We got to Tuolumne early in the morning, with time for breakfast while we waited for the shuttle into Tuolumne Valley. I had a pint of ice cream and a microwaved burrito to start the day. The breakfast of champions. Sensei appeared all of a sudden, a sleeve of his shirt ripped off. As Mash …
Due to us heading into Yosemite Valley tomorrow and the fact that we were already close to the place, we actually had a short day. Long breaks every couple of miles, only 1500 feet of uphill, this is more of a zero than what we had in Mammoth. I took my commitment to take photos …
We got a slow start back to trail. By the time we got out of the Airbnb, through the 3 shuttles and out of Red’s Meadow, it was 1pm. I briefly saw Jesse and the other Belgians heading into Mammoth, together with Raymond. On one of the shuttles, I heard from Lil Slurp that Guardian’s …
Another exhausting zero. From Red’s Meadow, we took three different shuttles to get to Mammoth. Beetle and Shield (previously Pants, previously Andy, named for his heroic effort to save Hanna during the rock slide on Mathers Pass, when he jumped on top of her to shield her from the falling debris) also got on our …
I feel light! Almost all my food is gone and I’m flying the last miles to Red’s Meadow, our next rest stop. On the way, I found Fitz and we hiked together for a while. Mash set off early in the morning and was racing faster than ever. Fitz and I split and then I …
Long day, I walked most of it on autopilot. We’re all tired and tired of trail food. This long carry weighs hard. Many places we go to are swarming with mosquitoes in numbers I didn’t believe to be possible. When we finally find a place next to fast flowing water that doesn’t have any of …
Onwards it is! After a freezing night that cost us all some sleep, we continued. There was a little side trip on the horizon: the hot springs near Muir Trail Ranch called Blarney Hot Springs. On the way I encountered Stinger, Mouse, Fitz and Hanna, our latest (and as would soon become clear, also shortest) …
Muir Pass had an infamous reputation. Several miles before and after the pass, the trail was covered in slushy snow, according to what we’d heard, meaning there would be postholing for a long stretch. On arrival, none of this turned out to be true. Muir Pass was even my favourite so far. The other passes …
Mather Pass is known to be one of the more difficult passes. Mostly because of the steep incline and the amount of snow on its sides. Luckily, ours is not a heavy snow year and only the north side, the side we descended, still had snow. Going up was a breeze, I’m definitely getting over …
The climb up Pinchot was endless. Even though it was not hard, it tested all our spirits. It was probably the most beautiful day so far though, with icy lakes and green meadows popping up everywhere. Spice told me a hilarious story about how her rabbit, Milwood, would have a litter with his sister and …
