Day 60: ⛺ @ mile 774.4 - Bishop

Day: 06.06.2018

Miles hiked today: +/- 22 miles ( inlcuding. PCT off miles down to Kearsage pass)

Total mileage: Mile 788.5

We got up early this morning to start hiking at 5am - or that is what we thought. It turned out that quite a lot of hikers started earlier than we did. Today we are going to hike Forester Pass, the highest pass on the entire trail. This is also our first Pass we climb, of many to follow. We were not sure about snow conditions but as Mt. Whitney wasn't too bad I didn't expect much snow. It was a beautiful morning and the first couple of miles were a gradual uphill hike. Only the last mile was very steep. The trail was covered in snow and i did not spot the original path until a little higher up. So we did put on our microspikes and hiked straight up until we eventually would hit the trail. Forester pass is also well know for a sketchy section, a traverse section just below the peak of the pass. Many hikers fear this section. It was actually not as bad as I thought. In the middle of this short stretch I took as selfie, of which another guy took a picture as he couldn't believe I was doing so, I'm sooo crazy:)! A bunch of hikers just arrived on the top of the pass before me. We waited shortly for Joanne and Peter - Group picture time! The view is stunning. You are just standing in the middle of mountains and snow and lakes. I can't see any sign of civilisation up here. It's epic. The sun is out and the north side of the pass, where we have to hike down to the valley now, is much more covered in snow then the south side of the pass. So we move on to avoid postholing.

I'm getting used to not eat breakfast anymore but to just eat a bar or two while hiking. First I don't really like oatmeal (plus you need a at ice for them and clean up afterwards). So I used to eat cereals for breakfast, which was very yummie. But because cereals are very bulky and the fact that all the food has to fit in my bear canister now, I couldn't bring cereals anymore. Second, I'm getting lazy of preparing breakfast and breaking for it. It's much easier to just eat a bar. I don't need to clean anything and it's much faster! Joanne and Peter are Still eating oatmeal. So while they stopp to eat breakfast I hike on. I hike all the way down to the valley, crossing more rivers and annoying the hike. I stopp for lunch and await Joanne and Peter. We want to hike to Bishop today. As per our phone app there is a lot of confusion about how many miles this route from the PCT trail to the onion valley campground (from where you then hitch), exactly is. We figured out it's something between 7 and 9 miles, which is our longest off trail hike to resupply so far. To get to Bishop we first have to hike 2 miles up Glenn Pass. This pass is very very steep and it takes ages to hike this 2 miles. But also I packed far too much food. I thought we need two days more for sure but because we hiked a lot yesterday and also today we are much faster. My bear canister is nearly still full (I didn't fit all the food in it when I started hiking this section) and very heavy! It's ridiculous!! After the about 2 miles uphill hike we leave the PCT and take the Bullfrog Lake Trail which runs a long some beautiful lakes, then up to Kearsage Pass (11'760 feet) and down to the onion Valley campground (9'200 feet). Even so the hike is beautiful because all hikes in the Sierras are beautiful all of us are very tired and our legs feel heavy. The off trail hike to the top of the pass is very hard and steep and down to the campground it is never ending! About 2 miles before reaching the campground we run into Audio, pharmacy, giggles and Jason. Nooo, why are you already leaving Bishop?! Come back down with us again! Poor giggles lost a bet yesterday and had to carry up a fully filled bear cannister additional to his own backpack! It's already like 5pm, which seems very late to hike up the pass for me. I better walk down to the town at this time:) Finally, finally i can see the street and cars parking down there. We made it down to the car park, now we have to find a hitch. While we are discussing what to do a car arrives. He asks us if we have seen his nephew and rebekha, also two pct hikers. His nephew asked him to come and pick them up today but he doesn't know where they are and how long it still takes them. We haven't seen them. But may he could give us a lift down to independence while his nephew is not here yet? Sure, why not, he replies. We hop in the car and drive down the valley. He tells us that he started the PCT together with his nephew this year but then had to stopp. His plan is to come back to the PCT in Mammoth. Now whenever he has time he drives along the PCT and delivers some trail magic. While he was telling one story I remembered to have read something very similar in a blog of two Swiss girls, which I met back home in our Swiss PCT group. And really, he remembers them too! How funny!

He drives us down to Independence and returns back to the campground to pick up his nephew. We will have to get another hitch from Independence to Bishop, which is about a 40 miles hitch. But it doesn't seem to be much if a problem. Shortly later we sit in a car already, on the way to Bishop. He dropps us out somewhere in town. It's dinner time and we've just passed a BBQ place, that's were we are going straight away, still dirty and stinky from the trail! Food is delicious and we feel like on heaven! The hotel with pool has been organised in the meantime and after food and shower we just fall into bed. What a day!