“You need special shoes for hiking…
and a bit of a special soul as well.
~Emme Woodhull-Bache
June 8
Road’s End to above Dougherty Meadow – 16 miles
6,000 feet of elevation gain today, PEOPLE, and a pass WITH SNOW.
UGH!
Both Arrow and I are pretty beat but man oh man we have a beautiful view and the enjoyment of a fine sunset.
I know you are probably thinking, ”She really is complaining a lot on this trip.” Well, this trail is no joke. BIG BEAUTY, high places, and steep ups and downs. Not the JMT.
Tomorrow morning we have the main obstacle of our trip, the fording of the Middle Fork of the Kings River. There was a bridge at the crossing that got washed out in the 1970’s and was not replaced. This is an early season trip with swollen creeks and rivers from snow melt. We will see. Arrow thinks she will ”float” across on her Neo Air. She is very funny….dreaming of course.
Gorgeous views of our beautiful state. I enjoy following your blog. you have so many beautiful photos.
Thanks Marilyn, I will be heading out to hike the Great Divide Trail in Canada in July. I would love to have you along once again. You make my day.
Wow, very little comfortable walking. Just up and down and up and down. In another week you two will be trail monsters, pardon the term. But when you hit your stride you’ll be killin’ it! It’s one thing to show up and do a hike someone wants you to do with them. Very much another to choose this hike! GoGoGo!
Sometimes I doubt our sanity. I don’t think either Arrow or I carefully looked at the elevation chart and those little numbers before leaving. I guess I just thought it can’t be worse than the JMT. I was wrong.
Where do you get all the wonderful quotes? Thanks so much for sharing your trip and bringing us along with you. Your photos are wonderful and so inspiring! I’ve been following your blog for a while now – any plans for another trip with Why Not and Wired?
Rachel,
Why YES! I am leaving the beginning of July to hike The Great Divide Trail in Canada with Why Not. She has been doing a lot of planning and am super lucky. We both will be blogging on this 800 mile trek.
As for quotes, as I hear or see them in daily life, I write them in Notes in my iPhone. I have been doing this for years. Funny, there has never been a day that I feel like I didn’t have the perfect quote. It is a fun and the easy part of writing blog entries in my tent at night.
Thank you for your questions and for following along.
Enjoying your trip reports. I have floated across water obstacles but not with my neo air–isn’t sturdy enough and doesn’t provide enough flotation. The coldness of the water will make the air inside the pad contract. I used a Big Agnes pad and floated my pack in a garbage bag in front of me.
We were kidding about the NeoAir!
We get a little slap happy at the end of a strenuous day sometimes! ?
This is beyond beautiful! Than you for sharing your wonderful hike!
-Arrow (the other Arrow 🙂 )
You are so welcome. Coming up….The Canadian Rockies!