Sunday October 6, 18.0mi/29.0km

Long John Canyon (103.0/5180ft) to Whitney Portal Campground (121.0/8020ft) (CA)

I was planning to meet a friend for breakfast, so I was excited to get to town! I was hiking at 7am, which is just before sunrise these days.

As I descended the last part of Long John Canyon, the wash slowly turned into a two-track road.

The Sierras in the distance.

Just before reaching Lone Pine, I crossed what was left of the Owens “River”. Sadly, most of it is diverted into a pipeline that runs over 300 miles to the city of LA.

Lone Pine looking like it always does:

I met up with Catwater! She and I hiked part of the PCT together in 2015, and she has continued on to hike the PCT again (southbound), the CDT, Colorado trail, JMT a few times, and is also a snowboarder and coach for the US national team. What a badass.

After a nice long breakfast, she was kind enough to drive me to the USFS office to pick up my permit for Mt Whitney (for some reason, they still make you go in person). We said our goodbyes, and I continued on hiking, in the afternoon heat. This hill above Lone Pine has “LP” on it, a common thing for western towns to do.

I hiked a couple of hours through the Alabama Hills, which is also a rock climbing destination.

Hundreds of film scenes have been shot here in the Alabama Hills, mostly Western movies. There was a plaque to explain and commemorate this.

I love the random PSA from CalFire along the roadside.Hmm, let me run home and check my space!

There was an hour of paved roadwalk, which was the only part of this route I didn’t like.

I was glad to turn off into a campground, and enter the Inyo National Forest. “I’m in yo forest!”

From there, I was on the Whitney Portal National Recreation Trail, a nice 3mi/5km trail up to Whitney Portal.

It started off in desert landscapes…

And turned to Pine forest as I went up in elevation.

And then, I even followed along a rushing stream, with log crossings and fallen leaves. It felt like being on the AT!

I arrived to the campground at 6:30pm, just before dark. I made my last dinner on trail, and setup quickly in the rapidly cooling temperature.

Saturday October 5, 24.5mi/39.4km

White Mountain Talc Road (78.5/5980ft) to Long John Canyon (103.0/5180ft) (CA)

I started by 7am today, since I knew it would be a longer day. It was a long, 3-hour climb up to an 8000-foot high ridge.

Near the top, I entered an old mining district, Cerro Gordo mines.

Looking back downhill from where I started this morning:

The entrance to the old mining village was at the crest of the hill.

I spent an hour exploring the old buildings, talking to the caretaker, and sitting in the wonderful shade!

Finally, I left the old mining village, and spent all the afternoon walking the crest of the Inyo Mountains.

I could see the Owens Valley to the west. This area used to be Owens Lake, before Los Angeles stole all the water.

And across the valley was the front range of the Sierras, rising 10,000ft/3000m above the valley.

After an hour of ridgewalking, I came across an old mining cabin!

The inside was nice and cool, and full of random trinkets. No interpretive display signs, just an interesting site.

The old mine was nearby. I definitely didn’t go in, small enclosed spaces are my kryptonite. Plus it might collapse!

To the east of the ridge was another huge valley, the Saline Valley.

It was an afternoon of bliss, expansive views in all directions, and on an easy old jeep road.

The road winding along the ridge in the distance…

I passed an old salt tram, which used to haul salt that was mined in Saline Valley up and over the Inyo mountains, and down to a railroad in the Owens Valley.

Saline Valley, 7000ft/2100m below:

I explored the inner workings of the tram, it was mostly just the structure left, no cables or machinery.

I met a random guy who had driven up there in his jeep, he was super knowledgeable about the local mining history and very interesting to chat with. I couldn’t stay long though, I still had 5mi/8km to hike before dark!

I left the ridge at 5pm, and traveled x-country down some steep hillsides, finally dropping into a wash.

This eventually joined Long John Canyon, which I was able to hike in the dark with my headlamp, since navigation is not an issue in a canyon. I setup camp at 7:30pm, an hour after sunset, and quickly fell asleep after a 12+ hour day!

Friday October 4, 23.5mi/37.8km

Ridge above Darwin Canyon (55.0/3280ft) to White Mountain Talc Road (78.5/5980ft) (CA)

It was so windy last night, and I woke up covered with a fine layer of desert sand. Gross. Since packing up also involved a cleaning step today, I didn’t get moving down the trail until 7:45am.

I hiked up a gentle hill, and then dropped down into a shallow wash to cross it.

