I got a ride to Yosemite Valley with a guy from Alexandria. We arrived in Yosemite Valley at 1050, yes 1 hr 20 min. On the way into the valley I saw El Capitan & it was breathtaking. How do people climb up that wall? I forgot to mention that earlier I saw Dave from Canada (a hiker I met in Aqua Dulce) & he has access to a car, so I am meeting him at 1430 to get a ride back to Tuolumne. Also I decided to buy 4 days of freeze dried dinners so I can have a break from Liptons. At about 1530 Dave gave Puff, Adam & I a ride back to Tuolumne Meadow. Hikers still here are: Rufus, Earthsurfer, Smokeless, Eaglelet, Camera Dave & his dad. The Dirty Girls (Joan & Ann) hiked in today. They are students at Middlebury College in VT. A bunch of us hung out around the campfire behind the store that the store employees had. Also Rufus saw Mike Corbett (Yosemite Mike) & he just finished a JMT southbound thru-hike in 12 or 13 days. Mike has climbed El Capitan, I believe 50+ times. Rufus wants to climb EL Cap. Well off to bed about 2400. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-25

Day 65- Sun, June 24 - 17?/935? miles -start-0710 end-1500 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-75 - tent at Tuolumne Meadow campground -elevation-8690' Awake at 0515, up at 0615, on trail at 0710. I t was really windy last nite but one reason I decided to camp high was because I was paranoid about the bears. I have heard soooooooooo much about the bear problem, i.e., bears getting campers food, near Tuolumne Meadow that I didn't want to camp low. Since I am not carrying a bear canister I decided to 'guard', keep it in my tent, my food rather than hang it. Hey last nite the wind was blowing hard, lucky for me I had some big rocks to hold down my tent. Finally I was on the trail & I figured I had 17 to 18 miles to Tuolumne Meadow & u guessed it, the grill (=food, burger, etc). After 30 minutes at the Rush Trail I came upon Earthsurfer and Puff's campsite. They were eating breakfast. It is still very windy & probably only 55 degrees. I am hiking on a very rocky section, it resembles the AT in New Hampshire. The skies are threatening off in the direction we are hiking. I stopped for a break about 0800 & the mosquitoes attacked me, so I put on some Deet. The Hiking Pole walked up, he had camped about 1 mile south of me. We continued up towards Donahue Pass. The mtns, that formed the "bowl" at the end of this valley, had allot of snow. We passed allot of creeklets & one raging stream which had a nice log bridge. It is nice to keep my feet dry especially since it is so cool. I finally made it to Donahue Pass & Puff caught up & passed me at this point. There a couple patches of snow on each side of Donahue Pass. I have passed about 10 hikers going south. I now have 12 miles to Tuolemne & the last 7 miles are flat. The Hiking Pole & I hiked down into Lyell Canyon. This area is very popular & we probably pass another 10 hikers coming south. The trail is steep in places until u reach Lyell Base Camp. I have told that the bears are soooooo bad in Lyell Canyon that u should not camp cause they will surely get your food if u hang it & they will probably come into your tent after it. I left The Hiking Pole taking a break & came up on Puff about 5+ miles from Tuolemne. I hiked & he caught & passed me. We are hiking in a valley next to a beautiful meadow. The Lyell Fork (river) is right next to the trail & I stop to soak my feet & change innersoles. As we approach Tuolumne I come upon Puff talking to 4 women & they clapping as I come near. It seems that Puff has told them that we are hiking from Mexico to Canada & they are amazed. I give my card with my website. I hope to hear from them cause that is what a long distance hike is about, "the people, the people, the people on & off the trail". Although I will have to admit the scenery on the PCT has far exceeded my expectations. Well continuing on, we came to the bridges on the Tuolemne River & took a trail to the left which we hope leads to the store/grill. After a few minutes I come upon Puff taking to this guy with a huge pack & a full sized shovel. This guy is a ranger with a gun & the whole deal & he wants to see our permits. So we search & find the green piece of paper issued by the PCTA & give it to him. He is satisfied. He tells us that bear canisters are required above 9600 ft (treeline) in Yosemite. We continue on looking for the grill & about 1 mile later we find it. Already here are: Hawk & Zas, Jack from NH, Alexa, Puff, Eaglelet. Got a double cheeseburger & fries. We hung out at the tables next to the grill till 2200 when Rufus, Puff & I went up to the backpackers campsites. BTW Bruce"s brother surprised him & the last we saw him was in his brothers back seat. Yosemite Valley tomorrow for the day. Oh I also saw & talked to Goslowgofar & may see her again today after work in Yosemite Valley. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-24

Day 64- Sat, June 23 - 16?/918? miles -start-1045 end-1930 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-75 - tent 2 miles north of Thousand Island Lake -elevation-10200' Up at Motel 6 at 0630 & took a hot bath. Rufus, Smokeless & Puff came down from the woods & we, all except Bruce, went to breakfast at the bakery across the street. Bruce went to Looney Tunes for coffee. After breakfast Puff came back to the room to use the phone & then he started hitching on the trail. Anne (formerly Ann, I misspelled another name) got on the internet at the internet cafe (Looney Tunes) & returned to the room for her pack. I think everyone started walking towards the shuttle bus stop except me, I had to mail my old NB803s home. When I was done w/ the PO I starting walking to the bus stop but I was also hitching while walking. I got a ride within 5 minutes from Steve, a local on his way to a lake near where I was headed. I was going back to Red's Meadow, where I stopped on Thursday, but he suggested I start from Agnew Meadow, but I wanted to see Devils Postpile. So I started from Devils Postpile & thereby skipping 2 miles of the PCT. From reading the guidebook pages I found that the PCT does not pass Devils Postpile. I believe the JMT/PCT were built to bypass Devils Postpile because the horse traffic on the JMT/PCT is not wanted in the vicinity of Devil Postpile. I saw the Devils Postpile about 1030 & startng hiking on the PCT about 1045. There is a maze of trails in the area of Red's Meadow & north of it to Agnew Meadow. The JMT & PCT split just north of Devils Postpile & rejoin at Thousand Island Lake. After hiking for an hr I came upom The Hiking Pole taking a break. He had been in Mammoth Lakes Motel 6 till yesterday (left just before we arrived). We chatted a little the started hiking towards Agnew Meadow. The PCT today is running alongside a creek & we are under tree cover. When we reach Agnew Meadow trailhead parking at 1320 we take a break The Hiking Pole continues on & I take a 25 min, nap & start hiking again t 1425. The trail gains 400 vertical ft but the switchbacks make the hike nice. I found notes on a sign near the 2nd Agnew Meadow trailhead parking. Jen left a note for Rufus & I. I took both notes because Rufus is ahead. I will give it to him in Toulumne tomorrow. After a mile of hiking I find Earthsurfer taking a break. After the 400 ft climb the trail continues to climb following the contour. We can look to our left & see Shadow Lake & the Minaret mtns. I finally reach Thousand Island Lake about 1845 & then begin climbing towards Island Pass. I reach Island Pass (10200 ft) at 1930 or so. Puff passed me & said he would hike a mile or 2 further. I setup camp, got water, cooked, ate & was asleep at 2130. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-23

Day 63- Fri, June 22 - ??/??? miles -start- end- -sunny w/ few clouds hi-?? - Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes -elevation-????' Up at 0530 to finish journal for last days. At 0830 or so we are taking the bus to the Mammoth ski lodge & then getting a ride (taxi or hitch) to Mammoth Lakes. I need to check on my camera. For some reason, the last week or so it has been eating batteries. Normally I have been getting 150 pics from a set of 4 AA batteries. We are not sure if we will stay in town tonight or return to campground or hike a little ways north. One hassle with today's trip to town is that we will have to carry & keep up with out packs. We catch the bus at 0845 & then catch the shuttle from the ski lodge to town. We walk about 1/2 mile to Blondie's for breakfast, I have AYCE French toast & potatoes. Bruce & I get a room at Motel 6 for $58 which I cheap for this town. I then go to Footloose Sports & buy shoes: Merrell Chameleon Ventilator Low & a pair of custom Superfeet. Thx CJ for your help & explanation on my pronation, etc. I am going to the grocery store now for fruit, 1615. Met Bruce at the grocery store & we got a taxi back to Motel 6 at 1730. Smokeless is here & Ann & Rufus will be back shortly. FYI: Bruce from San Diego & I are currently in the Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes, (760) 934-6660 Rm151 We will catch the shuttle (FREE) in the morning up the hill to the ski & then catch the bus ($5) into Red's Meadow....So I should be in Toulemne Meadow on Sunday afternoon. Bruce & I hung out at our room with Smokeless watching a little San Francisco news. Around 2000, Ann came by & said they were having pizza across the street, so we joined them. After a few pitchers of beer and pizza we returned to the room except for Ann who went to make some calls. Rufus, Puff & Smokeless decided to go up in the woods adjacent to the motel to sleep. We left the door open for Ann to get in the room & she came in late & slept in the floor, actually Bruce & I didn't even hear her come in. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-22

