New Photos are Up on Photobucket

Okay, I posted the new photos from Yosemite to Truckee on the photobucket page. Also be sure to check out his photos from the High Sierras (a selection of which I have posted below). You can find them in this album (note this album link is different from the newest photos).

Enjoy! :)

Vince's favorite type of campsite - high mountain near a lake...

Forester Pass - highest point on the PCT:
Snow trekking:
Atop Mt. Whitney (I think):

Dances with Wolves... or with Puppy Dogs Named Toby...

Well, Toby (my pup) and I just got home (yesterday evening) from hiking with Vince around Lake Tahoe. It was an extraordinarily beautiful hike and I was extremely happy to have gotten to spend a bit over a week with Gravitron as well as meet his parents. Yes yes, I know this is not my blog, so I'll keep try to keep this part short. Vince hasn't had internet access in weeks and probably won't until at least Chester (the town closest to the halfway point), which he's aiming to reach early next week.

The Adventures of Vince, Monica, and Toby the dog:
Here's what I know from the last week or so of the hike... Vince met his parents on Thu evening (16 July) and, after a long (overdue?) shower, they enjoyed a Chinese buffet dinner in South Lake Tahoe. I arrived late in the morning on Saturday after a 17-hr drive from MT - well worth it and Toby, Vince, and I were happily reunited at last! Vince and I enjoyed more time with his parents and got to preparing for the trail, which we started at Echo Lake (south lake Tahoe) on that Monday (20 July). Toby seemed unsure of the plan to hike the 65 mi up to Donner Pass (he had heard some things about that pass) from the get-go and his fears came to fruition as he was "forced" to hike 8-10 mi days with periods of no shade and the torture of embarrassment from having to wear doggie booties and a pack. He acquired two trail names, not sure which one is better -- Tobitron (he idolizes Vince) or Shade-Seeker - which he was quite good at. Toby started off well, still energized from seeing Vince again (who his mama "accidentally left in the desert 2.5 mo before") and happy to see so many lakes to swim in. He did just that, enjoying a nice swim after a 6 mi hike into Lake Aloha where our first campsite was. We next hiked about 10 mi over Dick's Pass to Dick's Lake to spend night two. Toby wasn't so happy about the sun-exposure and long day for this hike and was quite ready to call it quits several times under the shade of a tree. He was reluctant to search for a campsite near the lake that evening and even more reluctant to move after the campsite was found... Next morning we put in another ~10 mi day to Richardson Lake. Again, Toby was none too happy about the hike and ready for a campsite as soon as possible. This site was equipped with an abandoned canoe (which Vince and I subjected Toby to a ride in) and swarms of mosquitoes (which meant lots of quality time playing cards in the tent). The following day we again set off for another ~10 mi hike to a campsite near a creek where I had the pleasure of meeting Canadoug, Gravy, Gino, Lionheart, and Chopper and Savior's sister, who had just begun hiking. The hike was beautiful and wound through dense forest broken by fields of yellow flowers and grass - very random... and very very neat! Toby was again past-due to reach camp. :)

The following day we did another ~10 mi to a forested campsite - we had hoped to make it another 4 mi, but Toby began limping and was just not a happy camper. So we called it a night early and my poor pup did nothing but lay down (and eat when the bowl was placed in front of his face and roll over for a belly rub). Vince and I checked the maps and he found that the following day we could hike 5 mi together then I could take a road down to Squaw Valley ski resort while he hiked the 14 mi to my car, saving the dog 10 mi of hiking. So that we did -- Toby was none too happy about momma going the opposite way of Vince again and cried, whimpered, and hollered for ~20 min near the junction where we split up and all the way down to Squaw Valley. While I am bummed I missed the last bit of the hike, I am happy to have gotten Toby down since he wouldn't budge the entire 5 hrs it took for Vince to hike and come get us... nor for the entire rest of that evening.