I kept hearing these strange noises all morning, and after a couple hours, I discovered the source… Burros!

I approached and they ran away.

Oh well, onward. I saw several more burros, but they were too fast to get a photo. And then I was distracted by this lone Joshua tree. They usually grow in large groups, so this was strange.

I hiked cross-country another hour, and then got to the highway crossing where I had cached some water.

The rest of the day was on dirt roads, and I saw only one car all afternoon.

After two hours of roadwalking, Joshua trees started to appear. Thousands of them.

Apparently they are in the Lily family, and related to asparagus and onions. What a delicious family.

So many cool looking Joshua Trees.

I hiked 13 miles on dirt roads, and I came to my final water cache.

I refilled my bottles, and then cut up the jugs to fit inside another jug. They take up much less space this way.

I hiked another hour, until 6pm. There were so many Joshua trees!

The sunset was fun to watch as I rolled into camp.

I setup my tent under a setting sun…

… and a setting moon too!

It’s not windy at this spot, but at 6000ft, I’m expecting it to be colder tonight.

Thursday October 3, 20.2mi/32.5km

Trina-Wildrose Road (34.8/2510ft) to Ridge above Darwin Canyon (55.0/3280ft) (CA)

It was a warm night, and I started off hiking in shorts at 7:30am.

The desert warmed up quickly, and by 10am I was hiking under my umbrella. The Panamint Valley is less than 2000ft elevation, so I expected it would be hot today.

Apparently there is a military base nearby, as I kept hearing jets all morning. Finally, I saw one. It was only a few hundred feet above the ground!

A few seconds after the jet passed by, I heard it go by. Sound travels slowly.

After traversing the Panamint Valley on various old dirt roads all morning, I then did some x-country travel over the playa.

I walked the sandy playa for a mile, crossed a paved road, and then joined an actual trail for a mile.

By now, it was getting hot outside, almost 90F, so I pushed on to the Panamint Springs resort for food and A/C. And after I saw their sign specifically said “Ice cream and milkshakes”, I had no choice but to stop there!

It was a solid meal. The poor waiter kept trying to give me the bill, but I kept ordering more food.

I also showered and bought some more snacks from the general store. I started walking again at 4pm, briefly on a paved road.

I stayed on the white line, so my shoes wouldn’t get all soft and melty. In less than a mile I turned off the pavement, and into Darwin Canyon.

It started off looking like any other desert canyon…

But then quickly changed to green!

I went a half mile off my route to go chasing this famous waterfall, Darwin Falls.

Supposedly there is a way to scramble up and around it, and I tried, but it seemed too precarious with a large unbalanced backpack. So I got one last photo, and turned around back to the main L2H route.

The main route climbed 500ft up out of the canyon, and onto a ridge. It looked like a basalt moon surface up on the ridge.

It was windy as, but I found a somewhat sheltered spot from the wind. I staked my tent very securely, and then watched the sunset from inside.

Wednesday October 2, 18.7mi/30.1km

Ridge above Hanaupah Spring (16.1/5046ft) to Trina-Wildrose Rd (34.8/2510ft) (CA)

I was up early, to catch the sunrise from my tent. This was a great campsite!

Sunrise occurs pretty late here in October, so I didn’t get moving until 7:30am. Morning hiking is my favorite.

These trees are everywhere up here, Junipers I believe.

I spent all morning climbing up this ridge, from 5000ft elevation up to 10,000 ft.

It was slow moving, as it was steep at times, and there was no trail to follow, so a few times I hit a dead end in thick brush. I was so happy to see a wide open scree field!

Finally, at 11:30am, I had gained the top of Telescope Ridge, and was back on a maintained trail for a short while. Looking back east from where I had started:

And then, as I was finishing my lunch break, I hear a “hello”, and I’m surprised as hell to see another hiker out here!

Her name is “Not a Chance”, and she has hiked the PCT four times, countless other long trails, and this route (L2H) three times. Not surprisingly, after walking and talking for an hour together, we realized we know many of the same people. What a cool coincidence!

After an hour, I said goodbye and turned off the trail, down into Tuber Canyon.

I dropped 2000ft into the canyon, and followed a wash all afternoon.

There were speedy lizards everywhere, I finally caught a photo of one sunning itself.

As I got lower in the canyon, it became drier with more cacti, and opened up wider.

At the bottom, I found a very old car, and some old mining equipment.

