Five started the trip but only one completed it.

Backpackers: Carl Fisher, Ed Tucker, Tim Harder, John Gundry, and Pete Allington

July 15, 2019 (Miles 11.9) Caught a ride from our hotel to the Big Meadows trailhead with Wanna Ride and hit the trail about 8:30. It was an immediate uphill and warming temperatures. Being at altitude (7280) and going up really kicked my butt. I never got into a proper hiking form all day long. Toward the end of our day we crossed a snow field that was somewhat dangerous. Tim put spikes on and Ed almost turned back. It was dicey but not overly dangerous. We camped near a stream on a small site but we all fit in just fine.

July 16, 2019 (Miles 12.7) The day started with Ed announcing he was turning around and going in. Based upon the crossing yesterday and the reports from other hikers he didn’t feel confident to keep hiking. While we all would have liked him to continue we understood. Immediately hiked uphill, again, and had to cross snow that would have turned Ed around. We had magnificent views of several lakes under bright sunny skies with a nice breeze. Camped at Pleasant Valley Creek where there are numerous nice campsites. We were able to get cleaned up, wash out clothing and relax. Mosquitoes were pesky.

July 17, 2019 (Miles 11.6) Immediate uphill today, starting to sound like a broken record. About 8am we came to our first obstacle of the day. A spot we had been cautioned about where the snow covers the trail and traversing it was worse than going off trail, down hill and then up all on loose rock, slick mud and grass. I thought about going across the now with my YAKS but was lazy and didn’t want to take off my pack. Watched a group coming the other direction who tried the “boot track” (where others had walked) but 2 of the 3 turned around and went the way we had come. We camped at Sherrold Lake, got into camp early enough to clean up.

July 18, 2019 (Miles 10.6) Had trouble the trail this morning – took about 20 minutes. Lots of route finding due to snow and had to use the half-mile app a couple of times. Only a 10 mile day so we are into our selected camp early (2:00pm). Did camp chores, cleaned up and relaxed. Planning to add 1.7 miles to tomorrow’s planned hike so the climb up to Sonora Pass the next day will only be 9 miles. We have been getting trail reports about the difficulty of getting up the snow fields. Most of the hikers are just glissading down.

July 19, 2019 (Miles 12.1) Nothing really remarkable about today. Good trail, lots of ups and downs, crossing snow fields, getting lost and getting into camp. We are camped next to the confluence of two rivers. Good discussion at dinner. Tim is getting off trail – he doesn’t feel right and I’m 80% sure to get off as well. Woke up last night with pain in my right side of my head beneath my ear. Still have chest congestion. Pain near ear got slightly worse today.

July 20, 2019 (Miles 9.1) Got up early today (6:00am) because we needed to ensure we arrived at the Pass NLT 3:00pm so we could get our re-supply boxes. John and Pete hoped to get in earlier to max out their Nero (a near zero day). Trail chatter told us there was a shuttle to Kennedy Meadows at 10:30 and 3:30. Since we were only doing 9 miles I thought John and Pete should hike their own pace to try and make the 10:30 shuttle. They left us in their dust. They arrived at 10:45 and just missed the shuttle, however, hitching was easy. Tim and I arrived at 1:30 and asked Sonora Pass Resupply to return our boxes. We all stayed together in a dorm room at Kennedy Meadows. John and Pete negotiated an early shuttle back to the trailhead to continue the hike. Tim and I went to chat up the bartender to see if he could take us to Bridgeport CA. He said “No” but found a lady at the bar that was interested. Came back with questions 3 times before I finally asked the bartender if he thought paying $50 was fair. “Oh, they’ll pay?” We responded, “Yes”. Her concern was the space in her car. We let her know we could put our backpacks on our laps. Arranged for an 8:00am pickup.

July 21, 2019 (Miles 0) Ride to Bridgeport was uneventful. We hung out at a picnic table outside the motel office until 2:30pm when our rooms were ready.

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