Day 62- Thu, June 21 - 17.5/900 miles -start-0610 end-1700 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-95 - sleep on ground cloth & pad (no tent) at Red's Meadow campground -elevation-7700' Up at 0520 and wake everyone except Smokeless, he is already gone, up so we can get an early start. We have 15 or so stream crossings today & some of them will probably be fords. We are on the trail at 0610 & we are hiking next to Fish Creek which has many small streams flowing into it. We figure we have 7 or 8 miles to the hot springs. We come upon 3 horsemen camped near Fish Creek. These guys are out for a few days. They explain to us the location of the hot springs. At 0930 Rufus, Ann & I arrive where we think the hot springs are. We cannot find them. BTW, we haven't seen Earthsurfer or Smokeless all morning. Ann gets directions from a couple to the hot springs. We find them & Puff is here. Puff made it to the hot springs at 2030 last nite. There is an upper group of hot springs & a lower one. Puff & Ann went to he higher ones Rufus went to the lower one. Rufus' watch says the water is 101 degrees, it feels good. The warm water softened up a corn on my little toe & Rufus scraps it off with his knife. We get back on the trail about 1030 & figure we have about 10 miles till Red's Meadow. We continue to hike down till we are below 7000 ft. We know Red's Meadow is at 7700 ft so we are eventually going to have to begin to climb. Finally we cross a bridge over Fish Creek & begin to climb on switchbacks in the hot sun. We pass many hikers coming south. It is the end of the day & the hiking is hot, slow & tough. The trail is sandy then rocky then sandy then rocky. We hike thru an area that burned a number of years ago & still hasn't regrown. As e get close to Red's Meadow we see allot of day hikers (actually tourists) walking down to Rainbow Falls which is 1 mile or so from Red's Meadow. Red's Meadow is called a resort but the only thing like a resort is the prices. Bruce & Smokeless are already here & have a site in the campground. After getting a double cheeseburger at the cafe & sending a few e-mails, I finally make it down to he campground. We met & talked with 2 interesting fellows from who are doing the JMT. We had a campfire (my 1st on the trip) & went to sleep about 2200. Pics from 2001-06-21

Day 61- Wed, June 20 - 13.5/??? miles -start-1200 end-1830 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-85 - tent on Cascade Valley Trail, 2.5 miles north of PCT & Cascade Valley Trail junction -elevation-????' Up at 0630 at VVR. The boat leaves at 0900 to take us across (6 mi) the lake back to the trail. Had breakfast, packed, paid my tab, & at this point we realized that there would be more than one boat run. Bruce & some fisherman got on the 1st run. When pontoon boat returned it had 4 hikers, 1 of them was Zas, she thru-hiked the AT in 1996. Also on the boat was Hawk her boyfriend, and 2 others (??). I got on the trail at 1200 and it was hot. We have a 3000 ft climb in he 1st 7 miles. After 3 miles everyone (Rufus, Smokeless, Earthsurfer, Ann, Puff, Eagelet) has left me behind. We are climbing thru a forested area but finally we get to 9600 ft, where the mosquitoes are bad & we start following a valley up towards Silver Pass (10900 ft. Silver Pass had a few patches of snow on both sides but the snow didn't hinder our pace. On the top of Silver Pass, we decided to take a side trail (Cascade Valley trail) to Red's Meadow instead of following the PCT. The side trail is 19.4 miles & the PCT is 19. The side trail has the Fish Creek hot springs, we like hot springs. Puff gut ahead of us & Eaglelet & Bruce took the PCT. We (Rufus, Earthsurfer, Smokeless, Ann & I) stopped at 1830 & camped. The mosquitoes are ferocious here & my insect repellant is NOT working well. I must get some DEET. I retreat to my tent & fall asleep w/o cooking supper. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-20

Day 60- Tue, June 19 - /871 miles -start- end- - sunny w/ few clouds hi-70s - Vermillion Valley Resort -elevation-7900' HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SISTER, Mary Lee, THE BIG FIVE OH!!!!! Hope # 50 is a good one for ya!!!! Up at 0530 cause I wanted to do journal & be on time for breakfast, 0700. I had steak, eggs, hash browns & hotcakes for breakfast. Another beautiful morning with no clouds in the sky. Earthsurfer & Puff hiked in this morning. Smokeless, Ann & Eaglelet came in on the 0945 boat ride. Monte, Ann says hi. Well it looks like I will be on the 0900 boat off on Wed morning & should be in Tuolemne Meadows on Sat, 6-23. Currently, I am planning on taking Sunday off in Yosemite Valley to sightseer the area. Anyone living in the area pls feel free to join me. (note: cars are always an asset to hikers as well as persons who like to be tour guides) If anyone has any suggestions for a Yosemite Valley agenda, pls e-mail these suggestions or send your phone # & I will call u from Toulemne. Since Griz left yesterday I will be hiking solo. Pics from 2001-06-19