That night Vince and I enjoyed the same Chinese buffet I mentioned earlier (and Toby still wonders where his sweet and sour chicken is). We spent a couple more nights in South Lake Tahoe (the only place that had hotel rooms available for under $200/night that allowed dogs -- there were a couple festivals/events in town that weekend) before I dropped him off once again at the trailhead near I-80/Truckee on Monday afternoon - Toby was reluctant to get out of the car at this point for fear he'd once again have to hike. Vince called today from Sierra City (about 40 mi north of where I dropped him off) and sounded well. Water becomes scarce in this part of the hike once again so he had to carry water for the last 17 mi and will again have a 20-some mile waterless stretch coming up.

Okay, now that I've written entirely too much, I'll leave you with this -- I will post more pictures on the Photobucket page (http://photobucket.com/vince_pct) - probably tomorrow evening and above you'll find a map of where Vince was as of this morning. He reaches the halfway point of the trail in Chester early next week (woo hoo!) and hopefully I will have a better update for you then.
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming... :) Take care and thanks for reading!

A sampling of photos - check out Photobucket tomorrow evening for more from the Tuolumene section as well as the Tahoe section...

The Pacific parents and their namesake trail:

The boys:Toby reflects on the wonders of water at Lake Aloha:

Toby finds snow with Vince:
"Okay guys, I found a good shady camp spot" :
Vince and I on the ridge overlooking Lake Tahoe and a ski resort just south of Squaw Valley:

"Seriously guys, I think this is a great place for a nap or just to camp" :

Donde Esta Senor Pacific?

I realized it's been a while since I included a map of his progress, so here ya go...

Woo Hoo - An Update from the High Sierras!

So it's been 3 weeks and a few hundred amazingly scenic miles in the high Sierras since I've last been at a computer (I'm in Mammoth Lakes now - mile 900). Over the last 200 miles I've hiked nearly all of the John Muir Trail (which shares the PCT), climbed Mt. Whitney, and hiked over Forester Pass (13,000'+, the highest point on the PCT). While many try to pass through this section pretty quick, I decided to carry a lot of extra food (I was only able to resupply once) and take my time - though I essentially had to starve myself for the last few days. The terrain is spectacular, but tough going. They say that a 25 mile day before getting to the Sierras is the same as a 15 mile day in the Sierras - lots of elevation change, and snow, rocks, and boulders cover a lot of the trail.

Over the course of 19 nights, I camped at least 10 nights over 11,000' in elevation, and crossed quite a few snowy and icy passes. At the last minute I decided not to carry an ice axe and crampons, and there were definately quite a few times that I was cursing myself for not having them. Crossing the passes took quite a bit of planning. It was always a tradeoff between getting to the pass too early and having the steep sections at the top being a sheet of ice, or getting to lower, but still snow-covered, areas too late. Even by mid-morning, the snow gets really soft and you can spend hours post-holing (punching through the snow up to your thighs with every step). I usually opted for hitting the pass while icy, though it definately made for some very scary early mornings! One pass in particular (Muir Pass) had about 6 miles of nothing but snow to cross! I also took a 15 mile detour to Iva Bell Hot Springs that few on the trail know about. It's a series of hot pools up a steep hillside, with beautiful views of the valley below - PERFECT, as it had been over 2 weeks since I last showered. The best part is that its 13 miles from any trailhead, so not very crowded, and all very fun people.

I'm still having lots of trouble keeping on weight, despite eating tons of food high in fat and calories. I've started going through lots of olive oil and peanut butter, which apparently have the highest calorie:weight ratio out there, and I always have at least 3 snickers bar/day. That's right - I ate over 50 snickers bars through the high Sierra section! I'm still loving the early mornings - I wake up naturally at 5 am every day to the first chirping of birds, and am generally asleep by 9 pm. The early mornings are my favorite, crisp cool air, beautiful sunrise, and I pretty much have the trail to myself.

Next, I hike through a large section of Yosemite National Park, and then I get to meet up with Monica and my parents for a few days in Tahoe - then Monica is going to hike 60 miles with me. Needless to say - I'm VERY excited!!!