Half dome

Half Dome was wild!

And the valley is gorgeous 

Nevada falls from above

Vernal falls down the mist trail

The worst of the worst

Today was by far the worst day of the trail so far. When I went to bed there was horrible wind so I didn't set up my tent. Then around 330 in the morning it started to rain...and rain...and rain till about noon. So everything I had was soaked and I spent the afternoon drying all my things. 

If everything goes as planned we'll be at the base of half dome tomorrow night. 

Yosemite

Today we climbed up clouds rest and we'll be doing half dome later today. Yosemite is an amazing place with views in every direction. It was a real culture shock going from the trail to the valley. It went from seeing a few people to seeing a few hundred in the matter of ten miles. 

This is the top of clouds rest

Half dome is in the background

Here's a friendly little guy who lives on the top

Tackling the high sierras

This past week we've been doing a pass a day, which usually means climbing climbing a couple thousand feet then dropping back to where you were elevation wise. It's been beautiful but one of the hardest sections physically. 

A questionable bridge we had to cross

Muir hut as we came over muir pass

Since it's been over a week because of my lack f service, I have plenty of pictures to share. 

Coming into mammoth my pack frame broke again...so I have granite gear a call and it turns out they're going to swap me out a new pack that has shoulder straps sewn into the fabric. Should be getting that right after we come out of Yosemite valley. 

Our plan for the next couple days is to take a detour off the PCT and finish the JMT (John muir trail that runs from Yosemite to Whitney). This will give us the opportunity to climb clouds rest and half dome, which was one of the stops I was excited for before starting the trail. 

Mt Whitney and glissading

Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 at 14,505 feet. I woke up at 1:30am to catch the sunrise and it was one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen. We climbed around 3,000 feet in five miles from guitar lake.

Here's a group of us at the summit. 

Forester pass is officially te highest point on the PCT at 13,200 feet. It was a nice view with a whole lot more snow than Whitney. I ended up glissading down from the top, which is basically sledding down the snow. It was great. 

These are a few of the views we had. 

Made it to the Sierras

I finally made it through the worst section so far, as well as Southern California. The bear can I have to carry through the Sierras is rediculous and hardly fits in my pack. Our next stop in Whitney (the highest peak in the lower 48) and then out to either independence or lone pine. I'm a little worried about my 35 degree bag in the snow but I have a liner and a tent so I'm going to try and squeak by with that. 

I also got my fly pole with my resupply. I'm looking forward to snacking on trout but I won't be able to get my license till lone pine. I've been making friends with hikers who are carrying pans with them. 

Here's some pictures from Kennedy meadows and the start of the mountains. 

25 percent done with the trail at mile 665. 

We got to meet yogi and jackalope doing trail magic at walker pass.