Day 59- Mon, June 18 - /871 miles -start-0810 end-1100 - sunny w/ few clouds hi-70s - Vermillion Valley Resort -elevation-7900' Up at 0520 & I decide my course of action is to try to retrace my steps, i.e., try to find the Bear Creek trail I lost yesterday. As I started out at 0620 the ridge where I should be looks along way off. I decide to go very slowly (I have all day) in a NW direction. I am walking/climbing up allot of rock. It is not too steep cause I am working my way across it rather than going straight up it. For a moment I think I see a trail but resist the temptation to go down to it. I keep moving & hear water running. I want to get water so I will have 3 liters as I try to find the way back to the PCT. I move away from the water & think I see rock steps, i.e., steps that are part of a trail. Yes, I found the Bear Creek trail & it is just where the guidebook map shows it to be. As I walk up the hill on this trail, I see the footprints from the 2 fishermen that I talked to yesterday. I met them on the PCT but they told me that they came up the Bear Creek trail. Soon, I saw another set of tracks going down this trail & I realized they were mine. I found the point where I lost the trail yesterday & it is my belief that yesterday when the trail came upon a rock slab I didn't see an obvious trail (the sun was in my eyes) (the trail is usually lined with small rocks when it crosses a rock slab) so I looked to my left & it appeared that there may be a trail is the ravine just 10 ft below. So I went to the ravine & that is where my bushwhacking started. Looking back, this is what I should have done when I could not find the trail: take off my pack & look for the trail w/o being able to make a quick decision & take off in the wrong direction.. w/o my pack I would not be worried with its weight & I would have to come back & get it before continuing on... The point is I needed to take a timeout to analyze the situation. I finally did take that timeout at 1730 yesterday & it paid off today. I continued on the Bear Creek trail till I reached the PCT. At this junction, I saw a sign today that I didn't see yesterday. The sign had "Silver Pass" & the arrow was pointing along the trail that I now know is the PCT. FYI, Silver Pass is the next pass after VVR (north of VVR). Remember I am a NOBOer (north bounder). I continue on the PCT and soon Shady Tree & Nightingale overtake me. They told me that yesterday they forded the river next to where we camped & enjoyed the hot springs (these are the hot springs near Muir Ranch). They tell me that they are going to VVR today & that they are out of food. There are many flowers along this 1.6 mile steep section. I get to the top & now only have 4.6 miles to the side trail to the ferry ride on Edison Lake to VVR This 4.6 mile section has 53 switchbacks so u can guess that the hill we are going down is steep & my toes are hurting on this steep downhill. I pass Shady Tree & Nightingale on the downhill as they are making adjustments (they are faster than me). I reach the side trail to the ferry ride at 1100 & now I have 1 1/4 miles to the ferry ride. I could walk all the way to VVR along the lake & that is 6 miles. I must wait till 1645 for the boat ride since the pickups are at 0945 & 1645 only. When I arrive at the lake I see 4 or 5 fishermen camped. The lake is beautiful & cold. The shores are slabs of rock & a little sand. The lake is surrounded by steep hills with rock slabs & many pines. It is not obvious where the boat ride pickups are done so I am climb high on a hill so I can see when the boat is coming & make sure he/she sees me. since I have not seen Shady Tree & Nightingale, I guess they walked the 6 miles to VVR. One reason I didn't want to walk in was this extra time lounging alone has given me time to do today's journal. I know when I get to VVR all I will be thinking about is eating & I guarantee I will do some eating'. Of course if I had walked in I would be there by now (14:40). Since a good friend, Ausable Mike, mentioned that it would be nice if I told more about the surroundings, i.e., paint a pic of what I am seeing, I have tried to do this. Thanks Mike for the suggestion. Another day in Paradise. As I lay here on a hillside overlooking a very choppy Lake Edison which is at 7900 ft, I wonder what some of my family & friends back east are doing. I feel like this hike is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am sooooooooo happy I have the family support, thx Mary Lee, Dan, Tex & Helen, to be able to do this hike. It is 1450 & I see the fisherman have come prepared, they just setup the horseshoe pits. I can only hope VVR is as good as this day has been for me. BTW, last nite when looking at the stars, I could see all these tiny stars that I have never seen before, I guess when u live near cities these stars are not visible or is it because I am on the West coast??? Does anyone know? Hey, just wanted to let u know that u can follow the hike(s) of Brian Robinson aka Never Be, just go to http://hikercafe.com & page down till u see a heading "Triple Crown...." & u will see a link for Brian Robinson's web page maintained by his dad. Well, it is 1630 & here comes the boat to pick us up, the only problem is that there are 10 of us & the boat will only hold 5 (it is not the pontoon boat). So 3 hikers, Griz, Foxtrot & ???, get off the boat and the driver says PCT thru hikers ride 1st. There are 3 non-PCT hikers. So I ride on the 1st boat along with Jon & Jocelyn, Simply Seeking & Joe Moon. Thru-hikers on the next ride will be Rufus, Bruce from San Diego. VVR does not look like a resort but it is hiker heaven (food, shower, laundry, & hiker-friendly atmosphere= hard to leave). The resort has many camper trailers for employee housing & electricity is provided by a generator. I had the special for supper: pork chops, corn, potato wedges, a couple 20 oz Gatorades, half a cherry pie. Just to let u know what the prices are like, a 20 oz Gatorade is $1.50. They run a tab for u here, so I may be in for a shock when I have to pay. Rufus & I talked to the cook, Rudy, till a little after 2100 and he told a little of his Army experiences during the Vietnam era. To bed about 2130. Another day is paradise. Pics from 2001-06-18

Day 58- Sun, June 17 - /828.1 miles -start-0730 end-1730 - sunny w/ many clouds hi-70s -tent somewhere near Bear Creek (I am lost) -elevation-8400' Up at 0600 & hiking at 0700. We have to do a 1+ mile side trail to get to the PCT. Today we have a 3000 ft elevation gain in 6.1 miles. The trail is steep right off the bat with switchbacks, of course. The mosquitoes are very bad today so I put some DEET on the back of my hands, my neck, face & head. It keeps them off you. BTW, I am wearing a long sleeve shirt & pants which helps with mosquitoes. I reach Selden Pass at 11:15 & notice that we only have 14 miles to where the boat picks up hikers at 0945 & 1645 to go to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR). So I figure maybe I could get to VVR today. Skywalker has told me that he is going there today & may take the Bear Ridge Trail down to a road near VVR and that way he wouldn't need to meet the boat schedule. Of course, u don't have to take the boat u can walk a 6 mile side trail to VVR. At about 1500 & 1.6 miles from this side trail Skywalker mentioned, I made a mistake & took the wrong trail. After 10 minutes I realized my mistake because there weren't any footprints on the trail going the same way as me. I looked at the map & realized I was on the old PCT & on the map that it re-connected with the current PCT. I continued & the next thing I know I cannot find the trail, it just seemed to stop. So at this point I have made 2 mistakes & now I am about to make mistake number 3. I decide to start going down following this ravine hoping to find the trail & also knowing that I am at 9000 ft & VVR is at 7900 ft so....... To say the least I am bushwhacking. I come to a rock face that I cannot get down so after seeing water out to my left & knowing I am lost I decide that I must get to the water just in case I do make it to VVR today. I get out some string & tie it to my pack & lower it down about 30 ft & the I climb down & head for the water. To make a long story short I ford the stream then realize I should be on the other side so I re-ford it and here I lay in my tent contemplating what to do in the morning. I am certainly lost. I know the ridge I should be on is NW of me & I can see it but it doesn't look possible to scale/bushwhack it. BTW, when I realized I wasn't going to make it to VVR today, I stopped at 1730 on a rock slab & took off all my wet clothes to try to dry them. At this point, I feel I have 3 choices of action for tomorrow: 1) try to follow the stream down (to a road or trail hopefully) or 2) wait where I am for someone to find me. or 3) try to retrace my steps back to the trail that came from. I don't really want to wait & depend on someone to find but I also want to be wise by trying to avoid getting in a worse situation than I am now. I have food so I will ration it just in case I don't make it out tomorrow. Retracing my steps would be next to impossible especially since allot of my getting here was bushwhacking. Well it is 2000 so I will eat something then try to sleep. Pics from 2001-06-17

Day 57- Sat, June 16 - /828.1 miles -start- end- - sunny w/ no clouds hi-70s -tent -elevation-' Up at 0300 to finish journal for yesterday, done at 0400, back to sleep. Up at 0520 & on the trail at 0610. Beautiful blue sky, no clouds, just like it is almost every morning. The climb is steep today. There are 4 miles up to Muir Pass where Muir Hut is located. Muir Hut was built to honor John Muir. The hut is a stone, round building, maybe 30 ft is diameter and is at an elevation of 11995 ft.. Well I am crawling up this hill fording this stream next to the trail 4 or 5 times. When we get to 11000 ft snow starts to cover the trail. As we go higher the snow is really becoming a nuisance. We have passed several lakes with a little ice around the edges. Finally I reach Lake Helen which is 1.3 miles from Muir Hut. From this point on the trail is probably 90% covered with snow. I am just following footprints & sometimes I may see patches of the trail. I reach Muir Hut at 1010, it took me 4 hrs to do 4 miles.......(others did it much faster than this, so it is just my slowness). I took at 10 minute break then The Hiking Pole headed down in the snow looking for the trail between the 2 lakes below. We continued losing attitude & following the valley down towards Evolution Basin. It is getting hot. The Hiking Pole's thermometer has 90 degrees. We are trying to do a 22.6 mile day so we can reach the hot springs near Muir Ranch. We reach the side trail for the hot springs at 1915 & Griz is there. We continue to the river where the hot springs are supposed to be. We find out that we must ford the river to get to the hot springs. It is now 2015 & I need to eat so I do & forgo the hot springs. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-16

