The time for campsite shenanigans was over. We got back on the trail today and we into the Sierra officially. There should be some daunting terrain in the next 9-day segment including the highest mountain in the Contiguous United States. Mt. Whitney, at 14,505 ft. has been a problem for lot of thru-hikers and many have gone up only to return without summiting. It's not on the actual trail though so you don't have to do it if you don't want to. We'll have to cross the highest mountain pass on the Pacific Crest Trail in about 6 days; Forester Pass at 13,200 ft which means it's surrounded by mountains that are higher than that. I've heard the snow levels are making it really tough to get through and the creeks are more like raging rivers. Since I've never hiked through this kind of terrain, I'm interested to see what it will be like with all of the rumors floating around about how tough the Sierras are going to be with all of this snow.
We had a pretty steady climb all day starting around 6000 feet in Kennedy Meadows. You could feel the altitude becoming a factor. It's always tough entering the woods again after a bunch of days sitting on your butt and playing bored games and eating smores.
Near the end of the day we came up through a stream-cut valley and crested a pass around 8000 feet into an amazing meadow. We'd been waiting to get some water and there was an interesting stream that had cut a deep, mud gully through this immense valley (later to tribute to the Kern). The sun was soon to go down and it was like something out of a movie. There was a group of people in the woods on the edge of the valley across the gully stream and a couple girls getting water. I didn't recognize them but they waved and we waved back and we were going to go over there to get some water when a guy walked from out of the woods and intercepted us. We figured out that he was a guide for a high school group and he was probably trying to keep us from coming over and interacting with his 11th graders. Pretty funny but a prudent move on his part. Me and Sprinkles and Bandit surely don't pose a risk but you never know what kind of people are running around out here; or of course, what kind of kids you have in your group for that matter. Haha! Maybe he was protecting us!
We decided to drop camp in this awesome meadow about a 1/4 mile north of them. There were cow patties everywhere. I wasn't aware that some people actually herd livestock up into these mountain meadows and they feed on the delicious grasses, clean air and sparkling mountain streams. Unfortunately, they poop EVERYWHERE. I did some research and it turns out that high altitude cattle grazing has been going on since the 1850's since these areas were basically otherwise unusable; however, it's widely known that this causes a lot of problems with water quality for people who rely on the water that comes from the Sierras (Basically all of Southern California). In fact, one of the reasons for the establishment of Yosemite National Park was to try to alleviate cattle grazing in that area. Cattle Poop creates increased bacteria blooms in the drinking water supply and has the greatest impact at high altitude because of the fragile ecosystems. I'm against it and Bandit was ranting about it all night.
For more information, check this out: Reducing the impact of summer cattle grazing on water quality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California: a proposal
Anyway, the HS retreat guide told us they were going to be hiking out south in about an hour so we knew it would be quiet. A few other hikers hiked through and Spice Rack and Caveman dropped in on us. Bandit was passing out Peppermint Patties (Peppermint Schnapps and Hot Coco) and after something like that, it's tough not to drop your tent and hang out for the night. A full moon was on it's way and the stars on the ceiling of this meadow were spectacular. The floor; however, was still littered with hubcap-sized cow droppings.
We had a pretty steady climb all day starting around 6000 feet in Kennedy Meadows. You could feel the altitude becoming a factor. It's always tough entering the woods again after a bunch of days sitting on your butt and playing bored games and eating smores.
Near the end of the day we came up through a stream-cut valley and crested a pass around 8000 feet into an amazing meadow. We'd been waiting to get some water and there was an interesting stream that had cut a deep, mud gully through this immense valley (later to tribute to the Kern). The sun was soon to go down and it was like something out of a movie. There was a group of people in the woods on the edge of the valley across the gully stream and a couple girls getting water. I didn't recognize them but they waved and we waved back and we were going to go over there to get some water when a guy walked from out of the woods and intercepted us. We figured out that he was a guide for a high school group and he was probably trying to keep us from coming over and interacting with his 11th graders. Pretty funny but a prudent move on his part. Me and Sprinkles and Bandit surely don't pose a risk but you never know what kind of people are running around out here; or of course, what kind of kids you have in your group for that matter. Haha! Maybe he was protecting us!
We decided to drop camp in this awesome meadow about a 1/4 mile north of them. There were cow patties everywhere. I wasn't aware that some people actually herd livestock up into these mountain meadows and they feed on the delicious grasses, clean air and sparkling mountain streams. Unfortunately, they poop EVERYWHERE. I did some research and it turns out that high altitude cattle grazing has been going on since the 1850's since these areas were basically otherwise unusable; however, it's widely known that this causes a lot of problems with water quality for people who rely on the water that comes from the Sierras (Basically all of Southern California). In fact, one of the reasons for the establishment of Yosemite National Park was to try to alleviate cattle grazing in that area. Cattle Poop creates increased bacteria blooms in the drinking water supply and has the greatest impact at high altitude because of the fragile ecosystems. I'm against it and Bandit was ranting about it all night.
For more information, check this out: Reducing the impact of summer cattle grazing on water quality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California: a proposal
Anyway, the HS retreat guide told us they were going to be hiking out south in about an hour so we knew it would be quiet. A few other hikers hiked through and Spice Rack and Caveman dropped in on us. Bandit was passing out Peppermint Patties (Peppermint Schnapps and Hot Coco) and after something like that, it's tough not to drop your tent and hang out for the night. A full moon was on it's way and the stars on the ceiling of this meadow were spectacular. The floor; however, was still littered with hubcap-sized cow droppings.
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