I had been hearing about section "O" since before the trip began. The ominous "O", the horrible "O", the dreaded "O"... The problem? Hundreds of ...
Belden to Burney Falls
The first thing which greeted us north of Belden was a sign: "PCT closed, trail washed out. Use alternate route". We knew that some hikers had decided ...
Sierra City to Belden
I had prepared myself for a grueling climb under the hot midday sun. But, climbing up the slopes of the Sierra Buttes wasn't as tough as I had feared. ...
Donner Pass to Sierra City
It was hot. We were in the middle of a summer heat wave. The heat was tolerable though. As long as I had water and some occasional shade, I was fine. ...
Echo Lake to Donner Pass
I returned to Echo Lake. On a whim, I decided to ask for my package again. They found it. Although they denied it, I knew it was there all along. The ...
Sonora Pass to Echo Lake
Rejuvenated and resupplied, we headed north from Sonora Pass. We quickly ascended, wove around to the north side of the mountains, then started down. ...
Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass
The hike north out of Tuolumne Meadows was fairly easy, a gentle grade down broad meadows. We crossed the Tuolumne River on a bridge, and headed down ...
Mt. Whitney to Tuolumne Meadows
The first couple miles up Mt. Whitney were downright pleasant. The trail wound up a canyon, passing by pretty alpine lakes along the way. But then the ...
Walker Pass to Mt. Whitney
The mountains north of Walker Pass finally started looking more like the Sierra that we'd all heard about. Rough, steep, rocky and beautiful. For a ...
Tehachapi Pass to Walker Pass
Poles in hand, I headed up the mountains north of Hwy 58. Technically, we were now in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Although, so far it didn't ...