Day 56- Fri, June 15 - 19.5?/828.1? miles -start-0700 end-1840 - sunny w/ high clouds hi-70s -tent 3 miles north of Bishop Pass Trail -elevation-9460' Up at 0605 & on the trail at 0700. It is about 40 degrees & we are walking up the trail which has very few trees And we are trying to figure out where Mather Pass is in the pile of rocks (called mtns) in front of us. We only have to walk 3 miles to be on Mather Pass. We are at the base of the mtn after probably 2 miles & finally we can see the switchbacks on the side of the mtn. I was on Mather Pass at 0840. The Hiking Pole joined Griz & I on Mather. As we looked north from Mather Pass u could see the valley below with its lakes & the snow on down slope that we will must transverse to reach the valley below. At 0900 we started the descent of Mather. The trail was clear of snow for the1st 50 yds or so. I didn't notice a patch of ice in the shade & slipped. I caught myself with my right hand, cutting my little finger... oh well, another memento. The snow was very hard & icy therefore very dangerous. Just as Griz & I were negotiating some boulders rather than following the footprints in the snow, 3 hikers came over he pass & started down following the footprints. The 1st hike was Foxtrot from Alaska, a 97 AT thru-hiker who later told us that a couple other 97 AT thru-hikers, Earthsurfer & Rufus, were just behind him. The other hikers coming down from the pass were Shady Tree & Moby. Long story made short, we all made it down the 400 to 500 yds of snow covered mtn side to a clear path. After taking a break near Upper Palisade Lake we continued on towards the infamous "golden staircase". The golden staircase is actually a set of switchbacks which drops over 1000 ft in 1+ miles. This as the last section of the JMT (John Muir Trail) to be built. Remember the JMT & PCT coincide for most of the 210+ miles of the JMT. Upon reaching the bottom of the golden staircase, Griz & I took another break in a shady spot & soaked our feet in the stream that the trail parallels. We hike hard & we lounge hard. At 1400, we continued down this valley with steep mtn walls on each side of us & a fast moving stream to our left. This valley has many pine trees so we are in the shade most of the aftenoon. In this area I see a few birch trees so I an able to hear the rustle of the leaves when the wind blows (never hear this rustle sound when the wind blows threw pine trees). We are trying to hike about about 20 miles today so we can make it to the hot springs near Muir Ranch (20 to 25 mile hike). At about 1600 we start the 10.3 mile climb to Muir Pass (just under 12000 ft). We do a little over 6 miles of the climb & decide to camp right next to a raging stream At 1840. Camped here are Griz, The Hiking Pole, Shady Tree & Nightingale, & I. Pics from 2001-06-15

Day 55- Thu, June 14 - 13.6/808.6 miles -start-0655 end-1730 - sunny w/ no clouds hi-70s -tent just north of South Fork Kings River -elevation-10840' Up at 0550 and I had a headache even though I felt that I slept good. Nova hiked out about 0620 & Griz & I left at 0655. Today we must 7.1 miles & climb 3700 ft to reach Pinchot Pass. To cross the raging Woods Creek, we walked a wooden suspension bridge. FYI, there are very few bridges across the streams that the PCT crosses. This suspension bridge is high above the water so it will not be washed away. I was practically crawling up the trail, I just felt I had no energy. Doug passed me at 1000 & I probably left Woods Creek 1 hr before him. The Hiking Pole also passed me before I reached Pinchot Pass. We cannot see Pinchot Pass as we come up the valley. It seems that the normal situation concerning these "passes" is that we will not be able to tell exactly where we will pop up on top of the ridge until we are very close to the pass. The hike down from Pinchot Pass is not as difficult as the previous passes. In about an hr when we reach Lake Marjorie I tell Griz that I need to stop to cook a meal to see if this would boost my energy level. Griz also seems to be suffering from a lack of energy. A fella passed Griz & I while were eating and he just said HI and kept going. BTW, today (as are most days in the Sierras) we are hiking in a valley filled with lakes & streams & very little trees. There are mtns on each side of the trail & usually these mtns have steep walls. So in the High Sierras we constantly hiking in a valley up to a pass, down to a valley, & this process repeats itself. When we reached our campsite for the nite we found The Hiking Pole already tented. Hiking Pole told me that the fella we saw earlier was Eaglet & he started on May 6. Griz camped a little off the trail among some trees. Tomorrow we will reach Mather Pass in 3 miles & 1200 ft elevation gain. Pics from 2001-06-14

Day 54- Wed, June 13 - 10.3/795.0 miles -start-1215 end-1825 . sunny w/ a few high clouds hi-70 -tent at Woods Creek -elevation-8490' Up at 0500 at the motel, our ride is coming at 0600. After I packed, I went to the PO & mailed 10 postcards. When I returned from the P0, Hagit was sitting outside her room reading. She came over & said goodbye. FYI, George is still sick so Hagit & George are not going back to the trail with us. Our ride was Paul who has a business that produces National Park info on CD. His website is http://inyopro.com . Paul dropped us off at the Onion Valley trailhead at 0645. We have 9 miles of side trails to reach the PCT & we must go over Kearsarge (I misspelled this word in earlier journal entries, sorry) Pass. Kearsarge Pass is at 11720 ft & the trailhead where we are starting from is 9200 ft. The trail is well graded with plenty of switchbacks. I don't seem to have any energy today & it takes me at least 3 hrs to do the approx 5 miles to Kearsarge Pass. I can tell this is going to be a loooooooooooong day. Griz & I hiked over to the PCT & took a 1+ hr break. We had to do 2 miles & 1200 ft gain in elevation to reach Glen Pass. Griz was out front as usual & I was bringing up the rear. I arrived on Glen Pass at 1330 or so. On the way up the many switchbacks I was passed by NOVA, a thru-hiker who started May 1. Nova is from the Bay area. Also just as I was reaching the top, The Hiking Pole came up behind. I met The Hiking Pole at KOA in Harpers Ferry, WV in the summer of 1999. The Hiking Pole was hiking the AT & I was doing a little trail magic. The Hiking Pole started his PCT hike on April 12. As we resting on Glen Pass, another hiker came up the mtn & it was Doug Walsh aka Skywalker. In case u don't remember Skywalker, I hiked for a couple of weeks in a group that included Doug. Doug eats only raw foods, he has been doing this for 12 yrs. I asked Doug "how did u get behind us?" and he said that he got poison oak (or something similar) just before Kennedy Meadows. He said he couldn't get rid of it so he took the Kearsarge Pass sidetrail to Independence on last Saturday & stayed in an Independence motel Sat, then hitched to Bishop on Sunday. While Doug was sitting on the sidewalk in Bishop he had a conversation with a man who turnd out to be fire chief of Bishop. After hearing about Doug's situation, the fire chief asked him to stay at his home till he recovered. So Doug stayed there Sun, Mon, Tue and took 3 or 4 showers a day & used Calomine lotion. The poison oak subsided. So it was nice to see & talk with Doug again. All (Nova, Skywalker, Griz, The Hiking Pole, & I) started down the steep snow-covered northern side of Glen Pass. We went down at a 45 degree agree following footprints from previous hikers. Nova is the only one with an ice ax, all the rest of us have sent them home. This climb down in the snow from Glen Pass is probably a little steeper than when we came down the north side of Forester Pass. We continued down the mtn till we finally got on the trail w/o snow. We took a break & decided that we would hike to Woods Creek campsite which another 6 miles. We arrived at 1830 and promptly sent up our tents, cooked & then put our food bags in the bear box. I fell asleep about 2100 trying to complete this journal entry, so I had to wait till Thu to complete it. Pics from 2001-06-13

Day 53- Tue, June 12 - 0.0/784.4 miles -start- end- . sunny w/ no clouds hi- -Independence -elevation-' Up at 0800, we slept in & then went over to grocery store to get a ride from the butcher. We found out yesterday the butcher goes over to Lone Pine (15 miles on Rt395) between 0800 & 0830. The reason we are going to Lone Pine is because the store here is being sold & the shelves are bare (allot of hiker staples are missing). We got to Lone Pine about 0900 and saw a hiker, Puff from Colorado (started May 1). Stopped at the Dow Villa Motel to say hi & then went to Lone Pine Sorting Goods store for some insect repellant. The fella at the sporting goods asked us to use an all natural insect repellant & report back to him our results. This sporting goods is very friendly to us & very convenient for hikers since it is only 1 block from the Dow Villa Motel. At 0945, we made a sign, "PCT Hikers to Independence", & began hitchhikers. In Line Pine, the temperature is 80 & there is a cool breeze blowing. No luck hitching to Independence so we went 1 block to check on the bus to Independence. The bus leaves at 1230. So we for breakfast at Totem Restaurant. I tried to get a haircut & beard trim but the barber was on lunch break. It is now 1210 & we are sitting at the bus stop waiting the bus to Independence. Between Lone Pine & Independence on Rt395 there is a "detainment" called Manzanar Gate, a relocation camp that was used during WWII to imprison the Japanese Americans. Laid around the room till 1800, then went to Subway for a sandwich, actually a 6 inch one. George is still sick so he & Hagit (Hah-geet) will be staying here at least another day. Griz & I have a ride to the trailhead at 0600. We plan to be at VVR (Vermillion Valley Resort) on Monday. I may not be able to e-mail from VVR since they only have cell phone svc, I will try it. Pics from 2001-06-12

