I'm 30, Unemployed and living out of my backpack... never been happier

On 6/20 and 6/21 we zeroed in Bishop, CA. On 6/22 we did 10.7 miles to the Northern side of Glen Pass and slept at 11,088 feet. On 6/23 we did 16.8 miles to Lake Marjorie and slept at 11,007 feet. On 6/24 we did 11.6 miles to Lower Pallisade Lake and slept at 10,608 feet. On 6/25 we did 14.6 miles to the Middle Fork of Kings River and slept at 10,420 feet. On 6/26 we did 18.1 miles to the South Fork of the San Joaquin River and slept at 8,426 feet. On 6/27 we did 20.3 miles to just North of the Big Bear Creek Trail junction and slept at 9,184 feet.

We are in our second week in the Sierras and things keep getting better. If you actually read the first paragraph of the blog you can see we have dropped our miles significantly. This is not only the most beautiful section of the hike, it's probably the most beautiful place in the United States. I mentioned before we are in Kings Canyon NP. It would be better named Kings Canyons since the trail will go over a high pass, follow the steams and water falls down to the basin where we will cross into the next canyon and start the climb up to another pass. The last two weeks has followed this same pattern of high pass and low canyon almost everyday. So even though we are putting in low mileage, we are still getting a solid work out with the 3,000-5,000 foot elevation change a day.

I have done a lot of dumb things in my life, in fact SketchPad could probably fill the blog up with stupid things I have done just in the past 55 days; but the dumbest thing I have ever done was to not bring fishing tackle through the Sierras. Unless we are climbing a pass, we are walking along pristine lakes and steams where you can easily see 10-15 feet into the water and see a plethora of trout. I was actually in my hunting/fishing partners basement a few days before I left for the PCT and he tried to give me his travel fly rod to take on the trip and I declined due to weight concerns. I had no idea I was going to be walking through perfect fishing streams for 100s of miles on this trip. As soon as we entered the Sierras I instantly regretted not having any gear. When we went to Bishop, CA I stopped into a fly shop to pick up some supplies. I explained to the guy working behind the counter I was going rig up some leader line and tippet to my hiking poles with zip ties to make a fly rod. I thought he would be enthused with my brilliance, but he looked at me like I was fishing with dynamite (sometimes fly fisherman take themselves too seriously). I ended up leaving the shop with the gear I thought I would need and headed back into the Sierras. I'm not going to brag but... I ended up catching 20 rainbow trout and 1 cutthroat on my first day. It just so happens that now the views I recommend SketchPad to draw just so happen to be next to trout filled steams.

Well it's official: I turned 30 on the trail. SketchPad is sad since she no longer feels like she is robbing the cradle. I was woken up in the tent with SketchPad singing happy birthday with a powdered donut in hand and a twig lit on fire (best birthday cake ever) I blew the twig out quickly since most of our gear can be caught on fire easily. We spent the day climbing Pichot Pass and fishing in Lake Marjorie in the late evening; SketchPad also managed to carry out two suprise BDay beers for dinner! I don't know if it is possible to be in a better place in life on your 30th revolution around the sun.

On our way up Muir Pass I met a JMT hiker who probably broke his foot. He was hobbling around trying to figure out how he was going to ford river. I told him I would take his pack from him and walk him down the mountain about 3 miles where there was a side trail he could attempt to hike out, or at worst where a helicopter would have an easier time landing to take him out. During our 3 mile hike down the mountain he was full of amazement with the mountains surrounding him. His hike was over, whether he hiked out or was extracted, he was done. Even though the circumstances were not the best, it was wonderful to hike with someone who reminded me how special of place I was in and no matter what happens I should enjoy every mile.