It's 2023 and I'm embarking on a thru-hike of the 2,653mi-long Pacific Crest Trail! In 2021 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and in '22 completed a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail. Now, even in spite of the record snows, it's time to try and complete my three-year Triple Crown!
Oh no! This was a while ago, hope the doctor helped you. Didn’t look like you got an answer in the last part. I will be sad if you leave trail, but you need to get better. Hope you’re feeling better wherever you are.
My hike was 16 days with no time off, so I can relate for the need for a shower and break! I really enjoyed the climb to Muir Pass as it was our most solitude for the hike regarding other hikers. That made it that much more magical. Looks like your experience may have been similar. -GoalTech
Oh…one more thing that made me laugh with our carbon copy hike…I went back to my pics to confirm, I but my hand into the bark of that same tree you did. 😂 Wasn’t that amazingly deep like no other tree! Remarkable. -GoalTech
I noticed you didn’t switch to your camp shoes for evolution creek but did the same thing I did with my shoes. Close to camp so you got lazy? I just go through with my shoes regardless. If it’s cold I might take my socks and insoles out. 👍
Excellent, thanks so much! I labored to present only objective, first hand accounts and forego subjectivity devoid of explanation. I'm thrilled that these efforts are appreciated!
Ha! We were a carbon copy on this day as I mentioned in yesterday’s report that I too couldn’t finish the breakfast. That was a heck of a climb out of VVR. Probably my least favorite segment. Of the whole hike. I too planned to stop at Heart Lake but could t find a spot and I too camped exactly where you did. I left my pee bottle there so I was looking for it in your video. Haha. Hope you found it and kept it. LOL. (I also donated my stakes and dyneema stake bag on the left side of the minor unnamed pass after Cottonwood Pass on the left near the best spots in there so feel free to have that as a gift too!) Haha. -GoalTech
The CEO of the Hike did her usual outstanding job of providing for your well-being by finding a Dr. So glad you pay attention to what your body says. Such gorgeous views! The peaks are so jagged - so different from previous hikes. Do you know what the white stripe in the rock is? I thought maybe DK might know.
Well that last pic could easily foretell what needs to be done. I know your experience will drive you to make the correct decisions. No matter absolutely enjoyed today’s and yesterday’s and so on videos. Thanks for all!!
Back in the 70s my cousin and I tried to plan a trip of the JMT. Trying to plan the logistics with technology of the time proved to be way above our pay grade. Good to see others being much more successful then we were. Beautiful scenery for sure.
Beat , I enjoy your videos and the accuracy of the details u share with us. Please check the name of the structure, John Muir Hut or John Muir Cabin, located on Muir Pass on JMT. I found the following on the net: John Muir Hut built in early 1930s (i believe) on PCT/John Muir Trail vs John Muir Cabin built in 1980 in Tongass National Forest Near Juneau, Alaska .
Oh my, what an absolutely gorgeous landscape! Thanks for carrying all all that extra battery and equipment weight and taking the time to film this for us.
It looks so different not buried in snow, I think you through hiked this section in a heavy snow year. Normally this area melts out in June but during the heaviest snow years it might not melt out until late July/early August.
Great memories of pizza with the ranger Bob Kenan at LeConte station in 1980 when I hiked the JMT. Got cool pic of a horizontal rainbow over evolution basin that summer that I had in my office for years.Take a break... what's the rush?
We came in over Mammoth Pass this year so you’re now on our trail from this year. We came into the PCT on the first day after flying down and just got to the trail. Day 2 was to Virginia Lake. We had a nice break at Purple Lake. Nice stop!
Weird to see the no snow compared to my hike over Donahue last year about 2 weeks earlier in the summer but of course after the crazy winter. There was snow on Donahue and down quite a ways on both sides. -GoalTech
So happy to see you enjoying this iconic segment of the JMT/PCT that you had to detour around last year. It's been wonderful to see it through the artful eye of your masterful videography. What's more, the SOBO perspective makes the trail seem so completely different than when viewed from a NOBO perspective. Fascinating! Was glad to see you listen to your body and pull up short of Dusy Basin. As the renowned Sierra mountaineer Norman Clyde said: “The mountain will always be there tomorrow. Aim to be able to say the same of yourself.” As always -- Be safe; keep at it!
Stunning! As always -- Be safe; keep at it! P.S. -- Had to laugh at the temporary bridge sign "USE AT YOUR OWN RISK." As if the rest of the backcountry getting to that point has been ckecked for public safety ... ???