Day 52- Mon, June 11 - 2.2/783.7 miles -start-0555 end-0655 . sunny w/ no clouds hi-70 -Kearsage Pass then on to Independence -elevation-11760' Up at 0445 and ready to go at 0545. It was about 35 degrees. Griz hiked into our camp at 0545, he had camped about 1 mile south of us. Griz & I hiked out at 0555 and arrived at the side trail to Bullfrog Lake at 0655. The climb up to this side trail was tough for me. We took this trail so we see Bullfrog Lake & it was beautiful, got some good pics with the refection of the mtns in the water. About 0845 we ran into Coppertop & Gilligan coming out of town. They had taken a few days off in Bishop, actually Coppertop said he had a medical situation he had take care of, didn't say what it was. When Griz & I reached a trail junction of the trail to Bullfrog Lake & the Kerasage Pass trail, we found George & Hagit sitting there. They had hiked 7/10 mile past the trail to Bullfrog Lake & then hiked on the Kerasage Trail. We finally made it to Kerasage Pass & rested, then left about 0925 to hike the approx. 5 miles down to the parking lot for the Kerasage campground parking lot. We got to the parking lot a little after 1100. At 1200 we got a ride from 2 guys from Anaheim. 13:20, We are at the Subway in Independence now. I will send the phone number at the motel in the next e-mail, we can't check-in till 1500. Will leave the Independence Courthouse Motel on Wed at 6am - (760) 878-2732 ROOM12 - Griz & Fannypack 1500, after our meal at Subway we returned to the motel to check-in. George has been feeling bad since yesterday morning so we will stay here tomorrow so he can rest. Right now we hope his upset stomach is altitude induced. Since we arrived here is Independence we have seen the Mile High Boys leaving town & the following hikers are staying here at the motel: Joe Moon & Simply Seeking, George & Hagit, Jonathan & Kate, Keith, Shady Tree & Nightingale. Well, gotta run to the PO for stamped envelopes & postcard stamps. Will talk with ya later tonite. Well Griz & I got laundry done, laundromat was only 2 blocks from the motel. Also I mailed home another compact flash card with pics and some Master card receipts. The library is across the street from motel so maybe we can get internet access there. A bunch of us went to a pizza joint for dinner. In bed by 2200, good nite. Pics from 2001-06-11

Day 51- Sun, June 10 - 21.0/781.5 miles -start-0700 end-2010 . sunny w/ few clouds hi-70s -camped at Vidette Meadow campsite -elevation-9600' Up at 0545 & hiking by 0700. We hope to make it to Vidette Meadows where there is a bear box. Then we will have at a 3 to 4 mile hike on Monday to Kerasage Pass. Before we reached Wallace Creek, we came upon Eric & Pam. They chose not to do Whitney since they did it last yr. Also 1/2 mile past Wallace Creek, we found Eric Wiese & Dave from Canada. So Eric only did a mile day yesterday & is starting to hike today at 0900. We took a 30 minute break on a rock outcropping 1/2 mile north of Wallace Creek. It is now 1200 & we are on the banks of the Tyndall Creek. We have forded 3 streams today. I wore my shoes on the fords (Pam & Eric did also), everyone else forded in Tevas, socks, or barefoot. We are 4.5 miles from Forester Pass. We tart hiking again at 1215 after a 1 hr 15 min break. Hey, we hike hard & we lounge hard. Water is not a problem in the Sierras, hooray, no more carrying 2 gallons of water. I struggled up the trail towards Forester Pass & as we came closer to the pass we had to walk thru more & more snow. White Root thru-hiked in 1996 & he said all the switchbacks were covered then. At least today the upper switchbacks were clear of snow. On the way to the pass we passed many lakes, some were frozen, actually we may have walked over one of these lakes. The trail was hard to find but we could see the switchbacks on the mountainside so we just headed for the lower switchback. George has been feeling bad all day, upset stomach. I was the last to make it to Forester Pass, it was about 1530. Just before u reach the top of the pass u must cross a snowfield of about 15 yds. Lucky for us there were footprints in the snow that we could just place feet in. Hopefully the pics of the pass will show some of the things mentioned above. We took a 45 minute break up there at 13180 ft. A Belgian joined us at the pass, he was peak bagging, 13000 footers. We started down from the pass at 1615. The trail was completely snow covered for at least 1/2 mile but we could see the trail (not covered with snow) so we headed straight for it. As we got further down (fyi: the 7.3 miles of trail north of Forester Pass drops from 13180 to 9600 ft.) the trail was covered in snow so we would just head for where we thought the trail went & usually we would find the trail. About 1800 we came upon Joe Moon & Simply Seeking cooking dinner. We talked for a few the hiked on till we found Singing Steve, Pam & Eric, Michael cooking dinner so we (White Root, Caithlin, Griz, George, Hagit & I decided to stop & have dinner also. After we ate we starting hiking, trying to make it Vidette Meadow. W started about 1850 and we figured we had 4+ miles to go and it was ALL downhill. Well I arrived at Vidette Meadow at 2010 and I found 3 guys already camped. I went over to talk to them & found that they are from Boston & hiked in from Onion Valley today & they plan to hike south on the John Muir Trail to Forester Pass & then take some the trail as well as bushwack some. Finally they will return to Onion Valley at the end of the week. Camped here at Vidette Meadow campsite are: Hagit & George, Michael, Singing Steve, Eric & Pam & I. George, Hagit & I plan to get up at 0500 so we can get to town, Independence, so we will have a 2.9 mile hike the PCT, a 9 mile side trail hike to Onion Valley, then a 15 mile hitch to town. BTW: after a disappointing day yesterday, today was such a high. I feel great because we got in 21 miles, lounge hard & are in great position to go to town tomorrow. It is now 2215 & i must try to get some sleep, i must admit though my adrenalin is still flowing strong. I feel so good that i wish could have hiked the 2.9 miles to Kerasage Pass tonite & camp there. But i don't think there is a bear box there. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-10