The final two miles were on a dirt road, and I hiked until sunset (6:15pm), to the spot where I had cached water a couple of days ago.

I refilled my six water bottles, drank another liter on the spot, and setup my tent. It was becoming windy, so I’m assuming all my stuff will be covered in a fine desert sand in the morning. Oh well. A tiring day!

Tuesday October 1, 16.1mi/25.9km

Badwater Basin (0.0/-282ft) to Ridge above Hanaupah Spring (16.1/5046ft) (CA)

I was awake at 6:45am, everyone else in the hostel was still sleeping, so I packed up quietly and slipped out for breakfast. I had a big greasy meal, and returned to the hostel to find my ride waiting for me. Chuck does shuttles from Lone Pine to all the local trailheads, and he agreed to drive me the two hours to Badwater Basin. We left at 8:15am, and arrived at 10.30am. It was a busy and crowded parking lot.

I wandered around the area for a bit, reading all the signs. It’s the lowest place in the western hemisphere!

And usually very hot too, though today was only 88F/31C.

I started walking toward the path across the salt flats, and there were already less people.

The area was named for this little spring, which has salty, or “bad” water. I thought I saw some brine shrimp living in it.

I asked some tourists to get me photo, and then I was off hiking!

The salt flats were very loud and crunchy to walk on.

I had 5mi/8km to get across the playa.

Some spots in the flats had more sand mixed in with the salt, making them look brown.

After two hours, I was across the salt flats. I stopped for a break at what appeared to be someone’s failed garden.

I started up an eroded dirt road towards Hanaupah canyon, and saw a sign warning about compromised water quality. Umm….

(The water turned out to be fine). I spent the rest of the afternoon on a gentle uphill grade, winding my way into a canyon.

Up and up, three thousand feet, and the temperature started to cool a little.

Eventually the old road disappeared, and I was walking in a wash. It felt about the same.

I stopped to refill my water, which was indeed flowing and clean. This was the first of only three natural water sources for the next hundred miles.

Then, I went steeply uphill, leaving the canyon for a ridgeline. It was steep, gaining 1500ft in a mile.

As usual, I had several small slips, and I always caught myself. One of the times I caught myself on a cactus though… ouch.

I stopped taking photos after this, to avoid getting blood all over my phone. After another hour, I was on top of the ridge, and I setup camp in the fading daylight.

Sunday September 29 & Monday September 30, 0mi/0km

After lunch, Cougar and I went to the airport, and I picked up a rental car and drove towards Lone Pine CA. I stopped and bought groceries for the hike, and water. Lots of water!

I had a quick dinner at In-N-Out burger, then continued south into the Eastern Sierra.

I stopped at trailhead a little ways off the highway to camp, and the next morning I drove the rest of the way to Lone Pine.

I stopped for a quick breakfast to go, and continued down into Death Valley National Park, to cache my water.

I placed water in three locations, since there are so few natural water sources on the hiking route. The third location was a little more difficult to access, as it was 12 miles down an eroded dirt road.

After the final water cache, I drove back to Lone Pine, and dropped some stuff off at the hostel I’m staying at. Then, I had to drive an hour north, back up to Bishop, to return the rental car. Along the way, I saw a PCT hiker trying to get a ride, and I picked him up and brought him to bishop. “PH-B” was his trail name, since he has a doctorate degree in bees. He was fun to talk to and didn’t even smell that bad!

I dropped off the rental car, and then hitched back to Lone Pine. My ride was two other hikers “going to death valley”. As I loaded my backpack into the trunk, I saw their gear, and realized they are former thru-hikers as well. Turns out, they are doing the L2H route as well, starting a day after me! What an incredible coincidence – only like ten people per year do this route. We arrived to Lone Pine, and I had dinner and then got organized in the hostel bunkroom. Tomorrow, I start the hike!

Friday September 27 – Sunday September 29, 0mi/0km

Kim dropped me off in Truckee near where she works, and I spent the morning doing some shopping for a dinner outfit for the Aldha-West (American Long Distance Hiking Association) event this weekend. This year’s theme was “black and white”.

I met up with two other hikers, Cougar and BamBam, and the three of us carpooled to hour to Nevada City.

We arrived! It was beautiful weather, and I hung out catching up with others for a couple of hours. After Friday’s dinner was a nice musical set by a group of four hikers.

And a presentation by “OG”, who hiked the PCT in the 1970s and again in 2016.

