Tuesday, May 26
I knew today was going to be a day for leaving the high Sierras and walking out to the Onion Valley trail head. Willy, Carlos and I needed to get to the town of Independence in order to get food for the next section of our hike.
I knew today was going to be a day for leaving the high Sierras and walking out to the Onion Valley trail head. Willy, Carlos and I needed to get to the town of Independence in order to get food for the next section of our hike.
We all packed up and hit the trail at 7 AM. I had to carry my tent bundled on top of my pack because the water vapor from my breathing had frozen on the inside of the tent. This has been a problem several times because there is not enough air circulation at night. This was the view from my tent site.
We took the Kearsarge Pass trail. I knew nothing about this trail, other than it led to the Onion Valley trail head. The views were spectacular.
I got a picture of Willy as we headed up to the pass.
As we got higher the views back to the mountains were tremendous.
Within two hours we reached the pass at 11,760 feet.
We needed to arrange a ride from the trail head. It is 13 miles to Independence. Unfortunately the person who we tried to call wasn't answering their phone. We proceeded to go down hoping to find a ride.
We went down and down and down and down. It took us two hours of fast down hill hiking to get to the trail head. I am very concerned about having to climb back up this trail when we return in a couple of days. On the way down we saw Double Happiness (Casey) and Dirty Bowl.
When we got to the trail head, there were two guys loading up their truck. They offered us a ride to Independence!
When we got to town, we were walking by the post office. I asked a man standing there where the Courthouse Motel was located. He gave me directions, but said that he was the owner of the Independence Inn and could give us a good deal. He even offered us a ride!
We accepted his offer. Willy and I are sharing a room. Carlos has to head home and was going to hitch hike to Lone Pine.
We all showered and then had lunch at a nearby Mexican food cart. The food was marvelous!
Jim Getzinger, the owner of the Independence Inn, then offered us a ride to the town of Bishop. Wily needed some gear and we offered to buy Jim his dinner in return for his generosity.
I got a replacement tip for my trekking pole, some warm sleeping socks and a new fuel canister for my stove. On the way back we stopped at the Courthouse Motel to pick up my resupply package.
I have to say Jim runs a great establishment and I am highly impressed with his willingness to help PCT hikers!