Day 50- Sat, June 09 - 0.0/760.5 miles -start- end- . sunny w/ many clouds hi-70 -camped on John Muir Trail, 7.6 miles from summit of Mt Whitney -elevation-10540' Up at 0530 finishing my journal entry for yesterday. We decided last nite that we would leave at 0800 this morning to summit Whitney & we may just camp here again tonite. It is now 0630 & no one else is moving in their tents. In my tent it is 40 degrees but i sure did sleep gooooooooooooooooood in the Western Mountaineering Apache, a 20 degree bag, had the hood up over my face & it was great. BTW, Eric, Jane & Mike didn't carry an ice ax on Whitney yesterday. We plan to empty our packs into the food locker except some food, clothing & ice ax. They told us that there is plenty of snow up on Whitney. So this will be probably be a zero day on the PCT but we still hike the 15.2 miles (7.6 mi each way) to do Whitney. We left at 0805 & Griz & I arrived at Guitar Lake about 0925. My legs felt heavy when we started even though I am only carrying snacks, ice ax, water & some warm clothes (very light pack). At Guitar Lake my legs felt better. We took at 45 minute break & got plenty of pics of marmots. They came within 2 ft of us. After leaving Guitar Lake the trail which is the John Muir Trail gradually gains elevation & after a mile or 2 we start encounter switchbacks. There are several places where snow completely covers the trail & u must follow the footprints that are already there. Griz & Daybreak are ahead & George & Hagit are behind. I reach the junction of the John Muir Trail & the Whitney Trail a little before 1300. At that point I see White Root, he has hiked up with a full pack from Whitney Portal. Caithlin stayed back at Trail Crest cause she is not summitting. At this junction there are 1.8 miles to the summit. I hiked about 3/10 mile & met a guy coming down & asked him questions about the trail ahead. His answers made me think I needed to my ice ax. Up to this point I had only used my hiking poles. So I put my poles in my pack & goy out my ice ax. I started walking & found that the ice ax seemed useless, I felt off balance because I didn't have my left pole to balance me on the downhill side of the trail. At this moment I lose my confidence or u may say I lost my nerve. I turned around & went back to a spot where I could sit down & rest & at that moment, 13:00, I decide that I would go no higher. At this point I was at 13,470ft and 1.5 miles from the summit. I sat there & ate for 40 minutes before starting down and I passed George & Hagit going up. I got back to camp about 1630. Well I did about a 12 mile day hike & got to see some pretty scenery, including Guitar Lake & the area above it. I feel I am a stronger person I for making the choice I did. Today, this was the right decision for me. Around 1730, Alexa hiked into camp & he wasn't talking. Alexa has made a decision to not talk from Kennedy Meadows to Toulemne Meadows, she is also carrying enough food for this 235 mile stretch. Camped here tonite are: Griz, George & Hagit, Daybreak, Singing Steve, Michael ?, Brent & Amy (The Honeymooners), Cobweb, Brawny, Citrus, White Root & Caithlin. Alexa is camped at Guitar Lake & will take her whole pack to the top of Whitney. Meanwhile back at the ranch in Virginia, Fannypack's niece, Kate, celebrated her 4th birthday. Also Fannypack's brother, Tommy, celebrated his a 40 something birthday. Pics from 2001-06-09

Day 49- Fri, June 08 - 21.5/760.5 miles -start-0710 end-1900 . sunny w/ many clouds hi-70 -camped on John Muir Trail, 7.6 miles from summit of Mt Whitney -elevation-10540' Up at 0400, our ride is picking us up at 0500. Our ride came about 0515 & we were hiking the sidetrail, Trail Pass Trail, at 0620 and we hit the PCT at 0710. We took our 1st break about 0815 and at this point I was having a hard time keeping up. I had a headache & my throat was dry. At the 2nd break at Chicken Spring Lake, i was feeling bad. So i took 3 Ecotrin & started up the next hill. On the way up the hill I had to do #2 so i stopped & went. At the top of the next hill everyone was waiting for me, i.e., checking to see if i was alright. Their concern for me made me feel good but i didn't want to hold everyone up. The trail became a little easier & by the time we reached a spring & took our 3rd break of the day, I was feeling better. During this break we watched some chipmunks & a bird take turns getting food from under a rock where some animal (probably the chipmunks) has stashed bits of food. I fell asleep & when i awoke, Jon & Jocelyn from MA has joined us. They told us that Eric Wiese & Singing Steve still were at Kennedy Meadows because their packages hadn't arrived. We continued on & I felt great, of course we were on relatively level trail thread but still i had no headache & i was able to do 3+ mph. We finally made it to Rock Creek at 1430 & took an 1.5 hr break. I soaked my feet in the cold water & ate 2 flour tortillas with 3 slices of turkey breast on each. At 1600, we started up the hill trying to do the last 6 miles to Crabtree Meadows. We took our 5th & final break of the day after 2.5 miles & after the 2nd steep climb. Well only 3.5 miles to Whitney Creek. We saw certain marmots, cute little fat creatures. We crossed Whitney Creek at 1900 & went up the trail that leads to Mt Whitney. We finally arrived at a bear box (food locker) at 1930 & saw a sign that said "Mt Whitney 7.6 miles". So we decided to camp here. There were backpacks in the food locker so we figured some thru-hikers were still on Whitney. About dark or just after dark the following showed up: Eric Wiese, GI Jane & Mike. They Whitney was great but th climb wears u out. At a little after 2100 all of us (Daybreak, Griz, George & Hagit, & I went to sleep in our tents. BTW, we have not had to ford a stream yet, logs or rocks have assisted us in crossing. Pics from 2001-06-08

Day 48- Thu, June 07 - 0.0/739.0 miles -start- end- . sunny w/ high hi- - Dow Villa Motel, (760) 876-5521 ext109 -elevation-10500' --Dow Villa Motel, (760) 876-5521 ext109---- Up at 0400, cannot sleep. Have lots to do today.. Post Office, grocery store, must send food to VVR, Tuolumne Meadows & get food for the hike to Independence. Griz meet a ranger last nite who said that leaving our packs at Crabtree Meadows is the normal thing to do when hikers do Whitney.. I plan to look at some instep crampons to use with my New Balance 803 shoes. Hey, Ole Fhart, pls e-mail me your home #, I would to speak to u today. Hey, u ATers, I heard Baltimore Jack is hurt, is he still hiking??? I haven't heard anything from him this spring, he is on my distribution for this journal. Going to breakfast at 0500 at the place next door. This is a great trail town, I hope to visit after the hike.. I will be looking today for a Rubbermaid container to use to put my digital camera in during stream crossing (fords), any other suggestions. I would put the container in my top loader. BTW, go Sixers, beat the Lakers.

--Dow Villa Motel, (760) 876-5521 ext109----
After breakfast with Griz at 0500, I enjoyed the hot tub at the motel (see pic). So by 0630 I was ready to go back to bed but I knew I needed to do laundry so we went across the street to the laundry, yes across the street, this town is convenient. So by 0800 laundry was done & I had a msg that
The Ole Fhart & Chomp had called so I called both of them back. We met a fella from Minnesota at the sporting goods store (1 block from the motel) who climbed Whitney yesterday & he said it was icy at the top & they glissaded (sp?) down, using their ice ax for a brake. Hagit has arranged a
ride for 0500 tomorrow with a local back to the trailhead, we are paying $15 each, 5 of us but we want to make Crabtree Meadows tomorrow so including the 2.1 mile side trail we need to do 23 miles. This will put us in position to leave most of out equipment at the Crabtree Meadow Ranger Station before our side trail hike up Whitney. I went to the Po & got my bounce box & 5 other pieces of mail... Thx Mary Lee, Dan & John O. got my NB803 shoes later on. I purchased 4 days of food to make it to Independence. The access to Independence is a 9 mile side trail & 15 mile hitch. The 9 mile side trail is said to have great views & it takes u to Onion Valley. I also purchased 4 days of food & mailed to Vermillion Valley Resort. I also mailed my bounce box to Bill & Molly Person at Donner Pass. I also mailed my old shoes & other things to my sister. Mailed a CF card to my
brother Dan, this card has pics from May 22 thru June 6. It is now 1530 & I am going to sit in the hot tub for 30 minutes before packing my pack. BTW, I added my fleece jacket to my pack. We are scheduled to meet White Root & Caithlin for dinner at 1900. Later on y'all. Don't forget June 17 is Father's Day!!!!!!! FYI, the alcohol stove has been working like a charm but the stand is disintegrating (sp?), I believe because I used too much alcohol & the stand just melted. I will start using the Dragon Fly till I get (make) another stand. Since my bounce box along with my alcohol stove is going to Billy & Molly Person's home, it will be awhile before I get the alcohol stove back. Monte or Bob, would it be possible to make a new stand, I have the large cook pot. If yes, sending it to Billy & Molly Person's would be an option. Of course, I will pay for materials & postage. At 1900, we went to dinner at All Seasons Restaurant. The following were there: White Root, Caithlin, Griz, Daybrak, Del, Hagit, George & I. WE had a surprise birthday party for Hagit. She will be 39 on June 9. Leaving at 0500 tomorrow morn. See ya in Independence. Pics from 2001-06-07

