Change, change change

Sections E, F, G

We are having  a great hike, with many changes going on.  Jay and I hiked for almost a month with Radio and Chemical Burn.  Now we have all gone separate directions.  Jay and I are on our own again.  We are dealing with the snowy Sierras.  Right now we are at Kennedy Meadows the beginning of high country.  Many hikers are jumping around the High Sierras to hike the lower mountains farther North.  We are doing that too.  Jay and I are going to try to join a trail crew for a week or two.  Then we are meeting Kevin in Truckee, CA.  We will then try to get to Sierra City, from there we will hike North to Ashland Oregon.  In August we will return to Lone Pine to climb Whitney and do the high sierras.  Jay and I are so excited to be reuniting with Kevin.  We just can't wait.  I don't have solid plans for the next couple of weeks.  I'll keep you posted.  In the mean time enjoy the pix. 

I don't know why I need to order new boots?  This whole toe is one big blister, six weeks in the making.  New boots arriving at Onyx.

After leaving Hikertown we walked on the Aqueduct for about 40 miles.  Not the highlight of the trip.

I am now hiking with a base weight of about 10 pounds instead of the 29 I left home with.  My new pack utilizes some of my gear to to stabilize and pad it so it weighs in at around 16 ozs.  My Lowe Alpine weighed 6.5 lbs.  We are now sleeping under a 4 oz tarp tent instead of a 6.5 lb tent.  My feet are happier and my back is lighter.  simplfy, simplify

Crossing Cottonwood creek where we escape the aqueduct and head into the Tehachapi mountains, the southernmost range in the Sierras.

We had climbed out of the desert in a howling frigid wind.  Jay and I were about to test the mettle of our found tarp tent.  Chemical Burn and radio worked hard to keep us dry by building a rock and bark barricade around our Eyore house.  We got wet and didn't sleep much but stayed warm, for the most part.  

We got to Mojave and Tehachapi with Chemical Burn hobbling, Kurtis waiting for Radio at the La Quinta, Jay and I ready for a zero.  In Mojave our little hiking family split up.  Radio went hiking with Kurtis the next day while Chemical Burn tried to figure out what was wrong with his foot.  Jay and I went shopping and resupplied at the PO.  When we started again it was just Jay and me.  Our first night camp was interesting.  We thought the windmills would be loud.  Instead they were a subtle background noise that lulled us to sleep.

What is that?  A granite topped mountain?  As we approached Onyx the Sierras begin to look like the mountains we will be seeing farther North.

Not quite free of the Mojave yet.  We sat on the trail having lunch while this snake shed his skin.

Mojave terrain.  For those of you in Jay's coop, he sent home samples of Joshua tree leaves ( to the right of Jay), Mormon Tea ( to the left of Jay) and sage(in the forground).  I sent them to Kathryn Cooper so you should see them soon.

These boots were made for walking and that's just what we did.  Both are boots are hiked out and that's why they are dead.  

Out with the old--In with the new

Mountains!