On Saturday, there were more fun presentations and events. This was the first event of the “Hiker Olympics”, in which we had 30 seconds to fit the most possible amount of gummies into a ziploc bag, ha!

A duo of ladies gave a cool presentation about their trip on the Camino de Santiago by wheelchair. It was impressive to hear all the additional challenges of that trip!

The keynote speaker was Heather “Amish” Anderson, who was also receiving two triple crown awards that night. She is an incredible athlete, and a writer too – “2600 Miles to Home” was an exceptionally relatable book.

Then, dinner and cake!

There was the annual Triple Crown Awards ceremony after dinner, in which 40 people recieved the award. I didn’t get any photos, since my chosen outfit didn’t have any pockets for a phone. D’oh!

The next morning was spent voting for ALDHA-West board members, secretary, etc. Everyone looked kinda tired but happy after such a nice weekend.

Cougar and I left at 10am, and drove back to Reno.

We were early for Herr flight, so we went across the street, and had sushi for lunch. Excellent!

I spent the rest of the day getting ready for my next short hike, which I will detail in the next blog post…

Thursday September 26, 20.4mi/32.8km

Mt Rose campground NV (150.8/8894ft) to Brockway Trailhead /Hwy 267 CA (171.2/7005ft)

I had an nice relaxing morning in the deserted campground, and hiked out at 7:30am. I crossed the Mt Rose highway, after waiting awhile for traffic.

This was a ridiculous sign at the trailhead.

Then, I hiked uphill for five miles, mostly thru meadows.

I passed Galena Falls and refilled both my water bottles, as this is a dry section of trail.

The final climb up to the summit of Relay Peak was steep.

In the far distance, about 100 miles northwest, I could see Mt Lassen.

The ridge walk to the summit was windy and exposed, but at least it was warm weather.

The summit of Relay Peak had a bunch of cellular equipment on it.

Immediately after the summit, the trail entered the Mt Rose wilderness. I saw no one else all morning!

On the descent from the summit, there were constant views of Lake Tahoe.

And also views to the north, in the Truckee River Valley.

The views just kept coming, and I was so distracted, that by the time I stopped for lunch I had covered 12 miles.

The ridgeline was a little rocky, and I kept hearing marmots, but I couldn’t see them.

The fields are covered in “Mules Ear”, which has amazing flowers in the summertime.

I crossed back into California, but I didn’t see a sign, or have anyone ask me if I was bringing any fruits/vegetables into the state. 🙂

Soon after, I met up with my friend Kim, and along with four-legged Lola, we hiked the final couple hours to the trailhead.

It was great to have someone to talk to during hiking, and two days in a row now!

We finished just after 4pm, and drove down the hill to civilization.

What a great trail! It had one of the best effort/reward ratios of any hike I’ve done. Highly recommended!

-Recon

Wednesday September 25, 21.6mi/34.8km

Vista over Spooner Summit (129.2/7579ft) to Mt Rose Campground (150.8/8894ft) (NV)

It was another warm morning, I was even able to start the day wearing shorts.

After a brief climb up to a ridgeline, I had views of Lake Tahoe all morning.

And a mile later…

And again a half mile later…

The terrain was very dry here, and there was sage and scrubby desert plants everywhere.

I started a small descent, and I made an effort to look behind me today, for a different perspective on the scenery.

And then, I saw another lake! This one was Marlette Lake.

Part of the descent was thru an alpine meadow.

And of course, the view back up the hillside.

Marlette Lake kept showing itself every half mile or so.

I took my usual mid-morning break, and while I was spooning Nutella out of the jar, a hiker walks by. From the looks of his backpack, he was a thru-hiker. I catch up to him a mile later, and meet Johannes, aka “Perimeter Check”. He is a PCT hiker, who decided to hike the TRT as well.

We both haven’t seen other backpackers in awhile, and spend the rest of the day talking about almost everything – hiking, other cultures, aviation, favorite audiobooks, food, and even behavioral science. We took an afternoon break at a spot that had a view of two lakes at once. Lake Tahoe:

Washoe Lake, near Carson City:

At 6pm, Perimeter Check stopped to camp in a nice forest away from the Mt Rose highway. I continued another two miles to stay at the Mt Rose campground… I love a good picnic table! On the way, I passed thru Tahoe Meadows.

I enjoyed my last night camping on this trail, and I even had the whole campground to myself. I think because it late in the season?

Tomorrow will be a twenty mile day, to return to the spot I had started from a week ago!