Day 47- Wed, June 06 - 20.1/739.0 miles -start-0610 end-1610 . sunny w/ high clouds & rain clouds in late afternoon, hi-75 -Trail Pass Trail, then on to Lone Pine, Dow Villa Motel -elevation-10500' Up at 0510 (accidentally) & started hiking at 0610. his morning I looked at my watch & thought it was 0606 but actually the0606 was the date & it was 0510, whatever works, right? George, Hagit, Griz & I hiked about a mile & found Jane & Mike in their tents (see pic of tents). These youngins, what are we going to do with them? Of course, we should remember: "Hike your own Hike." The hikers I have been hiking with are 30 or older & get up early, don't party & are interested in doing the off-trail scene as well as hiking the PCT. Early today we decided that making Lone Pine was within reach. Of course we took our share of breaks, two 30 minute ones & a 45 minute one. For me, today's breaks were different, cause usually I take off my gators, shoes & socks and today my feet felt sooooooo good that I didn't take off my gators, shoes & socks. BTW, my left big toe has been jamming against the front of my shoe so I decided to change innersoles yesterday. I replaced the Spenco innersoles with a thinner innersole I bought at Blue Ridge Mtn Sports in Richmond, VA. My feet feel fine except for an occasional twitch of pain in my left arch. We saw more beautiful meadows today & a dried lake bed. I believe Los Angeles took all the water from this lake. Griz & I hiked by the Mile High Boys this afternoon and we finally caught Daybreak around 1500. During the today's hike, we were constantly getting glimpses of the snow covered peaks of the Sierras that we will soon hike over or around. We found out today that Hagit's birthday is June 9 & she wants to hike Whitney on that day so she has suggested we take off Thursday in Lone Pine so she will hike Whitney on the 9th. U will find tat in the Sierras our mileage with only be 18 miles or so a day, one reason is because we want to enjoy the moment & another is that the snow may slow us done. Griz, Daybreak & I arrived at Trail Pass Trail at 1610, this trail leads 2.1 miles to a campground & Horseshoe Meadow Rd which leads us 23 miles to Lone Pine. Since this road dead ends at the campground we must rely on the dayhikers & possible campers to give us a ride to Lone Pine. As we came across the meadow approaching the trailhead parking we saw 3 persons who were obviously (no packs) dayhikers. We asked if we were headed the right way to get to Horseshoe Meadow Rd leading to Lone Pine, & one man said "I sure hope so". We continued walking till we reached the parking lot. BTW, George & Hagit caught us as we got to the far side of the meadow, i.e., just as we crossed a stream on a huge pole. When we reached the parking lot walked to the other end to see if there were any possible rides & we saw none. About 15 minutes later, this van comes up the road & out jumps George, signaling Griz & I to come join them in the van. Hagit had asked these 3 dayhikers if we coukd get a ride to Lone Pine & they just happened to be driving a van (so all 5 of us had a ride). Thanks, Hagit.... Driving down the mtn to Lone Pine we found out that the driver, originally from England, is a minister in Lone Pine and his 2 companions are relatives from England. The minister is quite up on allot of the local history shared many facts about the area, e.g., many Westerns were made in the Alabama Hills (an area near Lone Pine), several older Indian (i.e, the country India) were made here. The minister dropped us off at the Dow Villa Motel/Hotel. Griz & I are in Rm 109, u may all us at: 760-876-5521 ext109. We will be here till Friday morn. All 5 of us went to a restaurant for dinner, burger & fries were great. After dinner we walked down the main street to see what options this town has for our day off. At Josephs, the grocery store, we saw Barak and found out that he will be here till Sunday when his dad comes to hike with him. They will go camp for a few days at the campground near Trail Pass Trail so his dad can get acclimated to the elevation. Barak is from Israel. also Barak told us that White Root & Caithlin wer staying at the same motel as us. I called WR aka David Patterson and found out that they had to bail at Olancha Pass Trail because Caithlin's throat was swollen. She has gone to the Lone Pine hospital & found that she has tonsilitis so they will be here a few days. WR lso told me he saw Hiking Pole, hiked the AT in 1999, at the PO and Hiking Pole had walked all the way to town because he couldn't get a ride. So Hiking Pole hiked about 23 miles & went from the PCT elevation of 10500 to the Lone Pine elevation of about 4000 ft. Just another trail story.... Well it is about 2330 so I guess I will be off to bed after soaking my feet for a few minutes in the 24 hr pool spa. Long distance hiking is about "the people, the people, the people, on & off the trail". Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-06

Day 46- Tue, June 05 - 19.5/718.9 miles -start-0640 end-1830 sunny w/ high clouds, hi-95 -tent on a saddle above Monache Bowl -elevation-10540' Last night, at 1730, Griz & I walked up the road 3 miles to the KM Campground. We tented about 75 yds off the PCT at a site with picnic table. Hagit & George showed up at 1945 & are tented at the same site. BTW, I had a package of stuff top stuffing for dinner. About 2000 last nite, we went over to visit 2 Alabama boys who played in same high school & who now live in Los Angeles. Hagit & George met these 2 fellas on their into the campground. These 2 guys are up here fishing for a few days & will return to LA today. They provided us with coffee & we talked till about 2130 when returned to our site. At this time we talked a little about today's hike. I fell asleep since it was past my bedtime. Up at 0530 & on the trail at 0640. We,Griz, Hagit, George & I, are planning to 19 miles & camp at 10540 ft. Since we are "only" hiking 19 miles we will probably eat dinner around 1400 to 1500. About 4 miles, Daybreak caught us & started hiking with. Daybreak hiked the AT in 1999. We have hiked about 7 miles when we came to Beck Meadows which is a part of Monache Meadows. Monache Meadows is the largest meadow in the Sierra. As we took a break & looked across the meadow u could just the imagine the Indian teepees setup there. { could almost hear the Indian children playing in the meadow. This look back into history reminded me of how the white man has mistreated the Indians. Sorry i got off subject, the PCT hike, but sometimes things need to be said. The PCT goes along the right edge of the meadow so we will not disturb the beauty of this meadow. In another 3 miles we reach the South Fork Kern River bridge in Monache Meadows. This steel bridge has been erected to allow hikers to safely cross this river which becomes swollen with the snow melt from the Sierras. We found Jane & Kamiakin at the bridge. Jane was leaving after taking a 2.5 hr break. This is a great spot I wish we could camp here. As we cross the bridge we disturb many swallows that have their mud nest under the bridge. There is a sandy area (looks like a beach) along side the river. At this point the river is only 1 to 2 ft deep. We hung out on the "beach" for 1.5 hr, eating & drinking water & taking pics. While we were there Mike, a friend of the Mile High Boys, showed up. We all hiked out at 1330. At 1415, we stopped at Cow Creek to cook dinner. The reason we cook dinner early then hike on is for several reasons: 1) by eating one place then hiking on we are less likely to attract the attention of a black bear with our cooking odors 2)we can hike till dark or after dark & not have to worry with cooking at this late time 3)u can cook where there is water & then carry water to dry camp but not have to carry the water to cook at the dry camp 4) sometimes is just good for u to have the energy from an early dinner so u can hike on 5)and i am sure there are other better reasons. After eating at an elevation of 8260 ft we had climb to 10540 ft in the next 5.3 miles. We starting hiking again at 1550 & at about 1715 we reached a point (9600 ft) where we could look back down in the meadow we had just visited. It was a tough climb for me & I had to take many standing breaks before I could continue up the hill. As we climbed the mosquitoes became worse. If u stopped u had 4 or 5 of them sucking blood from u. I decided to wear my long pants today because it was cool this morning so this did help me keep these pests off my legs. When we arrived at our destination for the night, Jane & Mike are already there. A short while later Kamiakin arrives. Jane, Mike & Kamiakin are carrying heavy packs because they are carrying enough food (they hope) to hike from Kennedy Meadows to Vermillion Valley Resort w/o a resupply,-a distance of 174 miles. The mosquitoes are bad so we setup our tents fast & get i & try to kill all the suckers that made it inside. Well it 2030 & I think I got them all. It is not completely dark yet but I plan to be asleep shortly. Good nite. Pics from 2001-06-05

