Independence, CA - mile 790.2

Oh man have things gotten good.  The beauty that we have experienced in the past week or so has truly blown us away...& continues to blow us away.  Every day it just seems to get better.  We feel like we're finally in a place where we'd CHOOSE to go backpacking if we were to just take off for a few days to find a cool place.  We definitely appreciate the challenges we have faced & feel that we had a lot to learn by pushing through the desert & parts that weren't quite in our comfort zone & I'm sure going through all of that has truly made this part all that much more magical.  Just glad that's all over...& now we're right where we want to be!

We had the most beautiful time on Mt. Whitney.  Mt. Whitney was a 8+ mile side-trip off the PCT but since we were so close to the summit, we couldn't pass up climbing it seeing that it is the highest point (14,505 ft.) in the U.S. aside from Mt. McKinley in Alaska.  As we approached our planned base camp, 5-miles from the summit, Unicroc kept hinting that he wanted to keep going & try to camp on top.  At first, I didn't even take him seriously because those last 5 miles were going to be entirely uphill, into an elevation that neither of us had ever experienced hiking into & that would make it a 25+ mile day for us total (which is the most we've ever done) & the thought of sleeping up there sounded so crazy because it's above treeline & there was possibly no shelter from wind or cold...BUT...he kept dropping hints & slowly...I started to consider it.  After all, this was probably going to be the only time we'd ever climb Mt. Whitney.  We ran into a few other hikers who were just coming down from the summit & they said that the weather on top was actually quite tame - the wind wasn't bad at all & the skies were entirely clear so we felt safe from the threat of storms.  So I said, "I'm in if you're in."  So we did it!  We made it to the top JUST as the sun was going down & it was SO lovely, I can't even possibly describe in words.  And pictures can't do it justice.  Four other PCT thru-hikers made the same decision & we each found rock structures past people had built to cozy up behind for the night.  But the weather was amazing...we were very lucky.  We set up our tent, ate our second dinner & went to sleep.  I have to admit I felt nauseous & Unicroc felt dizzy throughout the night due to elevation sickness but by the time morning came, we felt great...our bodies had adapted.  The others who had stayed behind at base camp all woke up at 2am or earlier to climb to the top for sunrise so as we awoke, they all joined us, we gathered on rocks & watched the Earth come to life from atop the highest point around.

That still doesn't quite seem real...it feels like it was more of a dream.

The following day, we had to do another large climb to Forester Pass, the highest point on the PCT, somewhere above 13,000 ft.  Got the most amazing night's sleep, woke up to beautiful clear blue skies & had 6 miles to go to get there.  It was a lovely climb & we were feeling great but just as we were about to reach the top, we noticed dark clouds were rolling in the distance.  Sure enough, after we got about 4 miles beyond the pass, it started to snow!  And then it turned to rain.  And then we found a giant rock to hide under for shelter & cooked a warm lunch & decided to hike on because it's actually warmer to hike through weather like that than to stay still & try to wait it out.  Shortly after, the precipitation stopped but it remained cloudly & moist & we had some of the most lovely hiking we've had yet.

Independence is a small town, we had to hike 7.3 miles off the PCT, over another pass, just to reach a trailhead to then get a hitch into town.  But that 7.3 mile hike was BEAUTIFUL.  This whole area is BEAUTIFUL.  We're staying at Mt. Williamson Motel & the owners, Doug & Strider have been so good to us.  They even have a cat!  Small towns like this are part of why we're out here.

Unfortunately, the library is about to cut off my time - I only get a half hour!  So that's all I have time for for now.

Much love & goodbye for now!