September 7-18, days 161-172
PCT-km: 1,414; kilometers hiked: 2919 km
A brief sign of life from us from Vermillion Valley Resort on Edison Lake!
After 11 days and roughly 280 km, we've reached civilization again. In Kennedy Meadows we'd decided not to exit at Lone Pine or Bishop in order not to lose valuable time by exiting and reentering for a resupply. That meant our food rations had to last for 11 days. Ultimately, we did run out of food. Olli in particular had difficulty getting up the passes. He also had foot problems, caused by his new mountain boots. Sabine in turn suffered a bad toothache: the extreme changes in altitude likely caused an air bubble to develop under a crown. Fortunately, several hikers gave her some painkillers. It seems to have subsided now.
We had great luck with the weather: blue skies by day, but temperatures under zero at night. It's really hard to get out of the tent the next morning! Fall has arrived here; the first snow of the season is expected in the next days.
The way through the Sierra is marked in particular by the passes that must be overcome, difficult ascents and descents (up to 35 km long). The landscape is impressive, particularly in the higher regions: nothing but rocks, crags, and lakes. Enormous! As an extra day tour, Sabine climbed Mount Whitney: at 4,421 meters above sea level the highest summit on the continent. Olli in turn spent the day nursing the uncomfortable pressure mark on his foot.
We're now at the halfway mark in the Sierra (including the PCT's highest point, Forester Pass, at 4,000 meters) and hope to complete the rest in about 12 days. You'll hear from us then, we hope.
The data rate is unfortunately too slow to load more photos at the moment. We'll post more later.