Greetings from the back side of Japan. I'm now back home after a rough trip, but I'll save those details for another day. After returning I have binged your episodes -- almost caught up with your uploads. Superb videography as always. In this episode: 1. Not packing out all your waste? That's a good thing. Such contributions are good if done properly. I'm sure the mountains are smiling. 2. Selden Pass: As you go over the pass heading south, the peak on your left is Mt. Senger. It is named after one of the two people who came up with the idea of the Sierra Club. He lived in Berkley and was a Professor of German at UC Berkley. The only reason I mention it is an old friend of mine from high school days now owns and lives in Professor Senger's house. Thought you might be interested in that little snippet of history. Well, you are at least two weeks down the trail. I hope that wherever the path has led that you will, as always -- Be safe; keep at it! Richard (back) -in-Japan
Hey Richard thanks for checking in! Sorry to hear that it was rough trip stateside for you... Glad you're back in your adopted home, hopefully getting some nice food and r&r with your homebase there. Very cool to hear about Senger and your connection-- you're right to assume that that tidbit would be of interest to me!
Super psyched you finally get to experience Evolution Valley and Muir Pass. Definitely one of my favorite spots along the PCT in the Sierra. And great weather! My last time there we got absolutely hammered by thunderstorms at Wanda Lake in the evening.
I finished my 16-day hike from Mammoth to Kennedy Meadows South on your zero day, fun that we were in the same trail at the same time albeit a ways from each other!
Yes indeed!! I suspect you may have had some weather early in your journey-- I hope the mountains were generally as kind to you on your adventure as they were to me on mine!
I missed the gnarly storms you may had heard of. We had a 1/2 hour sprinkle just after entering Kings Canyon and then 2-3 hours between Wallace Creek and Crabtree Meadows. Other than that it was perfect. Not bad at all even the rain we had.
Really enjoyed the trail footage, You're one of the best videographers out there! Now that you have the West conquered, may I recommend the North Country Trail or the Ice Age Trail.
An epic day for you and us. I was suppose to go to Sapphire Lake in Evo Valley last year coming from the south and then head out Bishop Pass, but all the south-bounders mentioned the tough snow conditions on the Muir Pass climb for north-bounders, so we aborted that leg of the trip. That was the first part of August.
Man I can't even recall whether Bear Creek specifically gave us trouble last year-- honestly in our experience, for almost of the challenges the snow presented, it did occasionally provide us paths over crossing which would have been far more difficult further along in the season
That bridge is real new, all the NOBO PCT hikers I followed this year had to use the same by-pass you did last year or use the Andrew Skurka work around to get beyond the bridge.
Super nice shots around Evolution! Is that the same spot where peeps were crossing on the fallen tree I wonder. Seems there was a wooden bridge, fairly rickety somewhere along there as well. I think Skurka had a bypass that some considered sketchy last year or earlier this season.
I don't know about a log crossing or rickety wooden bridge, but I do know that this is where the bridge was destroyed by the snows of the winter which preceded my PCT hike in '23, and that that bridge outage forced me and my team to cut 25mi from the PCT in favor of a safer, 40mi detor out on Bishop Pass and back over Piute Pass. This temporary bridge was installed by / for the benefit of the crew working to build a permanent replacement bridge. This temporary bridge was installed just about a week before this hike started-- perfect!!
@@travelinbeat Wow. I suppose that is positive change in my not finishing the PCT this year! Wouldn't it be magical if one could have an entire PCT without burn detours.
man that's a bummer the pump went out like that/ had heard good things didnt know they could destruct so easily. Glen Aulin!! beautiful. awesome day thanks for sharing
Yeah bummer for sure but especially since I had a bear canister on this hike (read: camp chair), I didn't find it too terribly inconvenient to just blow up my pad the old fashioned way!
Eureka! Alas, spectacular trail videography finally hits the 2024 RU-vid summer hiking circuit. The Top Gun backpacker with 9000+ miles experience has spoiled us and once again saved the day. Thanks a lot for hauling all the batteries, taking time to get the quality shots and spending hours processing video. Bravo Zulu!!
You are the most considerate vlogger I've watched (stopping the recording for the other hikers). I think Rabbit ran across the Codgers and that trail looks like the same one they captured on their pass through there days ago. I think Rabbit was hiking the Sierra High Route.
Oh wow how neat!! I know Rabbit took a quick couple miles with me towards Donahue Pass from Tuolumne Mdw Wilderness Ctr, but I hadn't known that he was doing a long hike!