Day 45- Mon, June 04 - 0.4/697.0 miles -start-0807 end-0818 sunny w/ clouds, hi- Kennedy Meadows General Store & campground -elevation-6020' Up at 0530 to finish missing my journal entry for yesterday. It is coooooooooold, 35 degrees. We are trying to stay in our sleeping bags till 0830 or so, then we can hike the 4/10 to the road & the 7/10 to the store. The sun is bright & shining on us but it is now warming up very fast. 0800, it is now 60 degrees. We are at the trail register at Sherman Pass Rd, & we see Starman signed in 6/2 at 1800, GI Jane also came in on 6/2. 0845, we are at the KM General Store & we are about to walk 1 mile to a restaurant. Breakfast was great & we had a good time talking to the owner/cook/do everything at the restaurant. Back to the KM General Store for mail. I have 2 new Black Diamond hiking poles, an ice ax from "H", an cookies/brownies from Sharon & Russ at AT&T. The cookies & brownies are great, THANKS Sharon & Russ... There were 15 hikers here to help me eat the cookies & brownies. The hikers here are: Jane, Eric, Kamiakin (yes, he is back on the trail), Hagit & George, Singing Steve, Griz, The Mile High Boys, Daybreak, Jon & Jocelyn, and I. Hikers leaving this morning were: Wolfhound, Starman & Skywalker. Griz & I plan to hike up to the campground (2+ miles) maybe further after the store closes at 1700. WE should be hitching into Lone Pine on Thursday morning. My bounce box will be in Lone Pine & that is where I will send the pics from Aqua Dulce to Lone Pine. http://www.395.com/index.shtml?/lonepine/ & Pics from 2001-06-04

Day 44- Sun, June 03 - 28.4/696.6 668.2 miles -start-0630 end-1945 sunny w/ clouds, hi-80s -camped under a big juniper 4/10 mile south of paved rd to Kennedy Meadows Store -elevation-6050' Forgot to mention some items in yesterday's journal entry so here goes: saw Daybreak.. also Singing Steve saw 2 couples & he think they were: Mark & Terry from Canada, and Simply Seeking & Joe Moon. Also learned from Daybreak that Eric & Pam made it to Walker Pass on Friday so they were able to make a friend's wedding on Saturday. Now for today. Up at 0545 & hiking at 0630. Singing Steve left at 0615. As I was leaving Daybreak walked out from his campsite on the other side of the trail, spoke to him for a few & I was off. The 1st 7.9 miles are level or down so I arrive at Canebrake Rd at 0915. As I approach the rd I see Steve crossing the rd. I decide to go 2/10 mile to Chimney Creek Campground so I can sit at a picnic table for my break & also get water from a faucet. When I return to the trail Steve is taking a break next to a trail register. Griz has signed in at 0821 & also says he plans to go into Kennedy Meadows on Monday, so maybe I will see him today. Steve & I start up the hill which is going to go from 550 ft to 8000 ft. Soon Steve leaves me behind. At 1200, I decide to lay down in the middle of the trail & take a nap. I sleep for 45 minutes & when I start hiking again I realize I am at 7400 ft & the trail seems to be graded very nicely so I will be at the top soon. About this time I start to see destruction caused by the fire last year. The earth & trees are black but there is alot of purple flowers growing. The trail has changed from a sandy tread to a hard dirt tread. I have 7 miles to hike down to a meadow. I arrive at 1600 & find Griz there waiting for me. He says he would like to get close to KM & camp. So we leave to hike some of the 8.5 miles to KM. The trail is easy so we do 3 mph. Along the way we see bear tracks. We come to & hike along the South Fork Kern River. This river gets most of its water from the snow melt of the Sierras. We stop to eat dinner at 1700 & have only 4+ miles to KM. After dinner, we hike till 1945, where we camp under a juniper tree which is about 50 yds from the South Fork Kern River. The wind is blowing hard but my sleeping bag is warm. The store doesn't open till 9am so we will probably sleep in. Pics from 2001-06-03

Day 43- Sat, June 02 - 20.4/668.2 miles -start-0720 end-1845 sunny w/ clouds, hi-75 -saddle near Lamont Peak -elevation-6800' We left the bar last nite at 2345 & walked the 1.5+ miles to the motel & arrived at 0015. while we were walking 3 or 4 police pursued a VW bug, it looked like a slow speed chase, no more 40 mph. I sleep on the sofa, Griz in the bed. Griz woke me at 0530. Janet arrived at about 0620 in a pickup w/ shell. Hagit & George were with Janet. We arrived Walker Pass trailhead about 0705 & began hiking about 0720. It was so nice of Janet to get up early on her day off to drive us out to the trail. The trail began ascending steeply for just the 1st 100 yds of so the it just starting slabbing around the mtn until it started to switchback. I would like to thank the trail designers for the PCT. The grade, switchbacks, & the selection of the route has been done in a way that it makes the trail predictable as well as enjoyable to hike. Thanks trail designers & thanks also to the trail maintainers for efforts. At 0920, the4 of us took a 50 minute break. The scenery has improved, we do see some valleys as well as mtns ahead & behind us. It is very windy today & the temperature is definitely cooler than the last day we hiked which was Thursday. Hagit wants to do a 25 mile day today so they can reach Kennedy Meadows tomorrow nite & then they will take Monday off. I prefer to hike into KM on Monday at midday. We took 2 more breaks, at 1300 for 30 minutes & at 1500 for over an hour. aT 1500 cooked & ate supper. We started hiking again at 1630 & soon I was left behind & I had no intentions of trying to do 9 or 10 more miles to stay with them. So I did about 5 more miles & came to saddle & decided to tent here. Singing Steve just came in at 1945, he has done about a 26 mile day. He is tented here also & the wind is still blowing hard with a few calm periods. Hope to do 20 or 21 miles tomorrow & the only have 8 or 9 miles to KM. Hey, got a voicemail & e-mail from "H" and he has sent his ice ax to KM. Also Singing Steve said he saw a small bear about 6 miles back. 2021, good nite. Pics from 2001-06-02

Day 42- Fri, June 01 - 0.0/647.2 miles -start- end- sunny w/ clouds, hi-107- Hi-lo motel in Kernville, CA -elevation-' Up at 0620, great sleep, solid, didn't wake up till 0530, not like on the trail when it seems like I wake up every hr or so to switch positions, either left side, right side or my back. Well, more magic, the 2 guys staying at our motel that we met from Palm Springs are moving to another motel for tonight & these guys discovered they had a 2nd bedroom so they invited us to take advantage of this freebie so Griz & I agreed. It is the Hi-Ho Lodge about 2 miles from the center of Kernville. They also said that they are going to restaurant up the valley tonight, this is the Kern River Valley. The Kern River flows into Lake Isabella & gets its water from the snow melt in the Sierras near Mt Whitney. We stopped at the grocery store for food to fix sandwiches, a watermelon & chips. We plan on hanging out here at the motel's pool & hopefully get some cooler weather tomorrow when we go back to Waker Pass to hike. I will be mailing the next group of pics (Aqua Dulce to Lone Pine) to my brother when I reach Lone Pine. At 1400, it is 107 degrees here at the Hi-Ho Lodge. Since 1400 I was able to order 2 pair of NB 803 running shoes, one pr sent to Richmond, VA & the other prwere sent to Lone Pine. The lining of my current pr is coming apart. Actually these shoes were $20 cheaper per pr than the 1st 2 pr i bought. If u like these shoes u can call 1-888-CABELAS & get them for $59.95 plus tax. Hey, it is suppertime & we, Jerry, John (2 guys from Palm Springs), Griz & I are off to theAll Seasons restaurant.... After eating steak & shrimp (John's treat, THX John), Griz & UI are ready to check out the night life in Kernville. Looking out the restaurant window we see Simly Seeking & Joe Moon walking up the main drag. We out to talk with them & find they will be hiking out tommorrow so we shuld see them at Kennedy Meadows... As we stand outside Hagit, George & Janet (the postmaster at Onyx) come up & tell us they went whitewater rafting with Janet's husband. We will see them in the morning when Janet takes us to the trail... Here it is 2122 & we are at the Sportsman Inn for karioke (sp?)... It is a hoot, some good local talent as well as some cute bartenders, clarification female bartenders.... It seems to be an "in thing" for California women to have a tatoo on the lower back or maybe it is the clothes they ae wearing or the lack of clothing, ha, ha!!!! Pics from 2001-06-01